The American Civil War : The United States

Before the Civil War, the United States of America weren’t so united. They were suffering from extreme sectionalism, which was growing as the years were progressing. The southern states became angry at the northern states, and vice versa. Both sides had opposing views on many subjects, driving a larger space between the two. During the years leading up to the Civil War, tensions between the two sides rose almost exponentially.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was elected to the Presidency by only those in the North, as the South refused to vote for him, believing his victory would mean the dissolution of their way of life. The South realized that they no longer had political control if Lincoln was elected. Lincoln claimed slavery was a “moral evil” but did not believe in the immediate abolishment of slavery. Instead, he believed those already slaves should remain slaves and those free blacks should return to colonize Africa. Shortly after he took office, Lincoln saw the disbandment of the Union as South Carolina and, eventually, ten other states, seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, led by Jefferson Davis.

By 1860, there were nearly 4 million slaves in the United States, with about 470,000 slaves in Virginia alone . In the ten years before this, tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters had grown, sparked by critical moments such as the strengthening of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed slavery in the Northern territory, and the decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which, ruled on by a judges from a majority of slave states, took away blacks’ rights to become a U.S. citizen and threw out the Missouri Compromise. A great deal of controversy and political turmoil surrounded these changes, intensifying divides in the nation. “Many Southerners ignored the differences between free soil and abolitionism saw the entire North locked in the grip of demented leaders bent on civil war.” One particular event, John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, seemed to confirm Southerners’ false perception of the North.

The northern and southern states of the union were developed along different lines. The South had a predominately agrarian economy while the north dealt with industry and commerce. As a result of this they had different cultures and political beliefs, which led to many disagreements and conflicts between the states. Many events occurred as a result of this conflict. These events caused the southern states to secede from the Union and ultimately led to the Civil War. The Civil War was the bloodiest battle recorded in American history. It caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries. The cause of this significant war has been a question in limbo for the past 100 years, as there are many theories as to what the main cause might be.

Starting in 1865, the United States began to experience a series of changes and transformations that completely altered the landscape of the country. On the political side, the federal government had to deal with the aftermath of the Civil War and faced the challenge of reintegrating southern states back into the union while also attempting to institute desegregation movements in the South. From a social standpoint, almost four million slaves were freed by the end of the Civil War and in search of a better life, while a wide majority of women saw their roles begin to change–as there was a 307% increase in women joining labor forces from 1880-1930. Meanwhile on the economic side, the entire nation was undergoing the most significant industrial expansion to date, which would completely alter everyday life. All of these profound and rapid changes left American citizens in a state of disarray and in search for order, as they worried about how these changes would affect their lives and social statuses. This growing paranoia among American citizens, especially in the upper class, culminated with laws and court rulings being passed that ultimately favored the wealthy elites and prevented these changes from taking power away from the hands of the people that already had control.

In 1862, as the tribulation of the American Civil War unraveled, across the ocean an invasion of European vineyards began. Today, as we look out at the vineyards of the lower Rhône valley and admire their well-ordered appearance of tamed nature, we would not think that this was once a scene of desolation. Yet, in the mid-1860s, vines around Roquemaure, a small town and commune located in the South of France, Rhône, began to dry up and die. Over a span of 15 years, as an unexplainable plague spread across Europe, almost the entire country of France was "phylloxerated.” Withered. Wiped out. Consequences, both economically and socially, for people and organizations around the world were dire. Recovery from this catastrophic episode took

The Civil War divided the United States with its’ origin in the struggle to preserve the Union from the Confederacy’s succession. A war to maintain the United States quickly progressed to battles fought because of the controversial beliefs on slavery in the North and South. In the coming of the Civil War there were questions and confusion that many Americans were faced with in the words of the South’s succession. During the war, families were torn due to the men lost to the Union or Confederate causes. At the resolution of the Civil War, Southern states were forced to reshape their economies that were once dependent on slave labor. What are referred to as two communities in the Civil War, on the boarder between opposing forces, the people

The United States have been in many wars over 100 years. It has changed our country in many different ways. The United States have been successful in all the wars we have been in. I’m gone talk about my favorite wars.

Throughout lectures this semester we have encountered numerous ‘characters’ so to speak who have helped to shape the United States of America through either their unified visions of the country or through their differing opinions and compromises. From the Colonists and English government all the way to the end of our textbook and the Civil War each character has had a clear cut vision of what the nation could do to improve itself because they each knew that without change there could be no progress because if you are not evolving, that meant things would stay the same. There is something to be said about this nation never being satisfied with its current state some may call it insanity, but these characters believed in their visions and called it progress. In this paper, we will explore the visions of each major player from this past semester and look at what each person wanted for the United States and the ultimate outcome and how things might have been if that trajectory had been changed.

The word “freedom” has always been a cornerstone of the numerous transformations of the American society. It is the notion that is found in speeches of both Republican and Democrat politicians, the idea that connected the mind of an affluent Southern plantation owner and that of a radical abolitionist. Generally, the understanding of any period in the United States history as a whole relies heavily on acquiring the knowledge of the way of life, and the patterns of thought of the American public. The meaning of freedom provides a unique insight into social models, and can be considered a crucial factor when examining the impact of the key events in the history of the United States, namely the Civil War. The three speeches by the prominent American politicians and presidents from 1850’s throughout the Civil War era will be compared and analyzed with respect to their definition of freedom in order to demonstrate the different perceptions of this concept in the 19th century American society.

After the War of Independence the United States of America was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This provided for a weak central government and strong state governments. However, it proved unworkable and a new Constitution was adopted that resulted in a stronger Federal government with powers which included regulating interstate commerce as well as foreign affairs.

Lincoln’s predecessor, President James Buchanan, who was in office when the first states began to leave made matters worse by vacillating on whether to supply the federal forts in the South and even was uncertain if what seceding states were doing was illegal. His inaction caused a greater mess that Lincoln would inherit as the newly succeeding states had already formed the Confederate States of America. By the time the first shots of the Civil War rang out, the new confederacy would have a total eleven states, almost the entire southern half of the United States. Lincoln was in fact presiding over a split country with no real constitutional powers to act on his own accord and a nation that did not have a stomach for war.

The North and the South had differences even before the beginning of the Civil War. The North had been more of an industrial economy and the South were all farmers that required cheap labor. In 1818, Missouri Territory had gained the required population to be entered into the Union as a state. It was expected to be entered as a slave state. Then in January, 1820 a bill was passed to enter Maine into the Union. This would balance out the equal power between the amount of slave states and non-slave states. This was known as the Missouri Compromise. It showed how North and South wanted an equal amount of states to be free of slaves and states with slaves. The North had already disputed having slaves and the South originally had the idea of keeping the slaves to increase their profit. The South and the North were both economically separated decades before the war, and during that time this difference was of less concern to the people of the U.S. In 1787, the 3/5ths compromise was created. The North denied the request of the South for counting black slaves which already revealed the division. Northern states did not want to let the Southern states gain power. The North was the most populated region in the U.S. The South had slaves but were not able to count them as people. The North denied the request of the South for counting black slaves which already revealed the division. The Civil War was a conflict because of the division in opinions.The American Civil War was caused by the

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, and ended on May 9, 1865. There were over 600,000 casualties from this war. Slavery was the main issue at the beginning of the war. The war occurred after Southern slave states broke away and formed the Confederate States of America. Many young Northern and Southern boys served in the Civil War. Anywhere from 250,000 to 420,000 boys may have fought in the Civil War.

By 1861, eleven southern states decided to break away from the United States and form their own government, which was called the confederates state