Why Was The Civil War Important

The Civil War was a defining time in American history as the outcome of the war determined what kind of nation America would become. Due to uncompromising

The Civil War was fought in America from 1861 to 1865. Many people refer to this war as “The War Between the States.” Tensions were high between states before the war officially started. During the period of time preceding the war, people were arguing with each other and a majority of them hated each other. The reason they were fighting was, for the most part, over the issue of slavery and what rights a state had. Since there were only eleven states when this happened, the problems they were faced with divided all of them. These issues often came up in the presidential debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Abraham Lincoln and the North believed that all slavery should end, while Stephen A. Douglas and the South thought that every state had a right to choose if they wanted slavery or not. By the time the Civil War started, people were as furious as they possibly could be at each other. The war officially started when Southern troops attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina. When the battles started, the Northern states and Southern states were both fighting for what they believed to be right. Although the North had more men and supplies than the South, it was still a hard fought battle. Countless people died during this war and, the most gruesome battle was the Battle of Gettysburg. The war itself is not considered quite controversial, but the issues of it are and there are many reasons as to why.

There has been much documentation on the plight of Native Americans throughout the beginnings of this nation. In spite of the attempts by the early government of the United States, the culture of many Native American tribes has survived and even flourished. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 is just one of many examples of how our government attempted to wipe out Native American culture. This paper will discuss the Dawes Act, particularly the time leading up to the act, the act itself, and finally its failure. By understanding the past failures in the treatment of a particular race of people, the government can learn how to protect the rights of all people, especially in a day and age of cultural diversity.

The Dawes Act of 1887 was one of the biggest debates in history after the Civil War. The plan was meant to help American Indians, but it had many flaws and downfalls that it hurt them more than it helped. The act, proposed by Senator Henry Dawes in 1887, granted plots of land of different sizes, depending on family rank and age, to Native Americans. It also made it possible for any Native American born in the United States a path to citizenship. It stated that all the Native Americans had to do was adopt an American way of life. This part of the act was called assimilation, it stated that the Native Americans should adopt a new way of life that is more similar to the American culture. Many Native Americans didn’t want to change how they live

Supposedly a mission to civilize the “savages”. Basically, to convert them into becoming a white American as much as possible, rather than being the dirty savage that they depicted them to be. This included their religion/beliefs, clothing, independence, how they acted, and even simple things like hair style. Children had to go to boarding schools away from their parents and or tribe so that they could not be influenced, and this way they would grow up as a “true American”. “Where they believed the young people could be educated to abandon tribal ways” (Wingerter, Claire. "APUSH Chapter 16 IDs." Flashcards. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.). The Dawes Act did promise citizenship to the Indians who took advantage of this policy and adapted to the life of a “civilized” American, but wasn’t necessarily done nor very helpful. With this act, it “was supposed to encourage Indians to become farmers” ("Digital History." Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.), but ended up being just another way to eliminate the ownership of land for tribes and transfer that ownership to individual owners. “Federal policy was enshrined in the General Allotment (Dawes) Act of 1887 which decreed that Indian Reservation land was to be divided into plots and allocated to individual Native Americans.” (Boxer, Andrew. "Native

The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history, the Civil War started in April 1861. Some of the groups that were in the Civil War were the Unions, Confederates, and the Cherokee Indians. They all had different ideas on how to live their lives, some thought that what one side was doing was

The Gilded Age was one of the most volatile periods in American history. Spanning for the last three decades of the 19th Century, the Gilded Age is largely described as a period of corruption, greed, political scandals and shady business deals. It’s no wonder Mark Twain’s imagery of this period has been branded into American history. Though the Gilded Age saw its fair share of violence, racial tensions, harsh labor conditions, and poverty for thousands of its citizens, it was also a time of reform; helping grow and shape America’s economy into a modern society.

As tensions between northerners and southerners aggravated, the idea of keeping slaves out of the west spearheaded the creation of a new political party in the north – the republicans.

The United States has been involved in a lot of wars and battles throughout the past. The Civil War was one of the most significant moments in the history of the United States of America. The Civil War took place between the North and South of the United States of America following the Confederacy seceding from the Union after Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and fought to maintain their independence. The war started off as a war regarding the rights of the different states. As the war progressed, it ended up turning into a war about freedom, slaves, white Northerns rioting against the draft and black Americans, Union troops, and much more.

To say that the Civil War had an affect on American society and our views on freedom would be an understatement. It didn't just have an affect, it shaped the entire way American society views equality as well as redefined what it means to be an American. The Civil War was incredibly important to our history. It brought out the best and sometimes worst in people, it changed the way many people viewed equality, and it gave people a reason to fight for what they believed in.

In 1887, The Dawes Act was issued by President Grover Cleveland in hopes of dividing every Indian land and selling it into smaller forms offering their own private property which was then auctioned off by white Americans. “Indians who accepted the farms and “adopted the habits of civilized life” would become full fledged American citizens.” Many Indian men, women, and children had to leave their previous lives behind in order to have some sort of freedom. This meant cutting their hair short, wearing non traditional tribal clothing, and practicing christianity.

During the second battle, Henry ran. He didn't run just to run, he ran in fear. Henry saw soldiers running through smoke in the field so he also decided to run. Just think, if you were sitting there watching soldiers run, wouldn't you follow them? If Henry decided not to flee, he could've been there all alone and open to danger. The enemies could've easily been right there with him.

A major cause of the American Indian Movement, was the Dawes Act of 1887 or also known as the General Allotment Act, this act was named after Senator Henry Dawes. This act came about when they replaced the old Federal Indian policy with a new one. The new policy was based off of giving sections of land to certain Native Americans. It is said that certain Native Americans who follow the white-man’s ways would be welcomed into the American population. They believed that if they did this to the Native Americans, then they wouldn’t have been stuck in the situation they are in now, which is poor and ignored.

The American Civil War is still very significant. During the war about 620 000 people were killed. Thus, the war claimed the most victims of all wars fought on American soil. The costs of the war had an amount of 8 billion dollars. Slavery was abolished over a large area after the war. Black people got civil rights. However, these were often not adhered after the war. Black people are discriminated even nowadays. There often are reports about white policemen, who shoot unarmed blacks. Examples: Policeman shoots unarmed black (9th August 2014); Policeman indicted for fatal shots on black teenager (20th October 2014); Charge of murder against American policeman (19th July 2014); White Cop shoots black in the back in cold

The Dawes Act assigned allotments of land to individual Indians, vocational training for adults, education for Indian children through boarding schools, and established churches to watch over Indian policies. The aspects of the Dawes Act, in an attempt to solve the “Indian Problem,” led to a wide range of actions and responses of the Native Americans.