American History Short Essay
History has shown that war happens because of economics and any other cause or belief is secondary. The American Civil War followed this same history with the roots of the war growing from the different economic strengths and weaknesses of the country. The war was quite destructive with respect to the ruin of land and men and was the only U.S. war that took place entirely on U.S. soil. The American Civil War lasted for four years from 1861 to 1865 and resulted in over 600,000 casualties. The Civil War is usually recalled as a battle about slavery and rights of states, however, the war took place because of other issues and events. Dispute and dissension between the North and South over economic development,
…show more content…
Alternatively, the South needed slaves because farming was the basis of their economic stability, with cotton and tobacco as the main crops.
It was these differences in economic development (urban vs. rural and factory vs. farm) that separated the North and South. Southern plantations were changing from growing crops to cotton, which was very profitable. As a result, the South became a singular crop economy, depending mostly on cotton, while the North was an economy based on factories that were purchasing the raw cotton and manufacturing it into clothing and other goods. This economic difference between the North and South resulted in different economic positions and outlooks and, ultimately, contributed to the onset of the Civil War.
The election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States in 1861 was another cause to the onset of war. Even before Lincoln was elected (Republican), seven states had seceded. Lincoln’s election triggered not only a geographical division in the country but also a division between North and South on attitudes of economics and acceptance of
Before the Civil War began, the United States had two distinct economies. Although farming was a staple throughout the United States, from an economic standpoint the Northern and Southern farmers were fundamentally diverse from each other. Unfree labor and staple crops were an essential part of Southern life. While their counterparts to the North comprised of an economy that contained finance, a wide range of industries, and commerce; wage earners and small business owners. The Civil War drastically changed this way of life for both the North and South. The South after the war was left in decimated, while the Northern economy boomed. Southern farmers between 1859-1860 were harvesting a record number of cotton crops. Cotton was America’s most
The Civil War was the most mortifying clash in the history of america. Approximately six hundred and forty thousand americans were killed in action during the battle between the union and the confederacy. Another reason why we went to war with ourselves was because we did not want the south to part ways with the north. The Civil War lasted up to four years until the union defeated the confederacy.
Cannons fired, soldiers fell, thousands of lives were lost in the war of the century. The civil war was the offspring of politics. Politics led into social debates. Special debates led into economics. Economics led to the war.
From the years 1861 to 1865, the United States was at war. But not just any war. America was fighting each other, over national issues such as slavery and states’ rights. The outcome of this war would determine the future of the United States. Events that led up to the American Civil War include the compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act which instigated fighting in the state of Kansas. The election of Abraham Lincoln as President resulted in the secession of the southern states from the union, and the formation of the Confederate States of America.
The economy in the United States was affected the most during the period of 1861-1865 due to the start of the Civil War. Before the war, there was a very restricted government and little to no taxes were given due to president Jefferson's belief that taxes were a source of oppression. The Civil war put the United States at great debt of almost $2.7 billion. This caused congress to form the first income taxation which was beneficial to those who were not as fortunate, but as the war grew increasingly costly, the congress increased tax rates. Although the civil war abolished slavery, the war had caused almost 600,000 deaths and wounded almost 500,000.
From 1861 to 1865 our nation had suffered a major crisis. One nation divided into two sides due to the different views on slavery and economic conflicts. The North wanted to abolish slavery while the South wanted to keep slavery. The North's economy was growing and getting better due to industrialization while on the other hand, the South’s economy was slowly starting to decrease since they were mostly based on agriculture. But the 3 major events that caused the civil war were slavery, social differences, and economic differences.
The years of 1861 through 1865 are known as the Civil War. This was a time of bloodshed, broken families, and a torn nation. The United States of America had become the depressing picture of a war and politically torn nation. The number question whenever we as humans arrive to a bad scenario is, “How did I end up here?”. The causes of the Civil War were all based off of two different economic and political ideas, the acts made by the government concerning the differences, and morals.
In the 1860s there was a war between the North and South otherwise known these two groups were known as the Union and the Confederates. This war was called the civil war, reasons of its occurrence may seem simple but there was complex reasoning that led to the occurence of the civil war. These events could include slavery, economic differences, and cultural differences. Many believe that the only cause for the civil war was slavery but there was much that went into the beginning of the civil war. It started as differences between their economies which include industrialization in the North and agricultural in the South. Then these differences evolved into different opinions on culture and politics. The final tipping point into the civil war
The Civil War destroyed the country and the country had to reform and reconstruct. The reconstruction had to occur in the economy, the political systems, and American society. President Lincoln’s assassination left a capable, but by no means as inspirational as Lincoln, Andrew Johnson as the president of the divided nation. It was a difficult job for Johnson to do, especially due to he became the president after a tragedy. Johnson, as the president, had to come up with a plan on how to with the newly freed black people who needed to be provided for, confront rebellious confederates, and tackle the economic and social damage that the war caused the nation.
The civil war was a period of American history in the 180s in which the southern states succeeded from the union because of slavery. Many believe the war no effect on the industralization of the country. However due to the civil war the economy was drastically changed, there were many social changes in The economical effects were that the souths economy was completely destroyed. Since the south no longer had free labor mending their plantations, the production of king cotton went downhill.
The Civil War was a war between the South and the North. In the South they wanted slavery, and if they were in the North they did not. The conflict arose when the North wanted to abolish slavery, and the South wanted to continue. The Civil War was a 4 year battle, in the United States. The Union and the Confederate soldiers fought from 1861 to 1865 in the Civil War.
Drastic and countless changes occurred in America between 1860 and 1877. There were economic, political and social developments that set up the foundation for the revolution. Though this revolution may have happened due to our own country fighting a Civil War from 1861-1865, it still allowed us as a nation to get our act together, stop killing our own people, and move on to better things. Why did the Civil War take place? Why were we fighting and trying to kill off and destroy everything we worked so hard to create?
The Civil War of 1861-1865 is a monumental piece of United States history. The brutal and barbaric war lasted only a mere 4 years, but drastically changed the course of history and determined whether the nation would abolish slavery or remain a tainted hypocritical nation of bondage.
“…The new American nation-state that emerged during the Civil War was committed to rapid economic development.” (p.533) Large sums of money and land were dedicated to the building of railroads, which stimulated the economy and connected the nation more. The financial policy was changed a lot during the civil war. The government needed more money, so tariffs were raised and new taxes were imposed, including the income tax. The government borrowed a lot of money as well as printed a lot of money, called “greenbacks”.
In 1861, the American Civil War commenced after many years of tension building between the Northern and Southern states. The main reason of the tension was said to be the debate of slavery between the North and South, and although some documents support this claim, it is false. The war had been brewing since 1607, before slavery was even introduced to the colonies that would become the United States of America. The debate of slavery did play a major part in the civil war; however it did so in supporting the true cause of the civil war. The main cause of the American Civil War was not the debate of slavery, but rather Europe’s role in the American economy.