...Causes of the American Civil War THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR I Introduction to Civil War II Social Causes A Differences in society B Westward Expansion III Economic Causes A Differences in economy B Westward Expansion IV Political Causes A Government V Aftermath A Costs of War CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR I. Introduction to Civil War The American Civil War was a war fought within the United States of America between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) starting from 1861 and ending in 1865. This war was one of the most destructive events in American history, costing more than 600,000 lives. It was thought to be one that helped shape the character of the American individual today. From the Southern point of view, this war was a War of Rebellion, or a War for Southern Independence. From the Northern point of view this war was seen as a revolution. This unfortunate war started as a result of many years of differences between the Union and the Confederacy. It erupted after many years of conflict building up between the two regions. Between the North and the South there lay deep economic, social and political differences, but it is important to understand that Slavery was the root of cause of these differences. II. Social Causes There were many factors that contributed to the onset of the Civil War. Socially, the North and the South were built on different standards. The South, or the Slave States, was a slave-based community that followed...
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...Causes Of The American Civil War Four years of American bloodshed on American soil. Why? The reasons are varied. From the formation of America to 1860, the people in this country were divided. This division was a result of location and personal sentiments. Peace could not continue in a country filled with quarrels that affected the common American. There is a common misconception that the American Civil War was fought only over slavery, when in fact there were several other reasons for why the War Between the States was fought. The Civil War (or the War of the Rebellion as it is officially known) lasted for four years, from 1861-1865. It was between the American people; primarily the northern states vs. the southern states. The South was called the Confederate States of America (also known as the Rebels) and was led by President Jefferson Davis. The North was still known as the United States of America, or the Union, and the people were called the Yankees or sometimes the Federals. They were led by president Abraham Lincoln. If one were to ask the average person the causes of the War Between the States, that person would most likely answer with one word: slavery. But this was not the only cause. Slavery had been a historical problem before the war. Slavery came up in debate during the making of the American Constitution, and both Northern and Southern states held slaves. In 1611, a group of Scottish women and children were sold as the first slaves in America, and...
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...The Cause The American Civil war was a fight between the Northern states and the Southern states. The South was sick of the North telling them what to do and making laws they didn’t want. So as a result of this the South decided to break away and formed their own country, which is called the “confederacy”. The North wanted to stay united as one country so the war began. There were many events that led up to the Civil War. The events lasted from about 1860 until 1865. One important event being Bleeding Kansas, this was a fight between pro slavery and antislavery for the new territory of Kansas. Hundreds of men crossed the Missouri border and went and out-voted the anti slavery settlers in Kansas. This brought vicious retaliation from the anti...
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...April 21, 1861 to April 9, 1865 were the dates of the American Civil War starting and ending. The setting was in North America between the North and South Economic difference was affected throughout that era which caused feuds between states. Although the Civil War was caused by various of reasons followed by slavery, politics, and economy. These were 3 out of the many reasons on what caused the Civil War. The first main cause of the Civil War was conflict between the North and the South about slavery. Slavery in the 1800’s was harshly treated due to the color of their skin. Slavery helped cause the Civil War because equality didn't seem to exist for the slaves. Which once again makes them have no rights. ”Free laborers were the slaves that...
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...The American Civil War which started in the mid-1800s was mainly due to Abraham Lincoln wanting to preserve the Union. Lincoln’s main goal is to keep the country together as one. The war did not just start due to Lincoln wanting to preserve the Union but also because of slavery, sectionalism, states’ rights, and secession. Some of these factors may have contributed to starting the war more than others but all played a role in starting war within the country. All of these factors eventually forced the country over the brink and mass war broke out. Various sources can account for harsh events that happened before wartime starting the war. These events were caused by short term factors. Slavery was probably the biggest factor that led to the...
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...of the Civil War was the election of the new President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Another vital cause was due to the fact that the South was a major advocate of slavery, and idea that the north greatly disagreed with. This disagreement allowed it to become one of the major origins of the Civil War. Consequently, the Civil War resulted in many changes that affected society in the United States forever. One major cause of the Civil War was the election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States. “The straw that broke the camel’s back” is a phrase that’s commonly used to represent the importance of this election. The aforementioned phase means that though all of the problems the United States were facing were being managed, the election was the one last minor problem that the government could not sustain, causing a relapse in the nation. Throughout most of the election, Lincoln held all of the free states and none of the states dependant on slaves. This was an enormous problem because as soon as Lincoln was elected, the people in South Carolina began meeting to discuss secession. Approximately two months succeeding Lincoln's inauguration, the nation began to collapse as South Carolina withdrew from the nation. This is because once South Carolina seceded, the domino effect occurred as many other southern states hopped onto the bandwagon and withdrew themselves as well. Lincoln saw this as unacceptable and without hesitation declared war soon...
