An Inside Look at the American Civil War

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A civil war is a war between citizens of the same country. From 1861 to 1865, America was fighting its own civil war. The American Civil War began when several Southern slave states declared their secession. When they seceded, they formed the Confederate States of America which was also known as the confederacy. The states remaining were known as the Union. Before the Civil War, slaves were treated unfairly, like property, rather than people. One court case that proves this is the 1857 court case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. This court case had a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court decided that African Americans are property and could not be American citizens. This case also decided that the 5th amendment protects property, so they cannot ban slavery in any state. For a long time the belief that the slave industry caused the American Civil War has been emphasized by movies and school books. Historians have a more multifaceted interpretation. The Civil War was caused by many motives, not just because of the need for slave labor on southern cotton farms. The American Civil War began due to various simple events which led to a more compounded, complex and far more interesting story. Many arguments, compromises, and decisions like Dred Scott v. Sanford that were made about slavery, tore the United States apart, divided the country and started the civil war. Many compromises contributed to the start of the civil war, the first of which is the Missouri Compromise. People at the time believed in manifest destiny. Manifest destiny is the belief that it is their right to own all of the land from the east coast to the west coast. Because of this, America acquired the Louisiana territory. With all of the addition of o... ... middle of paper ... ...and south only deepened the anger between them. Many arguments, compromises, and decisions like the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas Nebraska Act that were made about slavery, brought the nation closer to a civil war. Other aspects of the start of the civil war were the Underground Railroad, The Liberator, Uncle Tom's Cabin and John Brown’s Raid. In 1865 the war finally ended. Slavery was abolished, but the price was high. Abraham Lincoln, who was saw as a great, visionary president was assassinated. The war affected everyone including women, families, homes, and businesses. The Civil War was one of the most costly wars in American History and has become a valuable part of our history as well. If it wasn’t for the civil war, America wouldn’t be the same. The south would still be separate, and there would still be slavery throughout America.

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