American Civil War

The Civil War is one of the greatest events in the American history. American Civil War was an armed conflict between the United States and the Confederate States of America. The latter included the eleven Southern states which seceded from the union. The war took place between the years 1861 to1865 (History.com). The first seven states of the Confederacy were Florida, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia. Later, they were joined by Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas (Warren). The outbreak of the civil war was as a result of decades of disagreeing over slavery between the North and the South. The peak of conflict was the election of slavery-resisting Abraham Lincoln for Presidency. The Civil War, being the bloodiest war in the history of the country turned out a useful experience for it as it helped in ending the secession of the South and keeping the United States together. It also marked a significant event for the nation the abolition of slavery and giving the African American people freedom. It is thus necessary to look into the causes and consequences of the American Civil War, the most destructive conflict in the US past with different styles of fighting, long-term effects, and thousands of victims sacrificing their lives for the glorious outcome.

The outbreak of the civil war was a logical result of decades of conflicting opinions between the Northerners and the Southerners. The United States faced a major economic growth in the mid19th century, but there was a difference between the economies of the countrys North and South (History.com). In the North, the major economic activity was centered around manufacturing and industry, with agriculture limited to small-scale farming that relied on free labor. The North had invested heavily into the transportation sector, the financial industry, and the sphere of communications (Warren). On the contrary, in the South, the economy was represented by large-scale farming of crops, such as cotton and tobacco that relied on black slaves labor. The South had invested considerable funds into slavery factually, more than in anything else. After the 1830s, the North started expressing their resentment on slavery and this led to many southerners fearing that slave trade in America maybe be abolished at all. Yet, they could not allow it, as it was their major source of labor and income from the farms (History.com). Therefore, the underlying factor that led to the start of the Civil War was among other, less weighty things, the issue of slavery. The Southerners were convinced that the Northerners were aimed at destroying slavery so that the backbone of their economic activity was undermined.

Abraham Lincolns win in the elections held in 1860 made him the first Republican president (Warren). President Lincoln was focused on abolishing slavery and his determination to wipe away the inhumane practice angered the southern states, making them push for secession and the establishment of a faction known as the Confederate States of America. The fraction, as aforementioned, included such states as Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana (Eubank). President Lincolns government supported by a majority of the people from the North was not happy with the secession because they believed it would divide the United States and discredit the long-awaited democracy; they, therefore, considered the move as illegitimate (Warren). The secession thus created even more rift and became the additional incentive for an outbreak of the civil war.

The American Civil War started on the morning of April 12, 1861, when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter claiming it was theirs. They opened fire and took over the fort after the federal garrison surrendered and lowered the American flag (Warren). Luckily, this first attempt of the civil war did not claim any victims. After thirty-four hours of the open fire, 5,500 Confederate troops under P. G. T Beauregard took over Major Robert Andersons 85 soldiers (Warren). This was followed by the secession of four more Southern states Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee who chose to join the Confederate states, also for fear of losing revenue from slave labor. This first attack by the Confederacy started Americas most bloody and deadly war.

President Lincoln made a great contribution to the war. He commanded to quickly mobilize 75,000 soldiers to fight against the southern states (Warren), and ordered a naval blockade of the Confederate states. He also directed the fast-tracking of $2 million from the treasury secretary to help in raising the troops (Warren). The Confederacy, on the other hand, initially called for 100,000 soldiers for at least six months but the number was later increased to 400,000 men (Warren). Cape Hatters in North Carolina, Port Royal in South Carolina, Manassas Junction in Virginia, and Wilsons Creek in Missouri are the areas where the first largest battles took place (Warren). The United States Navy set up a blockade at Port Royal to keep off the Confederacy from accessing the outside world.

With the Confederates having taken that first shot, the conflict broke out and promised the continual war. By 1863, during Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation the United States started allowing black soldiers in their army since they needed more men (Herbert 482). The major battles of the civil war included those of Shiloh in Tennessee, Second Manassas (Warren), Gaines Mill, and Antietam in Maryland, as well as the battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. The Northern goal of a limited war changed to a new strategy of a total war in 1864 and aimed at destroying the Old South and its enterprise of slavery, giving birth to a restored union (Warren). The war terminated in 1865 when the Confederate recalled their troops (Warren). With the ending of the war, Americans embarked on a process of building a united and slavery-free nation.

The North and South were different regions with varying strengths and weaknesses that at the same time helped or put them down during the Civil War. The advantages of the South are represented by the fact that they had outstanding military officers who had been educated in military schools and had experience from fighting in the Mexican War. The South was also strongly motivated to fight since they were defending their wrong but beneficial way of life in a desperate attempt to retain slavery which mattered to them most. Another advantage of the South was that they were fighting on their home territory. Thus, they were very familiar with the battle areas. In addition to that, the South soldiers were skilled with guns and horses. The primary disadvantage of the South included weak political leadership skills. The South commander Jefferson Davis might have seemed as a perfect and capable leader but he was flawed by poor political skills, excessive pride, sensitivity to criticism, and tendency to micromanage. On top of all that, he always engaged in quarrels with his generals and cabinet members, in addition to being ill throughout the war (Warren). The South also had no navy that could help them to counter the Norths naval forces, which eventually made them blocked from accessing the outside world and left with little money and supplies to sustain themselves during the war.

The North might have won the civil war but for the several advantages gloomed by evident disadvantages. The advantages of the North include the fact that they had a stronger and superior leader compared to the South. Abraham Lincoln was a more efficient and reliable president because of the great intelligence, humility, communication skills, and his ability to constantly be focused on the bigger picture. Compared to the South where slavery flourished on cotton and tobacco plantations, the North had a greater population of around 21 million free devoted people, more money and farmland where food crops were grown (Warren). In addition, the North army had a navy, war machinery, and more men (including numerous blacks) who could fight. The disadvantages of the North were that their soldiers were not aggressive enough and did not press the enemy when they had the chance to. Besides, they were also fighting in unfamiliar grounds (Warren); most Northerners had never been to the South and thus did not know the enemy territory well. The outcome of the war would be the opposite unless the South had a poorly-skilled leader and had not experienced the naval blockade that disabled them from getting assistance from the outside world.

The end of the war was a new dawn for the United States. It resulted in the Northern States victory over the southern counterparts whose armies surrendered. This guaranteed that the United States was preserved as one nation and that the institution of slavery ended. All these changes opened doors to increased industrialization since there were no slaves to work free on the plantations but free workers who wanted to earn their own money and rebuild the country along the way. Although the Civil War brought great achievements, it also resulted in the deaths of up to 752,000 American citizens (Warren), including 38,000 black soldiers (History.com) the highest number that has ever been experienced in all the other United States wars.

In conclusion, the Civil War, one of the most significant events in Americas history, took place between the years 1861-1865. It erupted because the Southern states were against abolishing slavery which they depended on for labor in their plantation. The Confederate States of America that comprised of the states in the south initiated the conflict against the Northern States by attacking Fort Sumter. In reaction, President Lincoln ordered the Union Navy to set up a naval blockade at Port Royal, South Carolina, limiting the influx of food and other resources into the region. The major battles of the civil war included those near Shiloh in Tennessee, Second Manassas, Gaines Mill, and Antietam in Maryland, and Fredericksburg in Virginia. The Norths victory in the war can be mainly attributed to their strong and focused leader as well as the support of the black population. The civil war resulted in the preservation of the United States as one nation and the end of slavery in America. However, it also took lives of over 752,000 American soldiers. The Civil War and its victims will always be remembered in American history as the factors that brought the nation together and gave black people freedom from slavery.

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