History
The American Civil War
The American Civil War was a major conflict fought from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern states (Union) and the Southern states (Confederacy) over issues including slavery, states' rights, and the preservation of the Union. The war resulted in significant loss of life and ultimately led to the abolition of slavery in the United States with the Union emerging victorious.
Written by Perlego with AI-assistance
Related key terms
1 of 5
11 Key excerpts on "The American Civil War"
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- University Publications(Publisher)
Confederate resistance ended after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The American Civil War was one of the earliest true industrial wars. Railroads, the telegraph, steamships, and mass-produced weapons were employed extensively. The practices of total war, developed by Sherman in Georgia, and of trench warfare around Petersburg foreshadowed World War I in Europe. It remains the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilian casualties. Ten percent of all Northern males 20–45 years of age died, as did 30 percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40. Victory for the North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery in the United States, and strengthened the role of the federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war decisively shaped the reconstruction era that lasted to 1877. Causes of secession The Abolitionist movement in the United States had roots in the Declaration of Independence. Slavery was banned in the Northwest Territory with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. By 1804 all the Northern states had passed laws to abolish slavery. Congress banned the African slave-trade in 1808, although slavery grew in new states in the deep south. The Union was divided along the Mason Dixon Line into the North (free of slaves), and the South, where slavery remained legal. Despite compromises in 1820 and 1850, the slavery issues exploded in the 1850s. Lincoln did not propose federal laws against slavery where it already existed, but he had, in his 1858 House Divided Speech, expressed a desire to arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction. Much of the political battle in the 1850s focused on the expansion of slavery into the newly created territories. Both North and South assumed that if slavery could not expand it would wither and die.
eBook - ePubContinent in Crisis
The U.S. Civil War in North America
- Brian Schoen, Jewel L. Spangler, Frank Towers(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Fordham University Press(Publisher)
The American Civil War took place at the pivot toward what Charles Maier has called Leviathan 2.O. 9 As the essays in this volume demonstrate, seeking sovereignty inevitably brought the question of using other sovereigns and interstate relations as means to fulfilling that ambition. At multiple levels of the conflict, protagonists in the Civil War advanced competing sovereign claims. Those claims went beyond whether or not the United States would prevail over the Confederacy to encompass questions such as federalism’s divided powers, citizenship and its rights, Indigenous-settler relations in the West, and international diplomacy. In each case, an outcome in one arena—for example, successes or failures in conquering Native peoples—said something about the extent of the nation-state’s sovereign claims overall. Battles in one of these areas could reframe developments elsewhere. When viewed in its North American context, the Civil War’s many battles over sovereignty can be understood not as intrinsically American issues but rather as part of regional and global negotiation of the right to rule. 10 The foregoing claims about the transnational dimensions of the U.S. Civil War may seem odd to Americans used to thinking about that conflict as a fundamentally national story focused on the internal character of the United States. Within that framework, the Civil War is a key plot point in America’s national development. In that narrative, an imperfect founding left the nation half slave and half free, a contradiction in the national character that had to be resolved one way or another. Its resolution in a bloody war that purged the nation of the sin of slavery fits into a redemptive story of sacrifice in the name of progress. That view shaped public memory and found more muted expression in professional scholarship for much of the twentieth century
eBook - PDFContinent in Crisis
The U.S. Civil War in North America
- Brian Schoen, Jewel L. Spangler, Frank Towers(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Fordham University Press(Publisher)
The American Civil War took place at the pivot toward what Charles Maier has called Leviathan 2.0. As the essays in this volume demonstrate, seeking sovereignty inevitably brought the question of using other sovereigns and interstate relations as means to fulfill- ing that ambition. At multiple levels of the conflict, protagonists in the Civil War advanced competing sovereign claims. Those claims went beyond whether or not the United States would prevail over the Confederacy to encompass questions such as federalism’s divided powers, citizenship and its rights, Indigenous-settler relations in the West, and international diplomacy. In each case, an outcome in one arena—for example, successes or failures in conquering Native peoples—said something about the extent of the nation-state’s sovereign claims overall. Battles in one of these areas could reframe developments elsewhere. When viewed in its North American context, the Civil War’s many battles over sovereignty can be understood not as intrinsically American issues but rather as part of regional and global negotiation of the right to rule. The foregoing claims about the transnational dimensions of the U.S. Civil War may seem odd to Americans used to thinking about that conflict as a 4 Brian Schoen and Frank Towers fundamentally national story focused on the internal character of the United States. Within that framework, the Civil War is a key plot point in America’s national development. In that narrative, an imperfect founding left the nation half slave and half free, a contradiction in the national character that had to be resolved one way or another. Its resolution in a bloody war that purged the na- tion of the sin of slavery fits into a redemptive story of sacrifice in the name of progress. That view shaped public memory and found more muted expression in professional scholarship for much of the twentieth century.
