1

Running head: THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

The American Civil War

Institution Name:

Student Name:
 2
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
The American civil war is one of the deadliest violent conflicts to have happened on

American soil. It took place between 1861 and 1865 and slavery was at the center of its cause

because it had opposing interests from different states. The war was between the northern states

of the united states of America who were against slavery, and the southerners who largely

believe in and encouraged slavery because they were dependent on it for most of their economic

prosperity and sustainability. (Hallwood, 2018). The war was to answer two very critical

questions: the first being if the united states of America would be dissolved to become a

confederation of independent and sovereign states or a nation that is indivisible with one

sovereign government. The second question was whether it would continue to become the largest

nation practicing slavery even though they advocated for equality in all human beings regardless

of their race. Eventually, the northerners won the war, making the united states one sovereign

nation, and bringing the end to slavery which had caused the division of the nations from its

inception.

This was brought about bills and laws in America to provide regulation for different

aspects of the nation and its people. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was formulated by the

government that gave former slaves and black people the right to serve in a jury, the right to

witness against whites in a court case, the right to sue whites, and the right to enter into legal

contracts. There was also the emergence of Black Codes which restricted blacks and former

slaves from having legal rights, having the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and forbade

interracial marriages. Another law was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prohibited racial

discrimination against black people in all public places by the government. The Ku Klux Klan of

1871 was also among the laws formed to prohibit the tormenting of blacks and former slaves by

the whites who subscribed to the movement of the Ku Klux Klan. Other associated laws include
 3
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
The Compromise Law of 1883, the 15th Amendment, The 14th Amendment, and The First

Reconstruction Act.

This war had tremendous impacts on America as a nation. It redefined and later

consolidated the national union of states as one with a single sovereign government. It led to the

freedom of more than four million blacks who had been enslaved. It also formed a foundation for

America to become the world’s superpower in the 20th century. The war caused the greatest

number of lost lives in all American history, claiming 625,000 lives and injuries inflicted to even

more people. It also led to the redefinition of American citizenship, where anyone born in

America was considered a citizen by law, regardless of their race. It led to the formation of

identities and polarization of citizens to two distinct political affiliations; democrats and

republicans. It paved way for medical advances such as the idea of ambulances which was

conceived during the war and is now a worldwide practice. It was also a basis for military

advancement such as the inception of machine guns, adoption of soldiers’ ID tags, land mines

among other military advancements. (Eldridge, 2021)

The American civil war also referred to as the war between states was the biggest war to

have taken place on American soil, which lasted for four years from 1861 to 1865. The

conflicting parties were the southern states against the northern and north-western states which

were the united states, majorly over the issue of slavery. From around the year 1815 to 1861

right before the war, the northern economy was largely modernized and was majorly dependent

on free labor. The northerners had largely invested in railroads, industrialization, technology, and

communication, while the south remained agricultural. This brought a very huge difference in

economy between the two regions. While the north strived to modernize their economy and tried

to adopt industrialization, the south heavily invested in slavery. Slave trade was a legal business
 4
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
as the Africans brought into the territories as slaves were perceived as property and not people.

The slaves provided labor in the vast farmlands which cultivated majorly cash crops like cotton.

In the 1950s, the price of cotton, which was the main cash crop rose rapidly and

consequently raising the value of slaves which were considered property. By the 1960s, the

southern economy was valued at double the value of the northern economy. The south also had

the largest number of the top wealthiest people per capita. This economic difference stirred up

conflicts and disputes between the two regions, with the north advocating for the abolition of

slavery and slave trade while the south opposed it.

In 1961, an election was held for the presidency, and Abraham Lincoln, who was a firm

believer of antislavery and a member of the republican party won and was inaugurated as the

new president-elect. This caused some southern states to separate from the union and become

confederate states. These states were Florida, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi,

Albina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. As more and more tension built up

between the two regions, rebels were formed by the south and this called for the president to

command its army to guard the territory. On April 12th, 1861, the first shot which marked the

beginning of the war was made at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The president of the union

called for the recruitment of more militia, while the southern relied on sympathy and volunteer

military personnel.

