One of the defining incidents of American history was the Civil War, which went on for five years, from 1861 to 1865. It completely changed the political and economic condition of America. Before the Civil War, American politics differed from state to state of the continent. But it was the Civil War that consolidated the American states as what we know today as the United States of America (USA). The Civil War also laid the foundation for the development of a mighty nation that strongly believes in the philosophy of democracy and equality. It was the American Civil War that made the entire world re-evaluate the political principles and realize that all men are born equal. The present notion of condemnation of discrimination of any kind based on caste, creed, race, and religion traces its roots back to the American Civil War. Some of the essential features and outcomes of the American Civil War on which cheap reliable essay writing service offer custom essay writing are as follows:
The primary cause of the American Civil War was the abolishing of slavery. The Northern States of America, which will be later on known as the Union had abolished slavery. The Northern States were slowly becoming more powerful and diversifying. The landed gentry of the Northern States believed in free labor and were against slavery.
Moreover, the landed gentry mostly consisted of small landowners who had to hire laborers to work in their farms. But as industrialization started in the Northern States, this section of North America became modernized and technologically advanced. However, the Southern States remained backward, and its economy was primarily dependent on the cotton grown in the vast and extensive fields of the Southern part of North America. Moreover, the wealthy landowners started suspiciously vying for the growing power of the more modern Northern States. The landed gentry of the Southern States were heavily dependent on the slaves for the cultivation of cotton. Thus, anti-slavery policies were vehemently opposed by the people living in the Southern States. As the economic differences became more and more evident between the Northern and Southern States, the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina decided to secede from the Union. This was almost like a declaration of war against the Northern States.
One of the primary causes of friction between the Northern and Southern States of America was the anti-slavery laws. As slavery was already abolished in the Northern States, Abraham Lincoln, the then President of the United States of America, sought to remove it from the Southern States as well. This policy of Lincoln was not perceived favorably by the Southerners as the slaves formed the dominant labor force in the South. The secession of the Southern States led to the formation of the Confederate Army. The Union Army fought for the anti-slavery laws as established under Lincoln. Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, believed that the result of the War would favor the Confederate States as they had a stronger army. Moreover, Davis had hoped he would receive foreign aid. However, the help and support never came, and the result of the Civil War favored the Northern States.
Abraham Lincoln was the chief architect who helped win the War. When the Southern States seceded from the USA, the Northern States refused to recognize the secession. They believed that the withdrawal would harm the entire federation as a whole. Moreover, the Union started taking political and economic steps to prevent the Southern States from pursuing the removal, and this led to the American Civil War. After the Confederate Army Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay on April 12th, 1861, Lincoln decided to take decisive steps to prevent the Confederates from entering into the North and making the secession a success. The deployed the Union militia to take back control of Fort Sumter and stop the revolution. He then set up blockades with the help of Union Army volunteers to effectively prevent the Confederacy from communicating with the rest of the world. The Naval blockade set up by Lincoln was the most effective in preventing the Confederate states from sending or receiving news from across the Atlantic. Several battles were fought between the Union and Confederate armies along with the border states of Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky. It was the Civil War that led to the creation of the new state of West Virginia.
The American Civil War ended with the surrender of General Lee of the Confederate Army to General Grant of the Union Army on April 9th, 1865. The Civil War cemented the foundation of the development of a country that is based on equality. The first result of the Civil War was the abolishment of slavery from both Northern and Southern American states. Though initially, the War was started to prevent the South from seceding, yet the abolition of slavery was the most effective result of the War.
Moreover, it was also the realization of Lincoln'sLincoln's long term dream of establishing a nation, the governance of which is based on equality. It also led to the famous Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln. Here he spoke of the establishment of a government of the people, for the people and by the people. This laid the foundation of democracy and the setting of democratic governments across the world. The Civil War also led to the development of the American Constitution and the establishment of a federal form of governance.
Thus, the American Civil War had a lasting effect on the politics of not only the United States of America but of the entire world as a whole. The Civil War helped to inspire other nations to rise against the feudal structure that causes more harm than good. It also helped countries realize that democracy is the best form of governance because it ensures human freedom and independence.
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Apr 21, 2020
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