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...The American Civil War Student’s Name: Course: Instructor’s Name: Institution: Date Submitted: The American civil war is a war that happened between the years 1861 to 1865. The war was fought so that the union could determine its survival and to ensure that it gets independence (Blattman, C., & Miguel, E., 2010). The war originated due to the issues of slavery that was especially practiced in the western countries. The lessons that struck me from the story of American civil war include the following; one is that there is a very big role of influence that a few important people can contribute in the outcome of a war. There were few individuals who influenced people to take part in the civil war in the United States during mid-1860 as they played major role in making sure most people participate in the war through incitement (Justino, P. 2009).For example Abraham Lincoln had a lot of influence to general public because of his position of being the commander in Chief although he had not been trained on military. The other thing that struck me from reading the civil war is that no one should ever undermine the determination of the average soldier. This is because the soldiers have a chance to show a difference no matter how the plans of the commander are. When the war started the soldiers fought very well not considering the plans but to show the outcome of the war. The soldiers wanted to ensure that they became the winners after the war which after the war they...
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...University Of Phoenix Civil War Paper By Shane Iverson 12/23/2012 HIS/115 The Civil war was a huge war fought over territories and freedom. Over 600,000 Americans lost their lives in this war, with the North having been more effected. The North had no regrets about the war. They were satisfied that the slaves were free, and the Union was preserved. The South began to glorify what they called “the lost cause”. The generals from the south became mythic heroes. As they looked back at the war they almost regretted surrendering. Historian Shelby Foote left us with this note. “Any understanding of this nation has to be based . . . on an understanding of the Civil War. . . . The Civil War defined us as what we are, and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. It is very necessary if you’re going to understand the American character in the 20th century to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the mid-19th century. It was the crossroads of our being”. What does this tell us about the United States? What did Foote mean when he spoke these words? We may also think to ourselves. Why didn’t the South win? There leaders were supposedly brilliant and they lost fewer men then the North, right? What did Historian Shelby Foote mean in his quote above? He is saying that it is necessary to learn about this huge catastrophe that happened in...
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... “When the American Civil War (1861-65) began, President Abraham Lincoln carefully framed the conflict as concerning the preservation of the Union rather than the abolition of slavery” (“Emancipation Proclamation”). President Abraham Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation and took effect on January 1st, 1863 in order to create a strategic military standpoint (“Emancipation Proclamation”). This document was one of Abraham Lincoln’s most important decisions in office. The Emancipation Proclamation was effective during the Civil War because African Americans could now join the Union military, it boosted Union military morale, and persuaded Britain and France to stay out of the war. Firstly, “The U.S. Army had never accepted black soldiers. The U.S. Navy, on the other hand, was more progressive: There, African-Americans had been serving as shipboard firemen, stewards, coal heavers and even boat pilots since 1861” (“Black Civil War Soldiers”). Abolitionist stated that, African Americans could join the Union military and help win the war along with...
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...Timeline Matrix" document. Instructions: Complete the matrix by providing the Time Period/Date(s) in column B, and the Description and Significance of the People/Event(s) to American History in column C. See complete instructions in the Syllabus for the Module 3 assignment entitled. “Timeline Part II.” NOTE: The timeline project does not need to be submitted to turnitin. NOTE: Please write your answers in a clear and concise manner. Limit your submission of the Timeline Part II up to 250 words per topic/subtopic. For example, if a topic is divided into 3 subtopics, you may write a maximum of 250 per subtopic listed. Be sure to cite all sources. Major Event/Epoch in American History | Time Period/Date(s) | Description and Significance of the People/Event(s) to American History | 1) The evolution of the institution of slavery from the Colonial Period to the 1860s. | 16th Century – 19th Century | I found this excerpt from Robert Francis Engs from the Macmillan Information Now Encyclopedia: The history of African American slavery in the United States can be divided into two periods: the first coincided with the colonial years, about 1650 to 1790; the second lasted from American independence through the Civil War, 1790 to 1865. Prior to independence, slavery existed in all the American colonies and therefore was not an issue of sectional debate. With the arrival of independence, however, the new Northern states--those of New England along with New York, Pennsylvania...
