Category: American Civil War

TECHNOLOGY IN THE CIVIL WAR

Tarrell Carter Jr.

APUSH

January 7, 2020

Before the start of the Civil War, there were many differences between the North and South. The North’s dependence on Industrial factories helps play a major in the future during the Civil War. The South was most dependent on the booming industry of cotton, which will, later on, put them behind during the war. As in every conflict, technology-assisted change in strategy and important circumstances define how new technology was used. Northern advantages of the Civil War, some believed that the success of the war was determined by the side with the most guns and more people, but America’s success needed much more. The war was a stage in our way of fighting to more of a modern way of fighting, these recent technological advancements, and president Lincoln utilize them to his advantage throughout the war as the Civil war is the time where technology played a major role in fighting in this war.

The Antebellum period was a time when the country’s economy began to shift in the north and south: the north to manufacturing as the Industrial Revolution began, while in the south, a cotton boom made plantations the center of the economy.[footnoteRef:0] The rise of manufacturing in the north and early industrialization were the beginning of many opportunities for people that needed jobs and created a booming economy. The creation of the factory system one such as the Lowell system where it was designed so that every step of the manufacturing process was done under one roof and worked by young women instead of children or young man.[footnoteRef:1] Lowell System was faster and more efficient and completely revolutionized the textile industry. It eventually became the model for other manufacturing industries in the country.[footnoteRef:2] Factories were able to create parts so that they were to replace parts instead of creating a whole new part this was a very efficient process to keep with the war. Eli Whitney known for his invention of the cotton gin was also known for his creation of interchangeable parts. The North’s advantage of factories help coaside with the manufacturing of interchangeable parts for weapons and ships. Factories were able to create parts so that if weapons were ever damaged on the battlefield all they had to do was replace the part instead of starting all the way over. This was a crucial part in the war because many new weapons were being created back to back and this helped the union catch up with the war. [0:

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In the antebellum era, advances in technology and improvements in machinery and sharing of information were closely aligned with the growth of railroads in the United States. When the Civil War started in 1861, the U.S. had about 31,500 miles of track, 22,000 miles in the North and the South had 9,500.[footnoteRef:3] Wars were always fought to control supply centers and road junctions, but it was slow for the Confederate government to recognize the value of railroads in the conflict. The Southern rails were in bad shape by September 1863. They had started to decline quite shortly after the war started when many of the workers of the railroad moved north to join the war efforts of the Union. Few of the 100 railroads that operated in the South until 1861 had a range of over 100 miles. The South had always been less passionate about the railway industry than the North; its citizens preferred an agricultural life and left the technical jobs to Northern states men.[footnoteRef:4]Although normal trains were frequently used, they greatly enhanced the chances of survival of casualties when hospital trains were available to Northern forces. Later improvements with passenger cars rather than box cars and better equipped surgical cars also increased care for the wounded. At Chattanooga, Dr. Ferdinand Barnium of United States(US) Army[footnoteRef:5], supervised the transport of 20,472 patients by rail on hospital trains and lost only one man on the way. After Gettysburg from 1 July to 1 August 1863, 15,580 badly injured were transported by rail to Baltimore, New York, Harrisburg or Philadelphia. In total, from 1862 to 1865, Northern hospital trains removed some 225,000 wounded or sick from both sides directly from 1862 to 1865 rails were able to remove around 225,000 injured or sick of the North and South directly from the battlefield.[footnoteRef:6] [3: ] [4:

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As the factory created weapons new idea were now taking part of the war. Many people came up with ways to make weapons more effective. “The oldest long arms carried by the combatants in the first few years of the war were the ‘smoothbore’ musket. The term musket originally referred to a gun with a long barrel whose bore had a smooth surface(from which the word smoothbore derived)”[footnoteRef:7].The musket were quite ineffective they were inaccurate and took forever to reload. Muskets were all were all smoothbore and this made the bullet very inaccurate because as the bullet would bounce around the barrell and not come out on the intended path. The reload time for guns were very time consuming and were a disadvantage on the battlefield. A major step towards modern ammunition and modern warfare was the development and actual use of the center-fire cartridge in the American Civil War. The main reason for this interest in perfecting cartridge ammunition in American small arms manufacturers can be traced back to the breech-loading flintlock. This weapon instilled the desire to create ammunition for the new generations of percussion breech loader designs to evolve in the pre-Civil War two decades before.The breech-loading cartridge firing trigger was the muzzle-loading bullets made for the 1850s muskets or rifle muskets. The arrangement of rifle-musket and minie ball. [7: ]

