РефератыИностранный языкAmAmerican Civil War Essay Research Paper The

American Civil War Essay Research Paper The

American Civil War Essay, Research Paper


The American Civil War


In 1860, arguably the world’s greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The


war divided the country between the North (Union) and South (Confederate).


The war lasted five years and by 1865 the Confederate forces were truly


beaten. Out of this horrendous war though, where some 600,000 men died grew


a greater sense of nationalism than is today, unrivalled around the world.


The American Civil War is interpreted differently by many historians but


most see the catalyst as slavery, the motivation as economic, the outcome


was a unified national identity.


Slavery was a major issue that triggered the American Civil War. Slavery


started out, as a few individual slaves coming from England that were


generally white. This changed however, and soon the Southern slave traders


began ’stealing’ blacks to take back to the South. The slaves were forced


to work 16-hour days, slave women were only seen as breeders and there were


no laws against the rape of a female slave. In 1860 slaves accounted for


one third of the South’s population and even still they had no rights (see


appendix one). The Unionist North many people believed it was immoral to


own another human being. These people were called Abolitionists. The South


relied strongly on the slave trade and when the North spoke of abolishing


it, the South spoke of forming there own country, The Confederate states of


America. The South began to see that the North was going to take action


against the South’s inhumane slave policy. In early 1860, South Carolina


formed under a new flag, Confederate States of America flag, so that they


could continue to operate their slave trade. What followed was an ordinance


of succession which saw the other slave populated states also swear an oath


to the Confederate States of America, also so that they could continue


their slave trade. This situation was found to be unworkable and it divided


the country in two. So in the words of Abraham Lincoln, ‘A house divide


against itself can not stand. I believe this country can not endure


permanently half-slave, half-free.’ Slavery formed two opposing societies


and could not have been abolished with out the Civil War.


The North was very industrialised and had a stable economy in comparison


to slave-dependant South. During the mid-1800s immigration to the North


skyrocketed. Jones says, ‘the immigration (many escap

ing the Irish potato


famine) were willing to work for almost anything and withstand inhumane


factory conditions.’ Although this exploitation was extremely cruel and


much like the treatment of the slaves in the South, the Northern economy


profited immensely (Brinkley,1991:264). Come 1860, the Union had an


overwhelming advantage over the South. The North played host to 109,974


industrial firms whereas the South had only 18, 026. The Northern States


also produced 96%of the locomotives in the entire country, and as for


firearms, more of them were made in Connecticut than in all the Southern


factories combined ("Civil War", Encyclopedia Americana:1988). The


Southerner’s believed cotton to be their biggest industry and economic


boosted during the Civil War but they had no factories capable of


processing the cotton. The cotton was sent to Northern factories to be


processed for a fraction of the price the Union sold it back to them for.


This cycle alone made a huge idiosyncrasy in the economies. So with all the


industrial and many economical advantages over the South was it any wonder


that the North were victorious in the Civil War?


The cost of the Civil was tremendous not only in money but in lives taken.


By 1865, the South surrendered, slavery was abolished and President Lincoln


was assassinated the total cost of the War for all American’s was around 15


billion dollars but priceless for the 600,000 lives lost. What came out of


this war however suprised everyone, in the next centaury America was seen


as the strongest nation in the world. The cause of the war was finally


resolved when slavery was abolished and because of this many inhumane slave


owners went bankrupt with out the slaves running the farms.


What followed the American can only be described as the birth of a Unified


National Identity. In this period of 5 years in which many people died many


of America’s major problem have been solved. Since the Civil war towns have


been rebuilt, mew industries flourish, and new schools have been erected.


Now in America both the North and South live prosperously and peacefully


together. Schenck describes America at the close of the war as, ‘A


developing industrial nation emerged from the Civil War and there was a


greater sense of nationalism.’ This same sense of nationalism has been


fostered and developed throughout the last 135 years to form arguably the


world’s greatest nation.

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