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What was the cause of the civil war
What was the cause of the civil war
Perspectives from the american civil war
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For generations, the civil war has been told and portrayed as a war of national freedom for the african american slaves, but even after the war was won, many people lived a restricted and unfair life. Famous historian, Eric Foner describes the Civil War as a “new birth of freedom”. In my opinion, this was only a “turning the knob” to the door of freedom. This was the beginning of “getting there”. African American slaves did not receive their full freedom and equality after this war. Some people wonder why is the Civil War named the first modern war and how it transformed socially and economically for the union and confederacy. It’s important to discuss the turning points of the war and the importance of the “rehearsals of reconstruction”. But then we ask, how did the war change from preserving the union to the war to abolish slavery?
The Civil War started due to the differences between the free states and the slave states over the national decisions of prohibiting slavery in the new territories. During this time, President Abraham Lincoln was elected and was totally against slavery and would ot allow slavery in the new territories. So the original slave states formed their own nation and titled themselves “The Confederate States of America”The war all started when the confederate came to Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay on April 12th, 1861, they claimed the fort as their own. Then opened fire and started shooting and commanded that they take down the American flag that was there. But the more active and deadly fightings doesn’t start until 1862. This was the beginning of the deadliest wars in American history.
In support of the fact that the civil war was one of the deadliest war in history, it would not have been so deadly ...
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...d and bad of the reconstruction is to show readers and historians that it took a long time for slaves to actually become free. It took almost a hundred years for African Americans to get where they are now, even with the victory of the Union.
Works Cited
"Mississippi Black Code." Last modified November 25, 1865. Accessed January 23, 2014. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/reconstruction/section4/section4_blackcodes.html.
Douglas A., Blackmon. "Black Code and Pig Laws." Accessed January 23, 2014. http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/black-codes/.
Abraham Lincoln, "Emancipation Proclamation ." (speech., 1862), http://www.emancipationproclamation.org/.
Dr. James, Mcpherson. "A Brief Overview of the American Civil War." Accessed January 23, 2014. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html.
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.
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
Some of the causes from the civil war were that the North was more experienced than the South, they also had more resources to fight in battle. The civil war started when Southern states seceded from the Union after the election with Abraham Lincoln. The battle of Gettysburg had a huge impact on the civil war because it was a three-day battle, making it the bloodiest battle from the American Civil War. Also, the south’s Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania enetered in late June 1863.
In the spring 1861, years of building tensions between the northern states and southern states resulted in the American Civil War. In 1680 an anti-slavery Republican, Abraham Lincoln was elected president causing seven southern states to secede from the union. These seven states included--Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas--. These seven states formed the Confederate States of America. The American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865 and claimed more than roughly 620,000 lives. So what caused the Civil War? The three main causes of the Civil War were differences between the north and the south in economies, disagreements in abolishing slavery, and whether the State or Federal
The Civil War was the bloodiest, most devestating war that has ever been fought on American soil. It began on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 in the morning. The main reason that the war was fought was because Southern states believed that they should have the right to use African-Americans as slaves, and the Northern States opposed that belief.
In the words of President Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address (Doc. A), the Civil War itself, gave to our Nation, “a new birth of freedom”. The Civil War had ended and the South was in rack and ruin. Bodies of Confederate soldiers lay lifeless on the grounds they fought so hard to protect. Entire plantations that once graced the South were merely smoldering ash. The end of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, stirred together issues and dilemmas that Americans, in the North and South, had to process, in hopes of finding the true meaning of freedom.
the same feelings yet a different color for their own good . This was quite
After the ending of the Civil War in 1865, slavery was, at last, formally abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment. Due to the freedom of these African Americans and the South’s ever-growing hatred towards this group, African Americans were left to suffer harsh discrimination and horrible conditions. Africans Americans were left without homes, education, jobs, or money. Reconstruction was the Radical Republicans’ attempt to try and bring the Confederate states back to normal and unite both the South and the North into a whole country once again. Reconstruction was also set to protect and help the newly freed African Americans assimilate to the new society and the foreign economy they were placed in. Conditions of the African Americans in the South before, during, and after the reconstruction period were no doubt harsh. African Americans, before the Reconstruction Era, struggled to assimilate with the hateful society they were thrown in, if not still slaves. Although their condition improved slightly, African Americans during the reconstruction period experienced extreme terrorism, discrimination, pressure, and hatred from the south, along with the struggle of keeping alive. After the military was taken out of the South, African Americans’ condition after the Reconstruction Era relapsed back as if Reconstruction never happened.