“The Minie Ball was a type of bullet that was used throughout the Civil War. Designed to expand while traveling along the rifle barrel, it increased muzzle velocity as well as providing spin to the bullet, expanding its accuracy and range. This advance in weaponry, along with outdated military tactics devised in an era of older firearms, are often cited as a reason for the large numbers of casualties of the Civil War .”[footnoteRef:8] [8:

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Muzzle-loaded cartridge innovations have resulted in the creation of rounds developed for breechloaders. Those include untraditional designs like the Williams Bullet, the Shaler Sectional Bullet, the Gardiner Explosive Shell, and the Bullet 0.44 Colt. The repeating Henry rifle[footnoteRef:9] had some design features which would prove useful to later weapons. It used a lever-action to feed constantly into the chamber, bullets which were housed in a magazine pipe installed under the barrel. The weapon was highly popular with those who would use it, although it was quite weak in design Some recognize the technical achievement of the Henry repeating rifle to be the pinnacle of small weapons structure in Civil War.[footnoteRef:10] It was built on the prior concept and war success achieved by the repeating rifle of the Spencer seven-shot. The lever action and self-contained ammunition have been used by Union soldiers and were both prototypes. One Confederate soldier said, “It’s a rifle you could load on Sunday and shoot all week long.”[footnoteRef:11] [9:

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Aeronautics ‘ growth as a legitimate tool of warfare owes a great deal to the use of the Civil War balloons. The development of aerial warfare has been supported as an outward sign that the Civil War was different to previous wars, defining the link between the war and the period of modern warfare. Even before the Civil War, balloon technology has been well developed. The evolution of the military need for balloons in the war was the same as other technological developments. The question of how military technological advancement has affected use of balloons in the civil war can only be fully answered after an analysis of how balloons were being used in the war and how technical alterations aided their greater use. It is hard to say that the Civil War marked a revolutionary beginning to the technological knowledge obtained through the use of balloons in war. Only four months when the Montgolfier brothers in France created the balloon on 5 June 1783, Jean François Pilâtre de Rozier journeyed in a balloon (on 15 October 1783) and promptly proposed its introduction as a tool of war. At the outset of the war, these pioneers tried to bring air technology to the military service in Northern states. The War Department had conducted to evaluate its offers. Uncertain of the practical military uses of balloon technology, Joseph Henry was engaged as a technical consultant in the War Department. Not only did his recommendations support the use of balloons in war, but also gave full support to Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe’s work. It was evident from the very beginning of the war that balls could be used as a supplement to the ground forces. However, during the war it was largely restricted to non-aggressive action in both the Northern and Southern Forces.

The American Civil War was the first war in which the field telegraph was widely used. The military telegraph quickly gained wide recognition in both major armies due mainly to the size of the involved armies, the large distances over which the war was dispersed, and the flexibility of the fronts. Nevertheless, the advent and heavy reliance on the telegraph was achieved by simplicity rather than design performance. Using pre-existing civilian lines encouraged military control of the operation by their civilian operators Eventually, in October 1861, President Lincoln officially recognized the inclusion of railway telegraph operators into serving in the military. Throughout the North telegraphic communications were rapidly improved. Between 1861 and 1865 some 15,386 miles of telegraph line were laid.[footnoteRef:12] In the South, the military value of the telegraph was inhibited by the lack of material to widely implement field telegraphs. Furthermore, the unavailability of insulated wire severely inhibited the deployment of telegraph lines, further preventing military exploitation of any potential lines may be held. An important advancement brought on by both the North and the South’s reliance on extensive telegraphic links, was the development of codes and ciphers. The encoding of messages and attempts to intercept and decode them, added a new aspect to military. Technological innovations in telegraphy were of inestimable value to the forces of the North, allowing them to sustain communication links where the means generally available had failed or were too slow. In the south, the communication liability had to be carried by the pre-war telegraph lines as the war continued. As they lacked the necessary resources to repair or improve these lines, the system ultimately decayed and had become inefficient. In favor of ground battles, naval conflict is ignored when people seek out why the South was defeated. Yet it was the ability and willingness of the Federal Navy to help preserve the Anaconda policy of General Winfield Scott, effectively blocking the Confederate States, to strangle the supply of materials needed to wage war on the South. Extending the blockade through the Civil War resulted in attacks on coastal forts, combining operations to gain strategic positions, blocking harbors, controlling inland river systems, and finally attacking Confederate trade raiders and blockade runners. These strategic naval operations promoted an innovative environment in which both sides sought to reinforce their efforts. In the development of naval technological knowledge, the Civil War is most often cited as contributing most to military technological change. The construction and use of ironclad vessels propelled by steam, and the development of sea mines with their various delivery vehicles, was seen to be elevating the war to the forefront of innovative efforts. [12: ]

