The American Civil War
In May of 1861 five states in the upper south United States seceded from the Union and joined the seven states already seceded and created the Confederate States of America. This was the beginning of the Civil War; it was the Union against the Confederates. Many People believed that the war would be over quickly they thought it was more of an uprising then a full on war. Nobody expected it to last four years and take so many lives. The Civil War was a serious test for the new democracy of the United States, it tested the strength of the government and all of the people involved. This would be a defining moment for the United States.
One of the reasons for the south secession was the fact that the north
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The Union however had more problems with there generals, President Lincoln had chosen several different generals to lead the Union forces before he finally settled with Ulysses S. Grant. After the first battle he ordered the south to be cut off from trade outside countries hoping that there economy would slowly die. While the Confederates were using a tactic called attrition which meant they want they wanted the north to lose moral and quit the war. One of the most famous battle of the civil war was the battle of Gettysburg the three day battle included more the 150,000 troops and more then 50,000 casualties with the union finally winning the battle. When this battle was over president Lincoln made one of the most famous speeches in history The Gettysburg Address it was to dedicate the battlefield as a cemetery. After losing to battles to Lee the victory at Gettysburg was a turning point for the union forces. This lead to another victory for the Union when the took the city of Vicksburg a vital southern city. The south was slowly losing moral.
In 1865 the south was beginning to crumble, General Sherman had taken many key cities in the south and was advancing to the north while General Grant was moving his forces south at a rapid pace. The moral of the Confederate troops was so low that
The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.
and taken over the Union capital and win the war. But because of the amount of men lost on the Confederate side, the Confederate officials agreed to not invade the North again to avoid any more significant losses. This forced the Confederates to move back down to the South and try and set up a good defense. It was a challenge for the South to make a good defense and regain a good stand against the Union because of the number of men lost, including high ranking officers killed, wounded, or missing in action, and the lack of supplies of the soldiers. This lack of supplies was a result of the Union attacks on the European supply ships sailing towards the South for trade. As a result of these tough times, the motivation and passion to keep fighting was steadily decreasing in the South. This loss of motivation can be felt through a letter written by General Lee to the Confederate President Jefferson Davis where he tries to resign from the army as he fears it is coming to an end. (Document C) Most of the battles from then on ended up in a Union victory which led to General Lee surrendering causing the North to win the war. While the Confederates were trying to recover from the Battle of Gettysburg, this victory gave the North a huge boost in
The Union and the Confederacy both believed they were fighting for a righteous and just cause. Abraham Lincoln’s election led to a fundamental shift in power that caused Southerners to fear for the welfare of their states. The south began to secede from the Union and many Northerners rejected the dissolvement of the Union. There were many reasons behind each side’s fighting in the Civil War. The first reason is slavery. The South was intent on preserving slavery, because it was “an ingrained part of their economy and way of life” (Thomas, 1). The North had no need for slavery because their economy was based on industrialization and many Northerners had moral reservations on slavery. While the South did not change their overall opinion about
The Civil War, composed of the Union run by numerous generals replacing one another, and the Confederacy lead by Robert E. Lee, was and still is one of the most gruesome wars in American History, and the Battle of Gettysburg is considered by most as an incredible turning point of the war. This is due to how the Union brought down the Confederacy’s winning streak, and gave the Confederacy a huge blow to their manpower, supplies, and overall strength to win (Battle of Gettysburg, 1). Robert E. Lee, though a great general throughout the Civil War, was a failure during the Battle Gettysburg because he was not able to get his men to their jobs done in time. Another reason he was a failure was because of his plan to attack again on July 3rd which
When we compare the military leaders of both North and South during the Civil War, it is not hard to see what the differences are. One of the first things that stand out is the numerous number of Northern generals that led the “Army of the Potomac.” Whereas the Confederate generals, at least in the “Army of Northern Virginia” were much more stable in their position. Personalities, ambitions and emotions also played a big part in effective they were in the field, as well as their interactions with other officers.