On one hand the slaves were free, and on the other hand they were not given equal rights, and they were discriminated for the color of their skin tone. In other words, Reconstruction was a mixed success, which combined both positive and negative impacts. By the end of the era, the North and South were once again reunited, and all southern state legislatures had abolished slavery in their constitutions. However, it some sense, Reconstruction was a failure because blacks were not provided equal rights and opportunities. Racism and segregation did not end at all. On the other hand, there was a huge change to the country as the US was completely in a chaos stage during the civil war. Despite some obstructions, it can be concluded that the Reconstruction was somewhat beneficial for African American. As time passes, many schools and colleges were founded for blacks, and many other doors were opened to uplift their life. Overall, all these outcomes can be considered as a huge
The Civil War officially began on April 12th, 1861, when Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard shot at the Union Troops currently occupying Fort Sumter. While this specific event may have marked the beginning of actual warfare, it was not the only event to spark the beginning of the Civil War in general. One of the most well-known causes of the Civil War is the conflict over slavery. The Southern states were very dependent on agriculture and the slave labor that was required to maintain healthy crops. On the other hand, the Northern states were more focused on factories and industrial work, and did not want slavery to expand as the country grew. As if this disagreement didn't cause enough tension, Southern states were seceding from the Union because they felt that the government (which at the time was run mostly by people from the North) was gaining too much power, and soon would have complete control over the Southern states. Starting with South Carolina, a total of eleven states seceded from the Union during this time period. The third cause of the Civil War was the taxes that were placed on many parts of the South. Taxes such as those placed on European goods imported to the South proved to be quite a burden for the people that lived down there, and this only further encouraged them to separate themselves from the Unio...
The Civil War was meant to end slavery in the United States, but the victory could not keep prejudiced feelings and beliefs away. The newly freed African Americans who lived in the South ...
Many causes led to the Civil War. This all happened around the mid 1800s. It was a conflict between the Northern and Southern states. Both sides had their own view on slavery, and their separate views caused contentions between the two. Both had different views on whether to expand or stop slavery growth to the West, or have slavery at all.
"Battles of the Civil War". Civil War. 2013. Civil War Trust. Web. 9 Dec 2013.
The Civil War was period of change in American history. Following the warfare, congress established a federal agency named the Freedmen’s Bureau to facilitate the freed people’s transition from slavery to freedom. Southern blacks encountered the worst chaos, displacement, illnesses, poverty and epidemics, which were limiting to the bureaus successes during reconstruction (Finley 2013, 82). During the war, lack of basic needs and medicine hindered the efforts of improving economic social and political freedom. As a result, the Freedmen’s Bureau was designed to help black southerners transition from slavery to freedom. The challenges faced during this transition were enormous, as the civil war had ruined the region completely. The farms faced destruction during the war and huge amounts of capital depleted in the war. When the civil war ended, the social order of the region was chaotic and slave owners as well as their former slaves were forced to interact socially in a different way than before (Finley 2012, 82). The Freedmen’s Bureau was a unique effort by the federal government to improve the social wellbeing of the American nation. Major General Oliver Howard headed the Free...
The American Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in American history leaving over 500 thousand dead and over 300 thousand wounded (Roark 543-543). One might ask, what caused such internal tension within the most powerful nation in the world? During the nineteenth century, America was an infant nation, but toppling the entire world with its social, political, and economic innovations. In addition, immigrants were migrating from their native land to live the American dream (Roark 405-407). Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand African slaves were being traded in the domestic slave trade throughout the American south. Separated from their family, living in inhumane conditions, and working countless hours for days straight, the issue of slavery was the core of the Civil War (Roark 493-494). The North’s growing dissent for slavery and the South’s dependence on slavery is the reason why the Civil War was an inevitable conflict. Throughout this essay we will discuss the issue of slavery, states’ rights, American expansion into western territories, economic differences and its effect on the inevitable Civil War.