The United States And The Civil War

One of the most useful things about the debate between Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas in 1858 is that it was held in a time prior to the advent of television. As such, there is a significantly greater emphasis on speech, rhetoric, and verbiage thatncurrently is found in contemporary debates regarding presidential elections, in which candidates can rely upon looks and other superficialities not related to pertinent issues to sway an audience. When left with just the words of Lincoln and Douglas during this famous debate, it becomes discernible that there are two primary issues in the critical years leading up to the Civil War the legality of slavery and the preservation of the Union. Moreover, there is an intrinsic link between these two issues, where it seems as though alterations made to the former may inevitably (and negatively) impact the latter. Thus, when ascertaining Lincoln's position on slavery it is clear that he is not in favor of it. Yet he makes it evident in a number of different points that he is not as concerned with the issue of slavery as he is with the preservation of the Union--meaning that as much as he is against slavery he will permit it so long as it is lawful.

When examining defining moments in history, one must first analyze what led to the central event. In this case, one sees that the years following the American Revolution were very important to the historical timeline. During the 19th century, two regions with very different beliefs strongly contradicted each other. This plagued the nation, ultimately leading to the decimating battle of The Civil War. It is evident that the rapid expansion of slavery during this time unfolded and ignited a series of controversies that were evident in the political, economic, and social problems that slavery’s expansion created.

“Liberty came to the freemen of the United States not in mercy, but in wrath”(Douglass, 1881). After the Civil War, the United States was in a condition of reconstruction, and rebuilding from the damage that occurred during the war. Although historians differ on the success or failure of Reconstruction, one cannot disagree that changes were made in the areas of social, political, and economic structures of American society. During Reconstruction, political changes accompanied the abolition of slavery.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. Although when they are more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

One of the most, if not the most, controversial and heated debates following the United States independence was regarding the institution of slavery. In the introduction to his book Half Slave and Half Free, Bruce Levine quotes Carl Schurzs’ observation as the “slave question not being a mere occasional quarrel between two sections of the country divided by a geographic line, but a great struggle between two antagonistic systems of social organization (p.15)”. The Nouthern states that allowed slavery benefited from the agricultural labor that those slaves provided. The Northern states that prohibited slavery did so for moral and pragmatic reasons; they felt it was morally wrong to deny another human any form of rights, and did not like the economic advantage it gave to the Southern states. With the use of slavery largely concentrated in the South, the movement against it came from the North and was led by abolitionists; those who were committed to bringing an end to the practice. In this course we have defined “Practice” as the conduct of policy, such as opinion, election, parties and law-making (Lecture). We define Policy as the goals of politics, those being sovereignty, defense, and a collective well-being (Lecture). The following analytical essay will examine antislavery sentiment and practices in the Northern states and the reaction of Southern states. Additionally how the pressures from both sides influenced the Policy of the United States following independence then

Throughout history, conflicts have risen regarding the handling of certain events. Often, these conflicts have played major roles in the development of the United States; two examples are the conflicting views of slavery between numerous states during the 19th century and the different viewpoints on how the United States would treat the South after the Civil War ended. [look over old assignments and see how you expanded these] Both of these disagreements have shaped U.S. history and drastically changed the life of citizens.

The United States post-Civil War era from 1875 to 1900 experienced massive economic and industrial growth, especially in the North. The rise of new machines, industries (railroad, oil, steel), and buildings contributed to a major upsurge in the prosperity of the American nation. In 1860, no American city had a population over one million; by 1890, three cities had passed the million mark. New York City became the second largest city in the world after London in 1900. The substantial growth of the U.S economically can be contributed to a group of wealthy capitalists that ran businesses/industries and stimulated economic growth. However, historians have argued over whether these capitalists were “robber barons” that were corrupt and took advantage of the American people or “captains of industry” that helped the U.S grow at unparalleled speeds. Wealthy capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were indeed “captains of industry” who enlarged American industry and businesses, used their wealth to better their communities, and elevated the United States to new heights as one of the leading industrial powers of the entire world.

