American History

Every war fought in the world has unresolved issues left behind. The civil war of 1860s in America was fought over conflicting ideas of freedom. It still has a lingering effect on todays American society. The deaths of over 630,000 Americans helped shape the world we live in today (Encyclopedia Britannica). It impacted American politics, culture, economics and social values. The civil war presented the federal government with more power in Washington D.C. The war powers of American president increased to a great extent. Slavery was abolished. Racial prejudice and discrimination were on the wane. Racial equality was accepted by most of the American people. The civil war led to industrial development and growth. The United States became a global economic superpower within a hundred years. The historians still disagree with the basic causes of civil war and consider it could be due to complex political, economic, and other social elements.
America wanted a central government to deal with large problems in national level and a local state government to address smaller problems and the needs of the people (Catton  McPherson, 2004). Federalism served in the above interests. Federalism has disadvantages as well. For example, the dispersal of power can influence one to protect their own interests and thus barricade national mandates. It also creates inequalities in the country. Altogether, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
One of the major objectives of civil war was to abolish the institution of slavery. Slavery divided everything including the nation itself. Though civil war ended with a reconstruction process, the African-Americans were again reduced to positions of political and economic impoverishment. The racial legacy of the civil war continues even today as issues of racism persist in American culture (Encyclopedia Britannica).
The Illinois Governor Otto Kerner in his commission on civil disorder states that America is a heavily populated poor people of color, and a largely white and middle class. Ultimately, the union saved, the slavery ended but the issues of equality remained unresolved. 
With the loss of Abraham Lincoln, the country struggled to reunite. Opportunities for a more just society were lost. The middle-class Americans were left economically insecure. Though African Americans were recruited in the Army, they received unequal treatment for a long period.
The unsettled issue of racial equality led to the civil-rights movement in 1954. The unrest of the civil-rights-movement strained the nation again through the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Many brave men and women fought against discrimination at the risk of their very lives (Friedman, 2008, p.2). If the American political system revolves around an increasing cultural divide between the color lines, there will be a terrible national cost.