In April 1861, the United States declared a state of insurrection against the Confederacy of rebellious southern states. In Europe, the ordeal was referred to as "The American Question." The question could not be evaded; a choice had to be made between neutrality and intervention. European attitudes towards the American Civil War would have a significant effect on the war's ultimate outcome (Randall and Donald 355).
Throughout the early months of the conflict, the reaction of Europe was of great interest to both sides; Queen Victoria's Great Britain, in particular. Would Queen Victoria recognize Confederate independence? Such recognition would legitimize the Confederacy and provide it with allies who could furnish weapons and supplies the Southern cause desperately needed (Davis 197).
At the outbreak of the war, most foreigners were poorly informed about America, according to Leslie Stephen in 1865:
The name of America five years ago, called up to the ordinary English mind nothing but a vague cluster of associations, compounded of Mrs. Trollope, Martin Chuzzlewit, and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
The choice between neutrality and intervention was not an easy one; either choice would lead to more choices.
In The article “Slavery, the Constitutional, and the Origins of the Civil War”, Paul Finkelman discusses some of the events that he believes lead the United States to have a Civil War. He discusses how both the North and the South territories of the Untied States did not see eye to eye when it came to ab...
From the day, the first European set foot on American soil up until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which occurred in 1865. Slavery was a controversial issue. The issue of slavery divided up the United States of America to ultimately put the two against each other. The Northern States who identifies themselves as the Union disapproved of the atrocious actions of the South who condone the crude treatment of slaves and the disturbing practices of slavery. Although slavery was not the sole cause of the Civil war, it played an important part in the disunion of the United States. The battle between states rights and federal rights rubbed more salt in the already enormous wound. Southern States who later considers themselves the confederates disapproved of the idea that the available actions of the states to act upon certain situations were dwindling, reducing the power and rights of the states. The set up of all these complications and disagreements led to the secession of the southern states which initiated the start of the brutal American Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865.
...deration, and finally, the U.S. Constitution. However, a more philosophical analysis can be drawn about the Civil War. In essence, the War challenged the idea of whether self-government and democracy prevail over pandemonium. And in the words of James Buchanan “Our example for more than eighty years would not only be lost, but it would be quoted a conclusive proof that man is unfit for self-government.” The sheer legacy of the United States of America was imperiled and the Union was on a macrocosmic stage, with spectators seeing if the avant-garde idea of a democratic would draw to a close or perpetuate through onerous times. The Civil War was a test, and the tenuous America indeed passed it, knowing that more hurdles have been bound to come. But, there has been hope that success has always been possible and the American Dream has maintained for generations to come.
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the United States of America, the repercussions of which led to civil war. However it was not only Lincoln’s election that led to civil war but also the slavery debate between the northern and southern states and the state of the economy in the United States. Together with the election of Lincoln these caused a split, both politically and ideologically, between the North and South states which manifested into what is now refereed to as the American Civil War.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, bloody battles broke out all over the United States, pitting brother against brother and father against son. The causes of this war were the issues of slavery and the state’s rights; but most importantly, the catalyst for the Civil War was the tension in the air caused by the dissention of the South from the North. Dissention is a radically different concept than the idea of disagreement. Had the Northern and Southern states merely disagreed about slavery and states’ rights issues, the Civil War would only be a wisp of what could have been. Disagreement leads to arguments while dissent leads to quarrels, and the distinction Boorstin makes between the two is entirely accurate.
When there is a dilemma that affects a group of people, actions by the right people can be
The American Revolution and the Civil War have numerous similarities and differences even though they occurred almost 100 years apart. The American Revolution was a political upheaval during 1760’s and 1770’s, while the Civil War was a fight between a divided nation during the 1860’s regarding the subject of slavery. As Southerners held slaves captive and forced them to work against their will, the Colonists were held captive and forced to pay ridiculous taxes put in place by Britain. Similarities and differences from both the American Revolution and the Civil War can be seen through the cause of both wars, specific battles from each war, and the results of each war.
By doing this, Lincoln was capable of manipulating countries, such as England and France who had not been fond of slavery for decades, in making them loath the Confederacy and ensure other nations would not recognize the Confederacy as a nation. Lincoln intelligently uses the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, parallelism, and repetition in the address.... ... middle of paper ... ...
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.
During the Revolutionary War, every nation was determined to keep its way of life and its principles. This dictated the nations’ responses to Britain, and later, it was the catalyst for the Civil War. Yankeedom was the first nation to rebel against Britain, desperate to preserve its principles of education, common good, and self-government. Tidewater joined the rebellion to protect the rights and privileges of the gentry and maintain control over their own government. The Midlands was the most neutral of the nations—its definitive pacifism prevented the nation from wanting to join in the rebellion, but this pacifism led to occupation by both British and American forces at different times. Greater Appalachia had no overall political unity during the war.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor when the Confederate army attacked Union soldiers and ended on May 9, 1865 with a Union Victory. There are many events, laws, and people that provoked the Civil War. The two most important causes are slavery and the expansion of the United States, causing an unbalance of free and slave states. This essay examines major events that initiated the war, starting from the Compromise of 1820 to the election of 1860, and proves how the Civil War was inevitable. After Thomas Jefferson, who served as president from 1801 to 1809, made the Louisiana Purchase on April 30, 1803, the U.S. gained 828 thousand square miles of territory from France.
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 proper response to an autonomy-exercising choice is one of respect, and this respect seems to counsel non-interference with the agent's choice even if we believe the consequences of interfering would be superior for the agent. Preference-evincing choices often give us reason for non-interference as well, but only because we think the consequences of doing so will be better in some respect for the agent. (Zwolinski,
After our study of many accounts of the English Civil War and Charles I’s trial and execution, it is clear that discovering historical truth and writing a satisfying history are two very separate, difficult tasks, and that finding among many accounts a single “best” story is complex, if not impossible. In order to compare the job each historian did in explaining what’s important about this conflict, the following criteria can be helpful for identifying a satisfying history.
'The choice between them depends not on which one is right, but what we wish to know'