Moving forward, congress continued to pass laws and bills that abolished slavery in

different parts of America, while the battlefields continued to heat up. Some of the slaves who

fought for the southerners defected and escaped into the north to fight for them these slaves were

regarded as contrabands of war, therefore were not mandated to go back to work for their

masters. In military camps and battlefields, a large number of militants died of illnesses and
 5
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
infections rather than battle wounds. Eventually, the southern states that had separated from the

union paid high prices in suffering from the devastation caused by the northern army. Many

people were also forsaking agriculture and moving to industrialization. The war eventually came

to an end in the year 1964, with the union as the winner, and all the confederate states were

merged back to the union to form the United States of America as a nation. Slavery was also

abolished and new laws were formulated to take care of the same.

There were emergent contrasts and opinions about the war by different people all over the

world from historians to jurists and the general public. Some felt the war should not have

happened in the first place while others believed the issues could have been settled peacefully.

The regional economic difference was one of the causes of war. However, some believed that

there could not be a possible motive for war on economic grounds. The businessmen in 1816 to

1861 believed that in as much as the north and the south had different world views, they

ultimately traded with each other became prosperous together by staying in the union. In the

1920s, Charles A beard’s opinion was that the differences in the economy caused the war rather

than slavery and constitutional debates. It was an industrial North against the Plantation South.

Critics say that his imagery of the North was not correct because it had a very diversified

economy with many competing economic interests. Most business interests were against the war

because they were concerned with business progressions. Kenneth Stamp, a historian, found that

Beard’s opinion held no water since there were no compelling reasons why economies with

different directional dimensions would want to engage in war.

Historian Eric Foner looked into the free labor of the north versus the pro-slavery of the

south. He said that the idea of free labor was dominant in the north, but the southerners opposed

it. They opposed the Homestead Act, a law that made the slaves eligible to own land, and that the
 6
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
owners were supposed to surrender land to their slaves. Their reason for the opposition to the act

was that they feared the small farmers would start opposing slavery so as not to lose the small

farms they owned.

After the war, the union government formed the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency that

looked into the economic and legal status of the freed slaves. The act that was to govern the

bureau gave them the mandate to seize property from confederates and give land to the

freedmen. However, the ideology of inequality was deeply rooted in the union and congress

never approved it.

Contrasting legal issues also arose from the war. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited

racial discrimination in all public places in the united nations. However, during parliamentary

sittings, the democrats were against the bill and opposed it, by all means, ensuring it was never

put into effect. Along with this Civil Rights Act of 1875 came so many civil rights cases handled

by the Supreme Court during the reconstruction period. These cases were against the radical

republican legislation during that period that restricted evils on blacks. The court ruled that this

Act was unconstitutional, citing that the act only prohibited the government but not individuals.

This ruling was used to justify racists’ actions and policies in the whole union.

David Goldfield, a Historian, asks a very contrasting question, then, was the war

necessary? His answer is no. he says that the civil war was a war of choice that was caused by a

mixture of politics and religion. He says that by the year 1861, the Bible had widely been

adopted across the united states and had replaced the constitution as the arbiter of public policy

on matters of slavery in particular being extended to the western territories. His argument is

therefore that the conflicts should have been easily solved based on the moral principles stated in

the Bibles hence the war was not necessary at all.

soil, claiming the most lives ever lost in a single war. The main reason for the war was the issue

of slavery that was condoned in the south while the north was against it. The war had several

impacts on the united states such as the redefinition of citizenship, changes of civil rights to

allow blacks and ex-slaves to vote, changes in economic dynamics that advanced

industrialization, medical advancements, military advancements, and more. The war also brought

about the formation of laws and acts that covered several aspects associated with it, most

significantly abolition of slavery and prohibition of racism among others. some jurists and public

representatives were in contrast with the war and what came along with it. Some say the war was

not necessary and conflicts would have been settled peacefully to enable continuity of

businesses. Some were against the laws that were formulated to curb the causes of the war.
 8
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
References.

Hallwood, P. (2018). The Confederacy and the American Civil War, 1861-1865: Greed Or

Grievance?. Journal of Economic Literature, 41, F54.

Eldridge, B. M. (2021). The Ever-Evolving Historiography of the American Civil War.

Graduate Review, 1(1), 7.

Ager, P., Boustan, L., & Eriksson, K. (2021). The intergenerational effects of a large wealth

shock: white southerners after the Civil War. American Economic Review, 111(11), 3767-

94.