American History
The American civil war has been claimed to have been a fight that was meant to aid the preservation of the union of the American states. As conceptualized by the constitution, there arose two opposing view points regarding the role of the federal government. On the basis of the federalists ideas, they thought the central government and the executive were bound to maintain their power so as to retain a great deal of their intention to keep the union. On the converse, the anti federalists thought that the states were supposed to retain their sovereignty inside the new establishment. They basically thought that each state would have the right to determine their laws to govern events and activities within their areas of jurisdiction. The mandate of the government was to apply only when it would be seen to be absolutely necessary (Mackey and Robert, 2004).
As time went by, issues were destined to rise. The states mandate was set to collide with the federations. To cite examples, there were arguments that arose concerning the taxation aspect, the tariffs, the military, the course of slavery and the internal improvement demands (Mackey and Robert, 2004).
Northern Versus Southern Interests
From the time of creation of the union, there were major differences between the north and the south. The northern states often squared off with the southern states. A major issue was in relation to the economics of the two sections. Apparently, the two areas economic interests were against each others. The south was a huge composition of people that practiced small scale and large scale plantation farming. These people basically grew a lot of cotton. Cotton is a labor intensive crop. On the other hand, the north was more into manufacturing as opposed to raw production of goods (Current and Richard, 1994). In a sense, their kind of production did not call for intensive labor requirements. No wonder the north had long abolished slavery. However, the labor intensive nature of production in the south could not facilitate the abolition of slavery. The slaves were expected to be in the labor production business to aid the farming activities of the south. At this time, the confederation was incorporating into it new members. As a result, new entrants and the confederation had to strike compromises. These compromises were on the basis of entering the union as slave-free states or as slave states. But this was a recipe for chaos as one section had the potential of gaining more power than the other. To cite an example, if more slave free states existed, then the tendency could be tilted to that trend and vice versa.
The 1850 compromise was set up to stave off the widening conflict between the two sides. Contained in the compromise were two very controversial acts. To begin with, Nebraska and Kansas were allowed to make their own decisions regarding their slave status. From the start, Nebraska was a slave free state while Kansas was a slave state. Nebraska pro and anti slavery activists sought to influence the Kansas state to adopt a similar stance. This led to open fighting in Kansas. The blood letting in Kansas ended and it was until 1861 that the state joined the union as a slave free state (Perman, 1996).
As a state, the union clearly failed in this case. The state accused because of one major reason. The confederation government erred in giving alternatives to a very thorny issue, the slavery choice. One state cannot have two destinies or more. This is something the union government ought to have realized. But due to the confederation governments failure to provide on clear guide, it was simply planting the seeds of war. The fighting in Kansas clearly captures this point.
The other controversial act was due to the adoption of the Fugitive Slave Act. This Act gave great latitude to slave owners. The Act empowered such slave owners to travel to the north and capture slaves to use in their plantation farming activities (Perman, 1996). This act was later to prove very unpopular as it irked both the abolitionists and more detrimentally the moderates in the slavery case.
This is another horrendous decision adopted by the confederation government. The government was aware of the sensitivity of the slave issue and yet it went ahead to adopt a law that expressly allowed one section to come out as a winner. In as much as it is necessary to grant freedom, it is wrong to grant it if it undermines another partys. This is a point of failure on the side of the government. It is an indicator of government miscalculation that served to flame an already fragile situation.
Abraham Lincolns Election and Secession
As at 1860, the differences between the north and the south had reached the boiling point. During this time, it happened that it was an election year. HYPERLINK httpamericanhistory.about.comodabrahamlincolnpplincoln.htm Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the union. With this election, the new president was to face major pitfalls. A good number of states led by South Carolina led a cessation procession out of the confederation.
The Rise of Populism
The agricultural areas in the west of the United States hit by war were experiencing economic depression way ahead of the industrial regions. There was a devastating drought that was accompanied by an unprecedented sinking of cotton prices in the south during the 1880s period. This led to soaring of grievances by the farming community against all those involved in the business.
In the 1890, populists won the control of Kansas state legislature. But as time went, factions emerged in the populist movement. One section claimed its intent to join the Democratic Party so as to find a gateway to influencing major country decisions. The other section, mid roaders refused to play into the democrats hands. Later, the populist activities were to be sucked into the Democratic Party.
The populist aims were to get the government into responding to the needs that arose due to depression tendencies. They basically wanted a scenario where the state was available to check the economic cycles that negatively impact on production activities. The fact that the populist ideas began shaping federal regulations on business corporations is a pointer to the success of the movement.