eBook - PDF- Keith D. Dickson(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- For Dummies(Publisher)
10 PART 1 The War and Its Causes of these rationales. Each side used all three justifications for fighting the other during the four years of war. And, interestingly enough, each side had a strong, valid, substantial reason for doing so. What’s a civil war? You hear the word civil in such terms as civil rights, civilian, and civil liberty. All are related to the concept of a common citizen, a member of society, and a state. So, a civil war is a war between citizens representing different groups or sections of the same country. Civil wars are unique in the history of war and usually are quite difficult to start. People have to be pretty angry and threatened to take this kind of drastic step. But when issues of survival are at stake between the opposing groups, violence can escalate quickly. After it does start, though, a civil war is quite bloody, often extreme, and very hard to end. The setting: 1850–1860 To understand the causes of the Civil War, you must be aware of some important events in American history — from roughly 1850 (the Missouri Compromise) to 1860 (the election of Abraham Lincoln) — that culminated in the secession of seven Southern states. These are milestones that will illustrate how specific events during this decade raised fears and created perceptions that made Americans so angry at their countrymen that they were willing to kill each other as a result. WHAT DO I MEAN BY NORTH AND SOUTH? To keep things clear, here is what this book means when speaking of North and South in regional or sectional terms: • The North consists of the Midwest states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. The Middle States were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The New England states were Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In 1860 the population of the North was a little over 18 million people.
eBook - ePubThe Story of Religion in America
An Introduction
- James P. Byrd, James Hudnut-Beumler(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Westminster John Knox Press(Publisher)
9. Slavery and the Civil WarThe Civil War (1861–65) was the most catastrophic war in American history: over 700,000 Americans died. Through all the devastation, Americans looked to God and the Bible for support and consolation. For both the Union and the Confederacy, it was a sacred war, and slavery was at the center of it. Although various issues surrounded the war, including states’ rights and loyalty to the Union, the main cause was the conflict over slavery. Nobody knew this better than Abraham Lincoln. In his Second Inaugural Address, delivered near the end of the war, he said it clearly: “Slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.”1Most Americans agreed that slavery was inseparable from religion. Some called it God’s blessing, destined to enrich the South and to bring the gospel to “heathen” Africans; others called slavery the nation’s curse, a diabolical institution that offended God and made a mockery of the nation’s claim to be a land of liberty. Americans divided over slavery; they claimed God’s endorsement for their views, transforming them into sacred convictions worth fighting (and dying) for by the hundreds of thousands. American views of religion, violence, and the nation’s mission would never be the same.Slavery and the Nation’s FoundingAs we have seen, the American Revolution tragically failed to abolish slavery. A new nation that claimed to be based on the principles of human equality and natural rights supported the enslavement of human beings. Recognizing this glaring contradiction, several prominent founders claimed that slavery was on the road to extinction. For much of the founding era, slavery was the elephant in the room—constantly thought about, sometimes complained about, but ignored whenever possible. The Constitution said nothing about freeing enslaved people, and it protected the slave trade until 1808. This was a relief for the founders, who wanted to put off the issue and let future leaders deal with it. Besides, many consoled themselves with the idea that slavery would die away on its own, so they did not want to argue about it. Best to wait until after 1808, when the nation would no longer participate in the international slave trade, and surely the end of slavery in the nation would follow.2
eBook - ePub- Tim Clancey, Simon Mosley, John Spiller, Stephen Young(Authors)
- 2004(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Chapter 3 The Origins of The American Civil War, 1840–1861This chapter will examine the debates over slavery, states’ rights and federal rights, and the sectional differences which gave rise to the secession of the Confederate states and the subsequent outbreak of The American Civil War.Historical background Sources IntroductionThe problems of territorial expansion and attempts at compromiseEconomic differences and the moral implications of slaveryStates’ rights and nationalismSectional divisions and conspiracy theoriesLeadership: politicians and partiesConclusion 1 Understanding the Northern perspective2 Understanding the Southern perspective Historical skills1 Conspiracy everywhere2 Who was most to blame? EssaysExpansion and slaveryIrresponsible agitators and blundering politiciansMotives for secession and fighting Chronology
1820 Missouri Compromise 1831 First issue of The Liberator publishedNat Turner Revolt 1832-3 Nullification Crisis 1836 Texas won independence from Mexico 1840 Whig William Harrison elected President 1841 Harrison died and Tyler became President 1844 Democrat James Polk elected President 
