The American Civil War

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The United States has been involved in many wars throughout history. Americans have fought and died in many wars such as the war for independence in World War I to Desert Storm. One of the bloodiest wars in our nation’s history is without a doubt is the Civil War. Prior to the beginning of the Civil War, the country was divided by the issue of slavery. When President Lincoln was elected to office, several states seceded from the Union. During this war, “Over six hundred thousand men died, and hundreds of thousands more bore the scars of war.” (Russell "Civil War." Encyclopedia of American Studies) The War started in April of 1861, The country expected this war to be brief when the Confederacy only 100 miles away from Washington D.C. in Richmond Virginia. President Lincoln asked for 75,000 troops with an enlistment of only 90 days. Little did he know the war would span four years. Most people in the north went to war to preserve the Union and not over the issue of slavery. The Union had several advantages during the war. The Union had twenty-one million people against the Souths nine million, which included three and a half million slaves. Most of the industrial center was located in the north. This meant the Union could produce more weapons, ammunition and other supplies need to win the war. The Navy was also in control of the Union, which would be used to blockade any aid from abroad. Despite the North having all of these advantages, the South would prove to be a fierce and formidable opponent through out the war. The first shots of the war were fired on April 12th, 1861, “Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter and continued for 34 hours” (www.civilwar.org) and eventually this fort would fall to Confederate force... ... middle of paper ... ...with all of the technological advances which came in the years after the war. I can think of very few things which are worth fighting for then the freedom of a people, whether it was back then or the resent wars in the Percian Gulf. People all over the world diserve to be free. Researching this topic brings a quote to my mind. “ The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (Edmund Burke) Works Cited Fort Sumter. www.civilwar.org. Web. 24 May 2014. McClintock, Russell "Civil War." Encyclopedia of American Studies. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. Credo Reference. Web. 24 May 2014. Harris, Bonnie WK_16 Civil War & Reconstruction PowerPoint Boyer/ Clark/ Halttunen/ Kett/ Salisbury/ Sitkoff/ Woloch. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, Concise Edition Vol. I, 8th Edition. Wadsworth. Ed. Ann West. 2013.

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