In 1861, the United States faced the Civil War which was one of the most costly in history. Hundreds of thousands American lost their lives. Decades before the war, the North and South developed in different directions, and several events took place that led up to bloody war of the nation. It originated from deep divides in economy, society, and politics. The central issue was slavery like the French politician Alexis de Tocqueville had observed, “…almost all the differences which may be noticed between the character of the Americans in the Southern and Northern states have originated in slavery” (Rourk et al, 2009, p. 437). Politicians tried hard to reconcile the differences between the North and the South with several compromises but they were unsuccessful to prevent further conflict that would lead up to the war. Thus, the Civil War was inevitable. Shortly after the American Revolution, the North and South developed different economies. The North went through a transition from hand-made to machine-made production of goods. This included the evolution of factories where work was performed on a large scale in a single centralized location (Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution, n.d.). Not only manufacturing became mechanized but also agriculture. With invention of mechanical reapers and the steel plow, agriculture became less physical demanding and the farmers’ productivity increased drastically (Rourk et al, 2009, p. 397). The Industrial Revolution spurred on the economic growth and improved the living standards in the North. Many immigrants, mainly from Germany and Ireland, were attracted to the Northern states, looking for a chance to improve their lives. Moreover, the industrialized economy was based on a free-... ... middle of paper ... ...ynet.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civil-war Cotton and African-American Life. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22b.asp Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22a.asp Roark, J.L., Johnson, M. P., Cohen, P. C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S. M. (2009). The American Promise: A History of the United Stated to 1877. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s: print. The Kansas-Nebraska Act. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/31a.asp Trigger Events of the Civil War. (n.d.). Civil War Trust. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/triggerevents.html
The existence of slavery was the central element of the conflict of the north and south. Other problems existed that led to this succession but none were as big as the slavery issue. The only way to avoid the war was to abolish slavery, but this was not able to be done because slavery is what kept the south running. When the south seceded it was said by Abraham Lincoln that “ a house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” Because slavery formed two opposing societies and slavery could never be abolished, the civil war was inevitable. These were all the reasons why the south seceded from the union, this succession was eminent and there was no plausible way to avoid it.
The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing animosity between the two regions helped to induce the Civil War.
The Civil War determined what kind of nation the United States would become. It determined whether it would be a nation with equal rights for everyone or the biggest country that still abused of slaves. The war started because of the brutal conditions slaves were living in. Many had no education what so ever and were treated worse than animals. Back then part of this country found this acceptable and demanded to keep their slaves while the others demanded freedom. Today there are many movies about the civil war. For example the movie Glory which was made in December 15, 1989 it was directed by Edward Zwick. The movie depicts the lives of African American soldiers who had to endure tougher training than the American man, and American officials who had to make these men into real action fighting soldiers. The defining characters in this movie were. Major Cabot Forbes who was very tender towards the African American soldiers and he even stood up for them. Private Trip gave up his freedom in order to fight is true fighter. Corporal Thomas Searles who struggled a lot in the training camp but in the end pulled through. Glory is mainly about men with struggles that have to overcome their torments in order to end the Civil War. It took time and strength but the colored regiment became just as good as any white one. Corporal Thomas Searles, Major Cabot Forbes, and Private Trip all fought for what they believed in even at the time of their last breathes something they would have never done at the beginning of the movie.
The majority of speculations regarding the causes of the American Civil War are in some relation to slavery. While slavery was a factor in the disagreements that led to the Civil War, it was not the solitary or primary cause. There were three other, larger causes that contributed more directly to the beginning of the secession of the southern states and, eventually, the start of the war. Those three causes included economic and social divergence amongst the North and South, state versus national rights, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case. Each of these causes involved slavery in some way, but were not exclusively based upon slavery.
Following the American Civil War, the whole nation was forever changed and was the result of many good and bad things. Although it was a very costly war and was So, the Civil War did define us and made us the good and the bad things we are and led to an extremely significant change because slavery was abolished once and for all and African American rights followed many years later, the Federal Government imposed more power over the states, our country was divided for a while, and it left the nation in debt due to the fact that we fought each other.
Causing four years of bloodshed on American ground, the Civil War was considered to be one of the most divisive wars in American history. Lasting from 1861 to 1865, the US Civil War was fought between the American people, mainly the northern states versus the southern states. There is a common misconception that slavery is the key issue that led to the American Civil War. However, there were several other reasons that pushed American into the “Great American Tragedy”. Because the North and the South were very different economically, socially, and politically, and with territorial expansion all of this eventually resulted in the Civil War, or the War Between the States.