eBook - PDF- Maria Montoya, Laura Belmonte, Carl J. Guarneri, Steven Hackel(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300 372 CHAPTER 13 The American Civil War production boosted industrial capitalism, and in both sections of the divided nation, the reach of central governments expanded. The war itself, begun as a gentlemanly affair between West Point generals, devolved into fierce campaigns in which powerful new cannons crumbled masonry forts and marching armies destroyed farms and homes. When the Union finally prevailed in 1865, all Americans faced adjusting to personal traumas and the social and economic transformations brought by war. The American Civil War was not the only mid-nineteenth century nationalist conflict between centralizers and secessionists, republicans and aristocrats. The North’s aim to unify the states under the national government and the southern states’ resistance aligned with similar struggles in Latin America and Europe. In Germany and Italy, centralized nation-states replaced weak federations and alliances between dukes or kings. In Mexico and South America, national governments triumphed by tightening constitutional controls. The creation of new national governments often coincided with movements to end forced labor and extend political participation to common people. Almost everywhere, entrenched elites opposed democratic changes, and clashes over the meaning of free-dom and nationhood were settled on the battlefield. Each side in the Civil War predicted a quick and easy victory, the Union by penetrating and blockading the South, the Confederacy by repulsing the invaders. The Union’s superior industrial and labor force resources promised an important material edge. Confederates, however, counted on their fighting spirit and the advan-tages of defending their homeland.
- Insight Guides(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Insight Guides(Publisher)
FROM THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES TO WORLD WAR IIThe first modern war devastated a land that saw itself prosperous and powerful. It would be many, many years before the South would rise againAt the time, The American Civil War was a war like no other. It was the first real war of the industrial age; it was the first war in which armies were supplied by railway; it was the first war to be conducted by telegraph and so able to be reported quickly to civilian populations. It saw the introduction of the observation balloon, the repeating rifle (an early form of machine gun) and, at sea, the iron-clad, steam-powered warship. When it first began in the spring of 1861, there was much talk on both sides of a quick and neat conflict with the soldiers being home in time for Christmas.Storming Fort Wagner, 1863. Everett Collection/ShutterstockNaive Northerners saw it merely as a police action to curb the seemingly ungovernable South; naive Southerners boasted that one dashing young Southern cavalier could whip ten cowardly abolitionists. More thoughtful men on both sides, including Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, understood that the sectional controversies of four decades had aroused deep passions and that in all likelihood, once the war began, blood would flow until some final settlement was achieved.The American Civil War is considered the first modern war in history. Never before had a conflict been fed by railways, machine guns and steel sided battleships.Seeds of secessionThe intemperate economic arguments over tariffs that strained the Union in the 1850s, and the South’s reputation as the ‘wealth producing’ section of the country, giving reason to believe it could go it alone, went hand in hand with perceived moral and cultural rifts. Demand rose in the South for Southern textbooks and Southern teachers and for the South to emancipate itself from literary dependency on Northern and European writers.Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
eBook - PDF- P. Scott Corbett, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, Paul Vickery, Sylvie Waskiewicz(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Openstax(Publisher)
As they drag on, the energy and zeal that marked the entry into warfare often wane, as losses increase and people on both sides suffer the tolls of war. The American Civil War is a case study of this characteristic of modern war. Although Northerners and Southerners both anticipated that the battle between the Confederacy and the Union would be settled quickly, it soon became clear to all that there was no resolution in sight. The longer the war continued, the more it began to affect life in both the North and the South. Increased need for manpower, the issue of slavery, and the ongoing challenges of keeping the war effort going changed the way life on both sides as the conflict progressed. MASS MOBILIZATION By late 1862, the course of the war had changed to take on the characteristics of total war, in which armies attempt to demoralize the enemy by both striking military targets and disrupting their opponent’s ability to wage war through destruction of their resources. In this type of war, armies often make no distinction between civilian and military targets. Both the Union and Confederate forces moved toward total war, although neither side ever entirely abolished the distinction between military and civilian. Total war also requires governments to mobilize all resources, extending their reach into their citizens’ lives as never before. Another reality of war that became apparent in 1862 and beyond was the influence of combat on the size and scope of government. Both the Confederacy and the Union governments had to continue to grow in order to manage the logistics of recruiting men and maintaining, feeding, and equipping an army. Confederate Mobilization The Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia, exercised sweeping powers to ensure victory, in stark contradiction to the states’ rights sentiments held by many Southern leaders.
