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"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."
--Bertrand Russell
In the middle of the 19th century the United States was engaged in one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the nation known as the American Civil War. The U.S. was at war with a first time enemy known as the Confederate States of America. The southern states had succeeded from the Union and with the battle of Fort Sumter, the war had begun. Both the Union and the Confederates had one goal in mind, respectively. For the North it was to defeat the rebellious states and bring them back into the Union and for the South it was to achieve recognition as an independent country from abroad. The war lasted four years and resulted in over one million casualties including over 600,000 deaths for both sides combined. This was all due to the fact that the North and the South would continue to make mistakes through the four years that would lead to the prolonging of the war. Actions taken by both the Union and the Confederacy resulted in the hurting of their diplomatic goals abroad, thus hurting the ultimate achievement of their goals.
One of the first steps that the Confederacy took to hinder its goal of independence would actually happen several years before the start of the war. With the possibility of a conflict with the northern states looming largely in the minds of the citizens in the southern states, precautions began to be put into place. With this, the idea of what would later become known as the King Cotton policy was beginning to be accepted. In a speech given by a former Senator James H. Hammond of South Carolina in 1858, Hammond described the importance of the southern crop and that a lack of cotton being exported would do much more damage...
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...ssed November 22, 2013. http://www.history.com/topics/cotton
Dattel, Gene. "THE SOUTHS Mighty Gamble on King Cotton." American Heritage 60, no. 2 (Summer2010 2010): 12-16. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 22, 2014).
Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), 344.
Hammond, James. Selections from the Letters and Speeches of the Hon. James H. Hammond of South Carolina (New York: John F. Trow & Company Printers, 1866), 311-312.
Hoptak, John D. The Battle of South Mountain, (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011), 16-19.
Prime Minister Palmerston, letter to Queen Victoria, December 5, 1861.
"The Emancipation Proclamation." Emancipation Proclamation (Primary Source Document) (January 7, 2009): 1. Points of View Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed December 7, 2014).
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
The Civil War, beginning in 1861 and ending in 1865, was a notorious event in American history for many influential reasons. Among them was the war 's conclusive role in determining a united or divided American nation, its efforts to successfully abolish the slavery institution and bring victory to the northern states. This Civil War was first inspired by the unsettling differences that divided the northern and southern states over the power that resided in the hands of the national government to constrain slavery from taking place within the territories. There was only one victor in the Civil War. Due to the lack of resources, plethora of weaknesses, and disorganized leadership the Southern States possessed in comparison to the Northern States,
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
Palfrey, Francis Winthrop, The Army in the Civil War: The Antietam and Fredericksburg. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1885.
Woodworth, Steven E., and Kenneth J. Winkle. Atlas of the Civil War. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Slavery had a big impact on the market, but most of it was centered on the main slave crop, cotton. Primarily, the south regulated the cotton distribution because it was the main source of income in the south and conditions were nearly perfect for growing it. Cheap slave labor made it that much more profitable and it grew quickly as well. Since the development in textile industry in the north and in Britain, cotton became high in demand all over the world. The south at one point, was responsible for producing “eighty percent of the world’s cotton”. Even though the South had a “labor force of eighty-four percent working, it only produced nine percent of the nations manufactured goods”, (Davidson 246). This statistic shows that the South had an complete advantage in manpower since slavery wasn’t prohibited. In the rural South, it was easy for plantation owners to hire slaves to gather cotton be...
The Longest Night: A History of the Civil War, Eicher, David J., New York: Simon And Schuster, 2001 Print
nation of mechanics…You are bound to fail.” Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman to a Southern friend.
To what extent was the election of Abraham Lincoln the primary cause of the secession of South Carolina? I will research the events leading up to the election of 1860, and South Carolina’s views leading up to the election. In my investigation, I will research the similarities and differences in the views and motives of Abraham Lincoln about South Carolina during the time of the election in November 1860 and the secession in December 1860. My investigation will also include other factors of why South Carolina seceded from the union. For my research, I will use reliable websites on the subject and primary documents including quotes, journals, and resolutions from the South Carolina General Assembly written in 1850-1860.
The federal tariff policy definitely played a what kind of role in the development and acceptance of nullification in South Carolina. In fact, in “South Carolina’s Exposition and Protest,” John C. Calhoun specifically pointed to the unjust and oppressive nature of the tariffs to justify his nullification theories. Without doubt, South Carolina’s economy clearly suffered during 1816 to 1832 as the price of cotton fell and the prices of imports rose. Whether justified or not, many South Carolinians blamed the federal tariffs in part because of the exaggerated and emotional reports of the press, Hayne, and McDuffie. Because their economic interests were impaired, South Carolinians were looking for something to blame and a way to respond. The federal tariff policy was an easy target, and nullification provided a dramatic way to take action.
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
...th a nearly challenging obstacle. They produced too little cotton to be able to cover the costs of shipping it to a processing plant, most likely in the North or England, their primary consumers. Within ten years, cotton became the main crop in the south. In 1790, before the invention of the cotton gin, about 3000 bales of cotton were produced in the United States. Ten years later 100000 thousands bales were produced.
...f wearing down the north's patience. The south's idea of northerns as "city slickers" who did not know how to ride or shoot was wrong. Many of the men who formed the Union forces came from rural backgrounds and were just as familiar with riding and shooting as their southern enemies. Finally, the south's confidence in its ability to fund through sales of export crops such as cotton did not take into consideration the northern blockade. France and Britain were not willing to become involved in a military conflict for the sake of something they had already stockpiled. The help the south had received from France and Britain turned out to be a lot less than they expected. In conclusion, while all the south's reasons for confidence were based on reality, they were too hopeful. The south's commitment to a cause was probably what caused their blindness to reality.
Foner, Eric and John A. Garraty. The Reader’s Companion to American History. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991).
Phillips, Charles. "December 29, 1890." American History 40.5 (2005): 16. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.