American Civil War edit
A Civil war is a war that takes place within the country itself. The American Civil War was a major war that decided the fate of the United States. The war was fought between the Union and the Confederacy. The country was under the leader ship of Abraham Lincoln. The outcome of this 4 year war decided the future of the type of nation we live in today.
Major Battles edit
During the war there was lots of battles fought. Three major battles were the First Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Antietam, and the the Battle of Gettysburg. The First Battle of Bull Run was fought in in a small creek named Bull Run. The two sides Clashed on July 21st. The Battle ended in a victory for the Confederates. The Union Army retreated frantically.[1] This contradicted the idea people had that this war would be a short war. The Battle of Antietam was another battle. This Battle was the battle with the most tragedies in a single day of the war. This happened after Union Forces found a plan of attack from General Lee. [1] Sometime after the Battle of Antietam there was The Battle of Gettysburg. This battle was the turning point of the civil war. The Battle resulted in a victory for the Union. After the battle, President Lincoln gave his famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. the battle field was eventually turned into a military cemetery called, Gettysburg National Cemetery.[2]
What caused the War edit
The Nation of the United States was divided politically between the North and the South. The two major political issues were States' Rights and Slavery. States wanted the right to be able to secede from The Union. They also wanted to spread slavery into the new territories like the Nebraska Territory. [3]. The South heavily depended on slavery. Their economy was focused on agriculture, agriculture was worked by slaves.[4]. The south felt like the Union was to controlling and chose to go its own route. South Carolina was one of the first states to secede and then many states followed in a chain reaction. The seceded states became The Confederate States of America, and this lead to war. When the states seceded President Lincoln decided to respond by gathering volunteers to form a army for the Union. This was seen as a threat by the Confederates.Lincoln made the declaration that the only reason that President Lincoln went to war was to preserve the Union, not to end slavery [4]
Reconstruction edit
After the Civil War was over the south was a mess. President Lincoln decided to act. He came up with the Reconstruction Acts. The Civil war left a lot of damage, along with about 620,000 dead Americans killed by other Americans.[5]. The reconstruction was not only about the land, but about political problems as well, specifically rights. African Americans could now vote thanks to congress that passed acts like the Freedmen's Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866[6] President Lincoln had a reconstruction plan that would forgive the south and after a swear of allegiance would join the Union again. Unfortunately he did not carry out the plan. Andrew Johnson took the reconstruction plan over. While reconstruction was taking place a problem arose, the south did not want to give African American rights. Andrew Johnson tried to pass the Bill of Rights, yet it was rejected several times by the south. The problem comes that if they allow the south to do as pleased, the old south still remains. In the end the United States Congress Joint Committee on Reconstruction decided that the Union had the authority to do what was necessary to keep the Union safe and Civil Rights were issued in all the nation.
References edit
- ^ a b "American Civil War", World Book Encyclopedia, 2005 Edition
- ^ America: Pathways to the Present. Pearson Prentice Hall. 2007. Print
- ^ The Civil War, Harry Hansen, 1961, Print.
- ^ a b The Civil War, David M. Haugen and Lori Shein, 1999, Print.
- ^ Civil War Casualties http://www.civilwar.org/education/civil-war-casualties.html Acessed 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Library of Congress" Library of Congress website Acessed 20 March 2014.