American History

The US Civil War could be considered as another revolution for the south and was also considered as the Second American Revolution by some famous historians. The main reason for considering the US Civil War as a new revolution for the South was that a new social order was established after the war. Also known as War Between the States, the US Civil War is highly acknowledged as a social war that made a number of changes in class arrangements, in the aspect of distributing and accumulating wealth and in the course of industrial development. In addition, it has changed the balance of power between the North and the South and was able to drastically accelerate the birth of industrial capitalism after the war. Four years of battle between the Northern and Southern part of the American soil are entangled with so many reasons. The start of the conflicts came with the formation of the Civil War or the War of the Rebellion that lasted for four years (1861-1865). The South was popularly known as the Confederate States of America (known as Rebels) and was officially led by their president, Jefferson Davis.  Meanwhile, the North was known as the Union or the United States of America and people were called Americas or Yankees and were led by their first president, Abraham Lincoln. Slavery is considered the main cause of the conflict as movements against it were established in the North with the rebuilding of loyal anti-slavery masses. This economic system started when groups of Scottish children and women were traded as first slaves in the American continent followed by the selling of the African slaves in 1618. Slavery has been a part of life of Southerners as they view it as a profitable way of business and are worried that their economy would weaken without this system. In addition, Southerners are worried about their plantations in which most of them depended for decent living. The North also holds slaves too but has opposed this system and strictly believed that white people are superior to the blacks. Before the commencement of the war, several issues were raised that added to the tension on the issue of slavery. Events like the banning of slave imports in the 1800s and the passage of the Compromise of 1850 built the tension to cause the Civil War. The said compromise was able to admit the state of California to the Union as well as the giving of powers to new territories the decision if they will allow slaveholding or not. In addition, the set of laws provided by the Compromise of 1850 allowed the state of Texas to received financial compensation for leaving the lands in the western part of Rio Grande, which now a part of New Mexico. A slave uprising led by John Brown in the South cause bloodshed and anger in the South and views it as a plot of ending slavery by means of force. As of the year 1860, America was composed of 19 states that opposed slavery while there were 15 states which uphold the slave economic system. This turn of events built up the conflict between the North and the South.

The Causes of the US Civil War
The US Civil War was an inevitable conflict because of the explosion of differences between the North and South societies, politics and most importantly slavery. The intricacy of the American society grew after their independence. Aspects that contributed to this difficulty was the gradual shift of subsistence farmers from the North, the increasing number of white American migrants and black slaves and the revival of slavery as an economic system in many states. These turn of events have largely contributed to the increasing conflict between social classes, different economic interests and regions that were mostly manifested on partisan politics.  Aside from these differences, the impact of economic disparities has been felt between the North and South. The year 1830 marked the introduction of cotton as the main crop of the South and was able to represent almost half of the exports of the United States. This profitability generated by the cotton industry led to the dependence of the South on the plantation system. Thus, this dependence to the profit produced by the crop has resulted to the increasing importance of the slavery system on plantations that makes it a fundamental economic system for the South.

As the disparities widen between Northern and Southern way of living increases, their ideas on politics were also marked with major differences. Specifically, the Northern part of the United States needed to form a national government for programs on the building of infrastructure of railways and roads, protection of financial interests and complex trading and the strict supervision of its national currency. In addition, the North has favored for a new version of the United States Constitution and has requested for the granting of additional powers to the federal government. On the other hand, the South wanted that individual states will be able to reserve their undefined powers and they are not in favor of more infrastructure programs within the states. The feeling of independence from the control of the federal government makes it a policy for the South to not seek the help from them. Additionally, the Southern people are feared of losing their control with the slavery economic system once a strong national government is in place. The birth of the war was not only caused by the rampant operation of the slave economic system in the South and the remarkable anti-slavery feature of the Northern part of the country but also rooted on the inability to pass a law against slavery on states where it existed and was not given attention by the Lincoln administration.  The fears of the South on the losing administrative powers of the federal government to forces of antislavery and the insistence of the North on the full influence of slavery in the federal government gave the trigger for the Civil War in the 1850s. These predicaments set the tempo for the unavoidable Civil War between the states.