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when the Southern United States seceded from the union. The first battle, taking only thirty-four hours, caused Lincoln to officially rally troops against the South. Most Northern Americans would eventually learn to love Lincoln’s courage; however, many Southern Americans would despise Lincoln. Throughout the civil war many lives were lost, and many families were torn apart. Lincoln would remain a strong figure throughout the war. He would give his people hope, he would give his people courage, and he would give his people strength. Around the time the Civil War was drawing to a close, Lincoln was being reelected. The general of the Confederacy, Robert E. Lee, surrendered after a battle in Virginia. His troops surrendered in April, a little over a
The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
The challenges that the Union and the Confederacy faced during the Civil War were very different. Critical weaknesses that seemed unfit for war, plagued the opposing American forces, and would serve to be a continuous obstacle that would need to be conquered by patriotism of the people, for their opposing views. To allow for both sides to be competitive, the efforts put forth had to mold to the varied needs of the armies by both the civilian population and their militaries. To the people in the south the similarity to the colonists in the Revolutionary War, was assimilated to their separatist cause in the Civil War and would be their drive to compete with the dominating Northern states. This mindset started the Confederacy in the Civil
On average, women do more unpaid work, such as household chores and childcare, than men. This trend remains constant around the world and all throughout history (“Is the Gender Pay Gap Real?”). The women in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun are no exception. This story follows the Youngers, who are an African American family living in Chicago during the 1940s. Beneatha, Lena, and Ruth, the story’s main female characters, are the main source of strength for their family.
Heartaches is an age-old story about two broken souls finding refuge together. Anna Simmons, young, damaged, lonely and still finding her way, is thrown off the deep end, which is where she meets Rafe Brown, the tortured ex-army commando who is struggling under the weight of his past. Together, they start their journey of healing, justice, lust, and love.
In the 1800s the Civil War, a war between the northern and southern states, erupted into a massive conflict after President Lincoln was elected and after eleven states seceded from the Union. Following the secession from the Union, The Ft. Sumer conflict erupted, and this four-year tragedy between the northern and southern United States began causing an innumerable amount of casualties. This immense number of casualties, reaching approximately 600,000, resulted from economic and social differences of the North and South, the Dred Scott Case, and the election of President Abraham Lincoln. These causes of the Civil War were all created on conflict rather than intervention. They led to the creation of the Confederacy, a league of confederate states that embodied various disadvantages: the creation of weapons manually, the lack of railroads, the small population, as well as various advantages: tough fighting, devastating the Union 's army and unity that brought people of the Southern states together. Alongside these advantages came devastation, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves, and led to the Confederacy 's defeat in 1865.
Both the Union and the Confederacy had good military leaders who used and/or invented promising war tactics. The North used a strategy known as the Anaconda Plan. This is where the Union Forces would surround the Confederacy, cut its trade, divide it into two at the Mississippi River, and squeeze it to death. At first the Anaconda Plan was ridiculed, because both sides were originally stuck on old fashion tactics of using mass troops to attack a certain point. When both sides found the new technology in weaponry, made this old strategy suicide the Anaconda Plan was implemented. New technology caused old war tactics to change. Another strategy, I personally like to call “The Jaw” was demonstrated by the brilliant Robert. E. Lee from the South. One war tactic used by Ulysses S. Grant from the North in The Siege of Vicksburg changed the way war was fought from then on. It was called Total War. Total War involves not only war against the opponent’s soldiers but war against their civilians and economic system, in hopes of breaking their moral and in hopes that they give up the thought of winning because victory is just not worth the losses, so defeat may be welcomed. The combination of the ancient technique of total war, which
Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil War, because this single issue divided the North and South to begin with. The ideological differences between the North and South led to economic differences, conflicts over newly acquired territories, disputes over the constitution, and political extremism. The Election of 1860 was the culmination of these disputes and caused the South to secede in 1861 and guided the way towards the Civil War.
The American Civil War, which began in 1861 to 1865, has gone down in history as the one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the United States of America, thus far. At that time, questions had arose wondering how the United States ever got so close to hitting rock bottom, especially being that it was a conflict within the country itself. Hostility steadily grew through the years dividing the nation further and further, and finally leading to the twelfth day in April 1861 in Fort Sumter, North Carolina. The American Civil War was an irrepressible battle and aside from the obvious physical effects of the war, the disagreement over states rights, the act of slavery, and the raising of tariffs played crucial roles in the
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.