As we take a look back on how American has become the nation we both love and hate, we cannot help but think of the Civil War. This war divided a nation and the outcome set the stage for how our nation still operates to this day. The issues between the North and the South, or as they become known back in 1861, The Union and The Confederate States of America, were not something that could have been negotiated. The war lasted four years and ended with victory for the North. I would have to say that I agree with Historians that believe the Civil War was inevitable. The type of conflict between the North and South was ultimately about money and issues like that most likely can never be solved peacefully and without bloodshed. This remains true even to this day considering how our current government handles similar issues. Many may argue that most conflicts can be resolved without conflict but my stance on this particular issue is that when it comes to money and people’s livelihood, no amount of talking can satisfy either side. The Civil War was inevitable because the South did not want to give up their slaves. The work the slaves did provided them with much wealth and in their eyes, opportunity for even more. The South’s profits came from primarily agriculture and the North had evolved and earned their means through industrial endeavors. Since the South was adamant on keeping slavery active, they were more than displeased when Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Lincoln was very open about being against slavery. Although, it wasn’t necessarily wanting to end slavery. He just wanted to stop the expansion of the practice. However, the South saw this as a threat and assumed abolishment of slavery would be the inevitable...
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...sions as they knew he was against slavery but the nail in the coffin was the attack on Fort Sumter. As soon as there was the attempt at bloodshed, there was no turning back. Matters were no longer up for discussion and the only recourse was war.
Works Cited
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 states (4th ed.), The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 434-509). Boston, MA: Bedford / St. Martin’s.
"States' Rights."Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .
"Fort Sumter."Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .
Yes, slavery was the cause of the Civil War, half of the country thought it was wrong, and the other half just could not let it go or continue. The war was fought overall in different places, and the monetary and property loss cannot be calculated. Arguments about the causes and consequences of the Civil War, as well as the reasons for Northern victory, will continue as long as there are historians to wield the pen ? which is, perhaps even for this bloody conflict, mightier than the sword (Oates 388). The Civil War was a great waste in terms of human life and possible accomplishment and should be considered shameful. Before its first centennial, tragedy struck a new country and altered it for an eternity. It will never be forgotten, but adversity builds strength and the United States of America is now a much stronger nation (Oates 388).
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.
Throughout the years, many people have been taught that the reason the Civil War happened, was to abolish slavery all through the United States. Although that is true, there were more reasons why the Civil War occurred.Referencing will be done on different articles and writers to support the findings of the authors. The article “Slavery, the Constitutional, and the Origins of the Civil War” by Paul Finkelman, discusses about the North (union) and the South (confederacy) and the disagreement of the territories following the constitutional laws regarding slavery, the article explores both sides of the territories and their beliefs of how the situation of slavery should have been dealt with. The article “The Economic Origins of the Civil War” by Marc Egnal, discusses the North’s (union) and the South’s (confederacy) economic situation that could have pushed the two territories to engage in war with one another. Finally, the last article “Politics, Ideology, and the Origins of the American Civil War” by Eric Foner, focuses on the Norths (union) and Souths (confederacy) views on politics and ideas of how each territory is ran and how they have affected the North and the South. These historians supplied specific and different explanations that explained what exactly caused the United States to enter into a Civil War. With the information provided by the authors, the evidence will lead us to the answer of what caused the Civil War.
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.
The American Civil War is known to be one of the bloodiest wars in history. Significant advances in weapon technology contributed to the unprecedented carnage. All types of weapons were being invented including side arms, shoulder arms, and artillery. Surveying the origins and design of only a portion demonstrates fire power had outstripped battlefield tactics by the mid-nineteenth century.
In conclusions, the Civil War was an inevitable conflict because of slavery. All aspects mention requires slavery for there to be a conflict. In addition, all states that seceded from the Union indicated that slavery was their main issue. Unless the North continued to allow slavery in the South and the expanding western territories, the conflict was sure to occur. Moreover, once the idea of money became an issue for slave owners, there was no doubt a war would ensue. Each compromise initiated by the federal government fell short of pleasing either party and violence occurred in Kansas. Slavery is the core of the inevitable Civil War and it took war to abolish it.
The causes of most wars are often very complex, but in the America civil war it came down to two major issues, slavery and the protection of the Union. In the North, they were growing richer all the time as industry developed fast. The workers were mostly immigrants with low wages. The South didn’t have these resources, and the slaves were essential for them. The Northern politicians insisted that the Slavery should be abolished and that this was an evil system that should be stamped out. Only the rich wool farmers and other wealthy southerners had their own slaves, but most of them thought each state should decide its own politics rather than the federal government in Washington. When the war started most southerners fought for their States’ right and not just the slavery question.
The Civil War was inevitable in many reasons. The economic and industrial evolution was mainly in the North side of the United States while the South was just a cotton kingdom, Slave Empire. Also both were completely opposites of one another when it was about freeing the slaves or hiring more. With many debates there has to be sides that would be separated especially if the president has so much hate from the people. With that being said, since many want opposing ideas, the Civil War becomes much evitable.
In order to completely understand the political and social reasons behind this bloody period in American history, one has to look back over thirty-years prior to the first shot at Fort Sumter. ?A small cadre of activists advocating the immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery emerged in the 1830s?They encountered massive opposition?by the Southern slaveholding interest?[and] encountered Northerners? fears that agitation to end slavery would almost certainly destabilize the fragile Union and could result in the liberation of millions of black slaves, who would then migrate northward.? From this quote one can already see two key elements: the idea of slavery as an institutional wrong, and the racism on the part of Northerners. This demonstrates why this war was so hard to explain. If Northerner?s wanted slavery abolished, but were still fearful of coinciding with blacks as freedmen, then why did Northerners choose to fight the rebellious South?
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.
It is obvious that the South attempted to make very compelling arguments in order to defend their proslavery arguments, some being the Religious Defense, the Political Defense and the Economic Argument. However, each of these arguments are flawed and can be proven doubtful and unconvincing by the North’s antislavery arguments. Clearly, the two regions had very different beliefs on whether or not slavery should abolished, and it is evident that neither side of the debate would budge on their position. Though it is just one problem of several different problems, the issue of slavery was no doubt one of the causes of the Civil War, as the two sides were both very firm on their beliefs, and neither one was willing to budge.
The Civil War was the worst war in American history. More Americans died in this war than World War 1 and 2. The events that lead up to the Civil War show that it was a conflict that was going to arise no matter what happened.
Contrary to what today’s society believes about Lincoln, he was not a popular man with the South at this period in time. The South wanted to expand towards the West but Lincoln created a geographical containment rule keeping slavery in the states it currently resided in. Despite his trying to rationalize with the South, Lincoln actually believed something different ”Lincoln claimed that he, like the Founding Fathers, saw slavery in the Old South as regrettable reality whose expansion could and should be arrested, thereby putting it on the long and gradual road ”ultimate extinction” (216). He believed it to be “evil” thus “implying that free southerners were evil for defending it”(275). Lincoln wanted to wipe out slavery for good and the South could sense his secret motives. By trying to trick them, the South rebelled as soon as Lincoln became president and launched what is today known as the Civil war.
The American Civil War In 1860, arguably the world's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North (Union) and South (Confederate). The war lasted five years and by 1865 the Confederate forces were truly beaten. Out of this horrendous war though, where some 600,000 men died grew a greater sense of nationalism than is today, unrivalled around the world.
but other nations were as well effected by it. The civil war was a conflict