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...Women, Slaves, and Free Blacks in the Civil War Inez Williams-Jones U.S. History to 1865 HIS/110 October 15, 2012 Women, Slaves, and Free Blacks in the Civil War The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point for the Civil War (Civil War Academy, 2010). It turned the tide of war from the South to the North, pushing back Lee’s army that would never fight again on Northern soil and bringing confidence to the Union army. What Roles did Northern Women play in the War Effort on the Union Side during the Civil War Clara Barton, a Northerner, had the skills of helping people, especially in the American Civil War. During the war, she collected and delivered supplies to Northern troops in the Washington, D.C. area, used her medical skills to aid Northern troops, and later organized The Ladies Aid Society as well as The American Red Cross where she dedicated the remaining of her life. Northern women organized fundraising projects, county fairs, which were beneficial in raising money for medical supplies and other necessities. Inspired by Florence Nightingale, the women put forth efforts to work on the front lines aiding injured and wounded soldiers by establishing a Preventive Hygienic and Sanitary Service for helping the union soldiers called the United States Sanitary Commission which were to combat preventable diseases and infections (Chang, 1991). One of these famous Army nurses was Louisa May Alcott, who traveled from hospital to hospital ...
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...The Union War “Without an appreciation of why loyal citizens believed a Union that guaranteed democratic self-government was worth great sacrifice, no accurate understanding of the Civil War era was possible” (Gallagher). I agree with this statement by Gallagher because if it wasn’t for the decisions and executions of the Union I am not sure if I would be living in a democratic, free society today. In The Union War, Gallagher “offers a companion volume that extends his manifesto against hindsight, what Gallagher calls the ‘Appomattox syndrome,’ to histories of the Union” (Gallagher, 79). According to Gallagher, researchers who work backward from emancipation and Reconstruction have expanded northern devotion to race, slavery, and abolition while complicating loyal Americans’ major war aim, the Union. The above quote stated by Gary Gallagher is one of the main causes as to why the North won the Civil War because with the joining of citizens who wanted to fight for their democratic government, it gave the Union more soldiers that wanted to fight than the Confederates. They won the Civil War simply because they had more people. The North won the Civil War they were on the right side of human ethical issues. They had their best interest in helping the morals of humans and this alone helps citizens be able to trust the Union’s tendencies and this can also make a citizen loyal. The North clearly had more men to fight for them and there were more people that wanted to end slavery,...
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...Civil War Paper The Civil War was fought between Americans from the North and the South. Many factors led to the eventual conflict, but none was more important than the issue of slavery. While Northerners felt slavery was essentially against what America stood for, Southerners depended on slavery to maintain their economy. The conflict resulted in the South wanting to secede from the Union and exist as a collection of Confederate states acting as their own country. The North (Union) insisted on keeping the United States in-tact and abolishing slavery from the South. After four to five years and a collection of bloody battles, the North won the war despite having military leaders who were not as experienced as the South’s and sustaining more casualties. In the documentary The Civil War, historian Shelby Foote stated, “Any understanding of this nation has to be based…on an understanding of the Civil War . . . The Civil War defined us as what we are, and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. It is very necessary if you’re going to understand the American character in the 20th century to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the mid-19th century. It was the crossroads of our being.” (Burns & Burns, Episode 1: the cause, 1990) What Foote was referring to in this quote was how the Civil War shaped the United States into the great power it has been known for since the end of the war. After the war ended, America began a period of tremendous growth, led by...
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...The American Civil War In my final project I would like to try to describe the American Civil War. I chose this topic, because I think there are still disparities between the South and the North. I would like to learn something more about it. I would also like to discuss racial problems. In my opinion it is interesting to show a different perspective of slavery during the war and African American’s status these days. This project should also remind people of what the American Civil War was about. The Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Causes o the war 3. Abolitionism 4. The war 5. Characteristics and results of the war 6. Reconstruction period 1. Introduction The American Civil war was an armed conflict that took place between the States of the Union (today's founding states of the USA) and the Confederation of States (11 states that wanted to secede from the Union). The war lasted from 1861 – 1865. This war is also known as the North versus the South. 2. Causes of the war • Difference between the North and the South The North - industry, coal mining and processing iron, financial, more people, slavery was prohibited The South – agriculture, cultivation of tobacco, cotton and sugar cane, backward industry, legal slavery • Slavery Slavery was the most obvious reason for the war. The northern states wanted to ban slavery throughout the USA, while the southern states feared, that it would destroy their economy. The balance between "free states"...
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...about the men that fought in the Civil War than from journals and letters from the soldiers themselves. For Cause & Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War by James M. McPherson pulled from copious amounts of personal letters and journals to show the history of the thoughts and reasoning behind the war. You are able to get exceptional background why the Northerners and Southerners enlisted in the war, and see how both sides had very diverse reasons why they enlisted, from the sense of manliness to patriotism. During the time of enlistment, there was considerable pressure to enlist. If a man did not enlist, they were thought of lacking manliness and a disgrace to their family. McPherson stated, “The belief of duty,...
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