A Broken Union

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Throughout history, mankind has continued to find reasons to fight with each other. Some of these conflicts seem justified, while some do not. Some are resolved quickly and some last for decades. Some result in great accomplishments, while many, unfortunately, result in nothing but pain, suffering and death. While it is clear that no two wars are the same, almost every war requires at least one thing: men and women who are willing to risk their lives and fight them. Volunteering to fight in a war is a sacrifice that most of us will never even be able to comprehend making. Not only does fighting involve the obvious physical danger, but the mental and psychological toll that a war has on a soldier can be absolutely devastating as well. We hear countless horror stories about life fighting in a war, and also life afterwards. However, despite the dangers, millions have made this sacrifice bravely and willingly, and unfortunately; millions more may do so in the future. The history of the United States of America is filled with several wars, both big and small, and the bloodiest war of them all was the American Civil War. The Civil War, which was fought from 1861 to 1865, resulted in more American casualties than any other war to this date. Despite this however, people continued to volunteer throughout the war, and many reenlisted even after their first term had ended. Millions of American civilians fought and died for their country and, while some of these soldiers were drafted, most made the choice to fight on their own. Because of its great implications, the American Civil War has been studied thoroughly by historians, and there are several ideas on why the Union and the Confederacy went to war but, as is the case ...

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...it. This infuriated many Confederates who felt the Union had no right to interfere. It is quite possibly the single greatest reason men throughout the Confederacy took up arms and risked their lives in the war. One man wrote that he was joining the Confederate army because they were,

“battling for their rights, . . . The vandals of the North . . . are determined to destroy slavery. . . . We must all fight, and I choose to fight for southern rights and southern liberty.” (McPherson 20)

Confederates clearly felt that what the Union was doing was unjust and that they were required to stop the evil invading their homeland. While I, like most people today, do not agree with slavery, I’m sure that if another country came to my own country with the intent of changing my way of life, I would be forced to strongly consider fighting to stop that from happening.

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