In this chapter I will try to find out why the Civil War actually started, and what the consequences of the war were. To find out this I need to know a little more about the history of the Civil War.
The causes of most wars are often very complex, but in the America civil war it came down to two major issues, slavery and the protection of the Union. In the North, they were growing richer all the time as industry developed fast. The workers were mostly immigrants with low wages. The South didn’t have these resources, and the slaves were essential for them. The Northern politicians insisted that the Slavery should be abolished and that this was an evil system that should be stamped out. Only the rich wool farmers and other wealthy
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The rest of the southern states were still a part of the Union.
On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as president of the United States. In his inaugural speech, he declared that the Constitution was a more perfect union than the earlier Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, and that this was a binding contract. He said he didn’t have any plans to invade the southern states, but that he would use force to maintain possession of federal property.
His ended his speech with a plea for the restoration of the bonds of union. The South just ignored his plea. Violence and outrage turned to belligerence in the North, which in turn had many southerners clamouring for war. At 4.30am on April 12th 1861, Confederate gunners opened fire on Federal - held Fort Sumter, situated in the middle of Charleston Harbour. The only real casualty was a horse. This gentle brawl was the start of a longer, harder and bloodier war than anyone could dream of.
After this incident Lincoln declared that all of the remaining states in the Union should send their troops to recapture the forts that the Southerners had taken. Most Northerners thought their troops were supreme and they thought that a quick and brutal victory would stop the rebellion. Because of this Lincoln only called for volunteers for 90 days. This made four more states secede, one of them was the conceited state Virgina, and
As President of The United States, Lincoln wanted to keep these seceding Southern states to remain a part of America. He felt that the union was not just an arrangement to govern over the states, but it indeed symbolized the future of American freedom where slavery would be abolished for good and protected the rights of every human being. When the Confederates decided to attack Fort Sumter, a Union fort, in April of 1861, the peace broke. This attack was known to have started the American Civil
The Civil War was caused by the economics of slavery and the political control of that system, specifically being states’ rights on the federal powers of the government, the territorial expansion of the united states that led to the division of the two sides, and the election of President Abraham Lincoln which was the final event that sent the nation to war.
Although some historians feel that the Civil War was a result of political blunders and that the issue of slavery did not cause the conflict, they ignore the two main causes. The expansion of slavery, and its entrance into the political scene.
Lincoln inaugural appealed the secessionists in the Southern. Lincoln made promises in defending the rights of the state and also protecting the slaves in states where slavery existed. He clearly put across that, he will defend the Union and the Constitution. In his speech, he pleaded in finding a common ground. His speech appeared conciliatory to the Northerners, however, to the southern people, the speech was reportedly, like the declaration of the start of a war. The next morning after his inauguration, the garrison at Fort Sumter was reported to be forced to surrender unless there was a resupply. The Government of Confederate claimed the fort, and looked for reinforcements as an action of war. Surrendering the fort would have only strengthened the cause of
The Civil War was caused by many several pressures, principles, and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences, and was finally set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events. From economic differences to political differences all the way up to cultural differences, the North and the South opposed each other. These tensions were further increased after the western expansion of the United States. By the early 1850’s a civil war was known to be likely coming soon.
If asking an average person on what started the Civil War, one would probably answer with slavery. However, there were several other reasons for why the Civil War took place. The South wanted to succeed mainly for the same reason the Colonies succeeded from British Powers. The South wanted their independence. The South wanted to escape the tariffs that were being placed on them by Andrew Jackson, just as the British were putting tariffs on the colonies. The tariffs created a very hostile atmosphere that was pushing the states’ decisions to secede from the Union. These tariffs would reduce the amount of money the South could take in, because foreign countries could not afford to buy much cotton because lack of their exported income from the tariffs. Vice President, John Calhoun proposed that the states have the right to nullify a federal law that not only can protect the welfare of the states but it also violated the Constitution. Once Calhoun proposed this nullification, to the South it became clear that the North could wield power that could damage the South’s economy. The South believed that they were fighting against a tyrannical government that the North were subjugating and enslaving them. The South really disliked the high taxes, which isn’t it one of the main reasons that our previous generations fought against in the Revolutionary
The Southern states had seceded and the South had fired on and captured Fort Sumter on April 12 1861.
The Civil War happened due to the many differences between the North and the South. For example economic, social, cultural and political differences. These all helped lead America to a Civil War. But to an extent, the most important cause was the fact there were many disagreements with states' rights versus federal rights.
The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the country began. Some causes include; states’ rights, economics, and slavery. The most recognizable and popular cause is slavery. The freeing of the slaves was an important moral issue at the time and one of the greatest causes of the civil war. "It was only by carefully avoiding the moral issue involved in slavery that Northerners and Southerners could meet on any common ground." (Goldston, 79). The time came in which our great country would finally address the moral issue of slavery. Although there are many different causes to the American Civil War, the main cause was slavery because other causes are rooted in the issue of slavery.
The Southern states had seceded and the South had fired on and captured Fort Sumter on April 12 1861.
Washington D.C., summer 1862. The Civil War had been going on for over a year, and it was not going well for Abraham Lincoln. 11 of the 15 southern states where slavery was legal had formed the Confederate States of America (CSA) and were waging a war to break free from the United States. Lincoln was determined that the nation was not going to fall apart on his watch. During the first year of the civil war, the Confederate Army had won the majority of important battles. When Lincoln became president, he had had no intention of abolishing slavery. Though he personally despised slavery and had won the presidency on an anti-slavery platform, he would gladly have given up any chance of ending slavery in the South if it meant that the Confederate states would rejoin the United States.
The southern states of the United States of America were outraged when Abraham Lincoln was elected the President. South Carolina was the first state to secede and six more states – Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana - followed shortly afterwards, creating the Confederate States. In one of Lincoln’s addresses, which outlined that his main priority was to maintain the Union, did not impress the Confederacy and on April 12, the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter, a federal stronghold in Charleston, South Carolina. The Federal troops returned the fire, thus starting the Civil War. As the Civil War continued on, African Americans were biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to flee their masters. Many did, making
On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. During this time, 85 federal soldiers under the command of Major Robert Anderson were stationed at Fort Moultrie, which is also located near the Charleston Harbor. To protect the federal strong hold in the south, Major Anderson moved his troops to Fort Sumter in the dark of night on December 26th. When the people of Charleston heard the news of the invasion on the fort, it did not sit well with them and other Southern states. Fort Sumter was built to protect the harbor in Charleston, now it was a military threat.
If asked, most people would blame as the cause of the civil war the issue of slavery. This is understandable; many people in the U.S. at the time were against slavery, going to far as to help runaway slaves escape to the free north. But, while slavery at face value was a major factor, international politics and economics played a major role. Several factors, including the election of Lincoln, the raid on Harper 's Ferry, the Dred Scott decision, and, most importantly, the fugitive slave law, contributed to the growing rift between the North and South and, eventually, 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