The populist movement did present a shift in reference to what it sought to change. But given that the movement was seeking to have alterations into the regulatory aspect of governance, it can be argued that the movement did not pose a serious challenge to the establishment. Unlike in the previous spectacle where there were two opponents, the south and the north, this latter challenge lacked clear opponents. Thus there was an absence of the antagonistic positions taken by the two sides. A regulated system would basically go well with the whole society as this would cushion the citizens from adverse economic cycles.
After the independence war, the United States of America was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This meant that the state governments were stronger as compared to the central government. This system was later to prove unworkable. Consequently, a new one was put in place giving rise to the reverse case in power relations between central government and state governments. The federal government was to be in charge of foreign affairs and interstate commerce.
The different member state within the federation had different regulations concerning slavery. In some areas within the federation, groups such as Quakers played a significant role in political life. Such religious groups vehemently opposed slavery and in effect shaped the policies that their countries adopted. The issue of slavery was to prove a very costly contestation in the United States of America. The north and the south were deeply divided over this issue. The north, an industrial region was undergoing rapid industrialization. As a result, the area was in need of labor supply to check its demand in the production process. The industrialists from the north had a belief that if the slaves who worked in the south were freed, then their labor problem would be resolved. On the same front, though slightly different, the northern residents wanted tariffs on importations to be reviewed in a bid to protect the local industry.
Conversely, the south, an agricultural centre was primarily set to suffer if the proposals by the north were to sail through. As an agricultural haven, it was in the interests of the south to keep their slaves. These slaves would be of invaluable importance in the production process. On the tariff issue, the south could not afford to allow the north have its way. An imposition of tariff restrictions could portend serious adverse effects on their business. The south being a primary producer of raw materials simply relied on the imports of foreign goods as farm inputs. In a nutshell, these two issues were bound to put the two regions on a conflicting course and indeed the pursuit of these economic goals may have been a major cause of the split. Basically, there was no best solution that could be struck in such circumstances. In 1831 HYPERLINK httpwww.spartacus.schoolnet.co.ukUSAStappanL.htm Lewis Tappan and HYPERLINK httpwww.spartacus.schoolnet.co.ukUSAStappanA.htm Arthur Tappan began an anti slavery movement. It got much support and this was quite worrying to the slave owners community which was predominantly drawn from the south (Current and Richard, 1994). To be honest, their plantation farming was threatened. The land owners were for expanding slavery as opposed to its reduction. This is a clear division between the north and the south.
Reconstruction
During the era of reconstruction, the United States of America is viewed with reference to disfranchisement subsequent to the reconstruction. The major shift in the United States of America squarely falls on the voting rights issue.
After the events of the American civil war, the south was left to rue its state of affairs. It was left with a dilapidated infrastructure and a crumbling economy. The south also refused to grant voting rights to the freed men. In reaction to this, the congress was forced to constitute reconstruction governments. In this case, the congress established military divisions. In these divisions, governors were put in charge of the divisions pending the formation of new governments. A good number of the southerners who had been in support of the confederacy were disenfranchised though temporarily. The reconstruction was to prove a difficulty task as people were still grappling with the effects of the war. The new labor economy as dictated by the free market economy in the middle of rampant agricultural contraction presented another issue area. As these events reared their ugly face on the south, the north was on the upward move.
Several people in the south were also on the move. The African Americans that had been displaced by the war were on a reuniting mission. These are people that had been separated by slavery activities. Other people were moving from plantations in a bid to secure better jobs. Later African Americans that chose to stay were made citizens and allowed voting rights. Public learning institutions were introduced in the south that would facilitate the schooling activity. Hospitals and orphanages were also put up.
In this line of reconstruction, the northerners came from their places to take part in politics and business at the south. The primary aim was to help the blacks. But as it is in the case of a volatile environment, others could have come with ill motives.
Some groups like the HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiKu_Klux_Klan o Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan emerged, taking advantage of the situation to wreck havoc in the community. This group used all forms of intimidation to derail the political rights of the black. This group was however defeated by a prosecution in the mid 1870s. There were attempts to segregate the offering of public services. This was targeting the African and Mexican Americans. The poor whites were also trapped in this quagmire. To cite a segregation example, the transport system bears it all. The requirement that blacks give way to the whites in public transport is the clearest indicator of racial segregation (Katzman, 1985).
Conclusion
The federal government of the United States of America has been found to have played a huge role in the defeat of the secessionists. The government also stands accused for failing to adequately address the issue at the onset. It simply slept on the job. Simply put, the government facilitated the eruption of the civil war.
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