eBook - ePubCurrents in American History: A Brief History of the United States, Volume II: From 1861
A Brief History of the United States, Volume II: From 1861
- Alan C. Elliott, Terry D. Bilhartz(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
CHAPTER 7 A NATION DIVIDES, April 12, 1861 Fort Sumter and the Era of The American Civil WarBombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, April 12 and 13, 1861(Print by Currier & Ives. 1861. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-2570. 9-29-2006. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a06242 )Time LineB1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin 1854 The Kansas-Nebraska Act revives bitter sectional animosities 1856 Civil War in Kansas James Buchanan is elected president 1857 U.S. Supreme Court rejects Dred Scott's appeal for freedom 1858 Abraham Lincoln challenges Senator Stephen Douglas to a series of debates 1859 John Brown attacks Harpers Ferry 1860 The Democratic Party splits Northern Democrats nominate Douglas Southern Democrats nominate John C. Breckinridge Carrying 39 percent of the popular vote, Lincoln wins the presidency South Carolina secedes from the Union 1861 Confederates fire on Fort Sumter Lincoln calls for volunteers to crush the rebellion 1862 Following the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln announces the Emancipation Proclamation 1863 The Gettysburg Campaigns claims over 50,000 casualties Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address 1864 Lincoln defeats McClellan to gain reelection 1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox Lincoln is assassinated Andrew Johnson becomes president The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified 1867 Andrew Johnson is impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act 1868 The Fourteenth Amendment is ratified U.S. Grant is elected president 1870 The Fifteenth Amendment is ratified 
eBook - ePubSurveys from Exile
Political Writings
- Karl Marx(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Verso(Publisher)
1THE NORTH AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
London, 20 October 1861For months now the leading London papers, both weekly and daily, have been repeating the same litany on The American Civil War. While they insult the free states of the North, they anxiously defend themselves against the suspicion of sympathizing with the slave states of the South. In fact, they continually write two articles: one in which they attack the North, another in which they excuse their attacks on the North. Qui s’excuse, s’accuse.2Their extenuating arguments are basically as follow. The war between North and South is a tariff war. Furthermore, the war is not being fought over any issue of principle; it is not concerned with the question of slavery but in fact centres on the North’s lust for sovereignty. In the final analysis, even if justice is on the side of the North, does it not remain a futile endeavour to subjugate eight million Anglo-Saxons by force! Would not a separation from the South release the North from all connection with Negro slavery and assure to it, with its 20 million inhabitants and its vast territory, a higher level of development up to now scarcely dreamt of? Should the North not then welcome secession as a happy event, instead of wanting to crush it by means of a bloody and futile civil war?Let us examine point by point the case made out by the English press.The war between North and South – so runs the first excuse – is merely a tariff war, a war between a protectionist system and a free-trade system; and England, of course, is on the side of free trade. Is the slave-owner to enjoy the fruits of slave labour to the full, or is he to be cheated of part of these fruits by the Northern protectionists? This is the question at issue in the war. It was reserved for The Times to make this brilliant discovery; the Economist, Examiner, Saturday Review and the like have elaborated on the same theme. It is characteristic that this discovery was made, not in Charleston, but in London. In America everyone knew, of course, that between 1846 and 1861 a system of free trade prevailed and that Representative Morrill only carried his protectionist tariff through Congress after the rebellion had already broken out. Secession did not take place, therefore, because Congress had passed the Morrill tariff; at most, the Morrill tariff was passed by Congress because secession had taken place. To be sure, when South Carolina had its first attack of secessionism in 1832 the protectionist tariff of 1828 served as a pretext; but that a pretext is all it was is shown by a statement made by General Jackson. This time, however, the old pretext has in fact not been repeated. In the secession Congress at Montgomery3
Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