One of the key demographics that many say that the South was different from the North would be their means of economic ambiguity. Many saw the North as a purely industrialized region compared to the South as being purely driven by agriculture. However, not all of the North was industrialized as not the entire South was based on agriculture. There were northern farmers who specialized in specific crops that couldn’t be grown in the South, as there were crops harvested in the south that couldn’t

The United States dealt through many problems and challenges that they were forced to overcome. Throughout the battles that The U.S. faced, they encountered many benefits that shaped them. Such as the conflict in the west, the gilded age the change and industrialization, along with the progressive area were events that lead to the problems and issues that the United States addressed.

During the first century of the United States as an organized country , it experienced an unprecedented amount of growth. It had a territory that stretched from the Pacific to the Atlantic; an industrial economy was slowly starting to form. Despite these accomplishments, the United States had one major problem standing in the way of it becoming a truly great country, the issue of slavery;slavery slowly drove the nation apart ever since the country was formed in 1776. Slavey clearly drew lines in the nation between the South which heavily relied on slavery for economics, and the North which opposed the institution of slavery as being immoral and clearly defining constitutional rights. The issue of slavery was heavily exacerbated by the idea of manifest destiny; manifest destiny was the idea that the United States should expand across North America since many believed it was their god given right. Slavery combined with the new territories acquired from manifest destiny ultimately contributed to the south’s secession of the union and the civil war because manifest destiny exacerbated the effects slavery had already had on the nation. Slavery had always caused tension between the North and South because slavery had always been an institution that the south full-heartedly swore by; despite the North’s unfavorable view of slavery, they couldn’t stop slavery since slavery was so engraved in the southern culture . Manifest destiny exacerbated these effects because politicians from

"All Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among there are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" (Declaration of Independence). According to the U.S. Constitution the purpose for which the United States was created was to establish a perfect union within the citizens of the U.S. through justice, safety, welfare and liberty. In my opinion, although the U.S. Constitution states this, I do not believe this perfect union is in favor for everyone in this country because of the unjust events that have taken places within this country such as slavery. I believe the U.S. Constitution purpose only applies to those who are in higher power. The Civil War started because of unbending

The Civil War brought the United States down to its knees. This blood-soaked conflict became one of the most brutal wars that this country has taken arms to and the destruction from the result of the war validates this view. Thus a period coined as Reconstruction started where the main objectives of the national government were to rebuild the southern confederate states and to protect the rights of the newly freed slaves. Throughout this tumultuous period, three significant court cases, US v. Cruikshank, US v. Reese, and US v. Anthony, used race and gender in the United States to shape and limit what it means to be a citizen with alleged “privileges and immunities.”

For the first half of the 19th Century the, still relatively young, United States began to face many conflicts regarding civil rights as well as continuous opposing views between the North and South. One of the more prevalent issues at the time, even though both Democrat and Whig parties attempted to avoid talking about it, was regarding the institution of slavery and whether or not it was “right”. Another issue that arose was whether or not the country would go to war with Mexico after Democrat, and current president at the time, James K. Polk went to Congress with a declaration of war with the claim that on American soil, Mexico had caused the shedding of American blood. Furthermore, the war against Mexico would eventually ignite the debate of slavery even more and unfortunately lead to the events of the Civil War.

The United States has had a multitude of conflicts throughout all it’s years as a country. One of the preeminent conflicts that the United States had to face was the Civil War. Also known as “The War Between the States,” because it was a war fought between the United States and Confederate States in 1865 over the conservation of the institution of slavery. The Civil War has made abiding effects on the United States today by reuniting two unions, ending the institution of slavery and helping to establish the country that we know today. The four most significant events that led to the Civil War was the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and Abraham Lincoln’s election.

The American Civil War, known in the United States as simply the Civil War as well as by other sectional names, was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy. Of the 34 states that existed in January 1861, seven Southern slave states individually declared their secession from the United States and went on to form the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy, often simply called the South, grew to include eleven states, although they claimed thirteen states and additional western territories. The Confederacy was never recognized diplomatically by a foreign country. The states that remained loyal were known as the Union or the North. The war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, especially the expansion of slavery into the western territories. After four years of combat, which left over 600,000 Union and Confederate soldiers dead and destroyed much of the South 's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed and slavery was abolished. Then began the Reconstruction and the processes of restoring national unity and guaranteeing civil rights to the freed slaves.