The American Civil War fought from 1861 to 1865 is described as “the bloodiest conflict in the history of North America” (Feature Causes Of The Civil War). The Civil war or war between the states was fought for many economic, political and moral reasons tracing back to the very start of America. The civil war fought between the Northern and Southern states is truly a significant event in the history of the United States because it involved American citizens fighting against each other. The American civil war was initiated through the controversy over slave labor, unfair actions toward Southern states and the vast division between the Northern and Southern states.
There are many reasons why the Civil War started. Some experts claim that it was built up tension between the North and South states. Others claim that it was a social clash between slave-owners and abolitionists. What is certain, however, is that slavery was the main issue and the issue that ignited the fuse that led to blood and devastation. In whatever way from whatever perspective, slavery was the primary issue at hand and would be decided by the outcome of the war (Foner, “The Civil War”).
The Civil War lasted 5 years, took 600,000 lives and yet there exists doubt in what is the main reason behind it. I myself feel that the major issue that triggered the war was slavery, which for the South threatened economy. I am going to discuss how issues of slavery existed before the war, how it was in the minds of soldiers during the war, and then still existed after the war.
In the mind 19th century the United States of America encountered one of the deadliest wars to have ever been fought, known as the American Civil War. The Civil War was ignited after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States in 1860. Although, slavery was credited to be the main reason behind the civil war, however cultural and political difference also contributed to the creation of the war. Tension had arose between northern and southern states on the topics; western expansion, state’s rights, and most importantly slavery.
After thoroughly assessing past readings and additional research on the Civil War between the North and South, it was quite apparent that the war was inevitable. Opposed views on this would have probably argued that slavery was the only reason for the Civil War. Therefore suggesting it could have been avoided if a resolution was reached on the issue of slavery. Although there is accuracy in stating slavery led to the war, it wasn’t the only factor. Along with slavery, political issues with territorial expansion, there were also economic and social differences between North and South. These differences, being more than just one or two, gradually led to a war that was bound to happened one way or another.
The Civil War has been viewed as the unavoidable eruption of a conflict that had been simmering for decades between the industrial North and the agricultural South. Roark et al. (p. 507) speak of the two regions’ respective “labor systems,” which in the eyes of both contemporaries were the most salient evidence of two irreconcilable worldviews. Yet the economies of the two regions were complementary to some extent, in terms of the exchange of goods and capital; the Civil War did not arise because of economic competition between the North and South over markets, for instance. The collision course that led to the Civil War did not have its basis in pure economics as much as in the perceptions of Northerners and Southerners of the economies of the respective regions in political and social terms. The first lens for this was what I call the nation’s ‘charter’—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the documents spelling out the nation’s core ideology. Despite their inconsistencies, they provided a standard against which the treatment and experience of any or all groups of people residing within the United States could be evaluated (Native Americans, however, did not count). Secondly, these documents had installed a form of government that to a significant degree promised representation of each individual citizen. It was understood that this only possible through aggregation, and so population would be a major source of political power in the United States. This is where economics intersected with politics: the economic system of the North encouraged (albeit for the purposes of exploitation) immigration, whereas that of the South did not. Another layer of the influence of economics in politics was that the prosperity of ...
The American Civil war was a series of transactions, or exchanges, between the North and the South. These transactions involved over 1 million Americans who put their lives at risk for the liberation of the country’s slaves. These transactions were influenced by three paramount concepts: perspectives, values, and relative evaluations of costs and benefits. In the midst of this tumultuous period of time in American history, these concepts shaped not just the people themselves but the social, political, and economic transactions of the civil war. The perspectives of the Union and the Confederacy always conflicted with one another due to the fact that slavery was an anomaly in the North and prominent in the South. The Northern perspective was that slavery was unnecessary and a threat to the American Dream. On the other hand, the Southern perspective was that slavery was an absolute necessity that would strengthen the American economy. These perspectives were influenced by the values of the North and the South. The Northerners valued a unified, slave-free America based on a free-soil, industrial economy, whereas the Southerners valued the preservation of the antebellum period through secession. Although both sides had conflicting perspectives and values, they did not engage in a Civil until they evaluated the relative costs and benefits of violence. It is important to understand the differences in perspectives, values, and relative analysis of costs and benefits that shaped the social, political, and economic transactions during the Civil War because this era created a nation that values freedom.
but other nations were as well effected by it. The civil war was a conflict
The American Civil War was a war fought within the United States of America between the North, later known as the Union, and the South later known as the Confederacy, starting from 1861 and ending in 1865. This war is seen as one of the most devastating events in American history, costing more than 600,000 lives. From the Southern point of view, this war was a ‘War of Rebellion’, or a ‘War for Southern Independence’. From the Northern point of view this war was seen as a revolution. This war started as a result of many years of disagreements and conflict building up amid the two regions. Between the North and the South there lay deep economic, social and political differences, but it is important to understand that slavery was the root of cause