The Civil War officially started when Southerners declared independence by means of secession and moved for the formation of the Confederacy. As a result, the United States was divided into two that resulted to the horrible US Civil War. The declaration of secession of the eleven slave states or withdrawal from the political powers of the US Federal government was the main cause of the US Civil War. South Carolina headed the secession movement by declaring its intent of leaving the Union. This uprising was followed by the other pro-slavery states in the South. These Southern states justified secession on the arguments that the Northern states were not cooperating on the clause of the US Constitution called the fugitive slave clause. In addition, the Southerners argued that the federal government is restricting property rights and this meant slave ownership is affected throughout the new territories in the South. Finally, the South argued that the growing power of the North in terms of political representations in the United States federal government has endangered the interests of the Southern states.  The Civil War was led by Jefferson Davis from the South who fought against the federal government or the Union which was supported by the majority of the free states headed by Abraham Lincoln as well as the five slave states in the northern part of the country.

A major land battle was fought at Bull Run in 1861 that was located in the Virginia state. Volunteer soldiers were the armies in this first official battle of the US Civil WarHowever, due to the different adversities they face like diseases and bad weather, these armies were not able to win the war. The Civil War reached its critical point in 1863 when the hopes for Confederacy were at stake. Land battles between the Confederate and Union armies in the east of Virginia and Maryland lasted for almost two years. The attack of the Confederates was signaled when General Robert Lee advised President Jefferson Davis to invade the North. Almost 80,000 Confederate armies made their way to the Northern part of the country for the full independence of the South that reached its peak in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.  After the battles have ended, some portion of the battlefield land was formed as a cemetery for the defeated soldiers of the Union. It was reported that the North has more advantage in the war against the South. Its people is two times higher than that with the South and possessed more war ships at that time, railroad miles and better manufacturing enterprises. On the other hand, the South has an advantage of fighting on the ground with a strong military leadership. However, the Union forces was not able to capitalized its advantage in terms of manpower as not all individuals are fighting at that time that has not given any substantial contribution on the fight of the North for the war. The issue of slavery was also a major aspect for the longer course of the war. Tension on the issue of abolishing the economic system come in near sight since the Souths economy is dependent on slavery while the North declared itself as composing of free states. In addition, the election to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln came to the upset of Southerners as they knew that the said leader is a great opponent of the slave system. The beginning of the secession of the South led the leadership of the Lincoln to lead a war against them. This conflict made slavery as the largest contributor to the cause of the war between the two extremes.

The Outcome of the US Civil War
Finally, the North won the war against the South and has declared the official union of all the states in America and the end of slavery. Despite the advantage of the South in military capability and leadership, the eagerness of the people of the North to end slavery and promote a free society has emerged. Political conflicts were also addressed as political reforms were introduced by the new government. Economic reforms were also initiated to begin the revolution of industries and inventions to improve the life of the American people. In turn, a society of peace has emerged but the war has left numerous achievements as well as backlashes on the belligerents and the country as a whole. The US Civil War is a manifestation that once misunderstandings arise between two powerful territories fueled by the continuous turn of events, a war is simply unavoidable and both sides would conquer each other for the right to earn the highest respect and glory. Capitalism was also raised after the war as a form of economic system that would free the country from interventions by letting market forces work in itself. This economic system has been widely used in the United States and even to other countries as well.

The Impact of the US Civil War
The end of the civil war in the United States has provided a number of influences especially during the introduction of the industrial society. In particular, accommodating or the so-called laissez-faire relationship was established between businesses and the government. In the same manner, the civil war prompted for the increased in immigration of people in the United States including the continuous growth of the population. The spirit of national sacrifice was also inculcated among Americans especially when trying to reach a purpose or a goal. The end of the civil war also gave birth to the intervention of the government in various industries like railroad where federal budgets worth billions of dollars where showered in.