IRONCLADS: On March 8, 1862, a strange-looking vessel steamed into Hampton Roads, Virginia, on a mission of destruction. The ship was a Confederate ironclad, the CSS Virginia. Previously the Union ship USS Merrimac, it had been captured and equipped with iron plating and other modifications. Armed with muzzle-loaded rifles and smoothbore guns, the Virginia opened fire on the Union ships blockading the harbor. In five hours, the ironclad sank two wooden warships and damaged another. Virginia returned the next day to finish the job, but it was met by the Union ironclad USS Monitor. For four hours, the two ships fired at each other at point-blank range. The shots dented the ships’ iron hulls, but neither could sink the other. Although the duel ended in a stalemate, the historic first battle between ironclad ships had ushered in a new era of naval warfare.[footnoteRef:13] [13: ]

By armoring an existing wooden ship, the Confederacy built the Virginia. This way they continued making ironclads, and they also made them from scratch. For both the Union and the Confederacy, the regulation of the waterways in the West was essential. Critical transportation and shipping routes were the large and small rivers. In mid-1861, to regulate the rivers, the South built many forts in the West. The Union began building seven new ironclad gunboats the same year to attack the Confederate forts and gain control of the waterways. In the growth of ironclad technology, it is evident that the South had an advantage, which was to be matched by the Monitor and finally outperformed in 1863 when the superior metal-working factories of the North swung into production. With the production of ironclad technology by the South and its ability for producing a radical innovative breakthrough, the North feared that the wooden ships blockading across the was going to overrun one day On July 4, 1861, Gideon Welles (a Union Navy Secretary) implemented a Naval Board to evaluate the viability of ironclad production. It was not surprising that somehow the Board recommended the immediate construction on 3 August 3rd of 1861. As the fight of Metal ships continued the North was able to produce more ships due to their factory system. The South needed to be able to defend against this by coming up with new ideas.

The innovation of the torpedo during Civil War is among the most important examples of how wartime advancement took a technical entity with a limited scope of useful use and modified it into a recognized warfare element. The advances in torpedoes and their related weapons have been without question one of the most overlooked areas of technological improvement to develop in the Civil War. “One solution was to deploy ‘torpedoes’ – submerged explosives (which would be called sea mines today) that could detonate under enemy ships. Torpedoes therefore had the advantage of being able to attack an ironclad below the waterline, where its hull was most vulnerable.”[footnoteRef:14] This idea became more technical as the South found more ways to defend themselves against Union war ships. The South started to build torpedo boats which were made to transport torpedoes (sea mines) on long poles in front of the boat which were used to ram into the boat under the waterline.[footnoteRef:15] The vehicles were made to sit very low in the water so that the vessel would be harder to see and provided a defense to cannon fire. The development of torpedo technology by the Confederates also led to variations of their use in land warfare. Technology that had generated torpedoes for an environment based on water changed to apply new torpedo technology to land. An interesting prototype design was the’ coal torpedo,’ which was a coal-shaped bomb placed in the coal container of a ship. The Confederacy has already been supporting the development of the anti-personnel ground torpedo with its more inventive and creative design vision. The major change in land mines came with the invention of a pressure-activated fuse by General Gabriel J. Raines that could be mounted in projectiles of artillery and then placed just below the earth’s surface.[footnoteRef:16] Successive field modifications of artillery projectiles resulted from these technical innovations. These were deployed in defensive enmeshment to enhance defensive positions such as Fort Wagner or used in open positions as’ booby traps.'[footnoteRef:17] These torpedoes came in all sizes and were ignited by impact, lanyard, as with their naval counterparts. [14:

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It seems that previous technical knowledge and contemporary design practice paved the way for most advances in the Civil War. In cases such as the production of ironclads, torpedo delivery vehicles, later repeating breech-loading small arms, and ammunition creations cause the motivation to produce better weapons be seen to be encouraged by a perceived military need. It seems that innovators had tried to make technical advances that separated their innovations from other competing designs. Breech innovations— charging mechanisms, ammunition, faster firing weapons, shipbuilding, and torpedoes, have brought important advances to pre-Civil War technology. Other developments in telegraphy, balloons, railways, have all become more widespread, but have been built on pre-war technical knowledge.

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The Civil War was a complicated event. However, it’s not surprising that a discussion of the causes of the war would also be complicated. Therefore, this essay will organize the major causes of the Civil War into long-term, short-term, and trigger causes that lead to the outbreak of fighting in 1861.

Long-term causes are aspects of US history that help us understand how a future civil war would be possible. The settlements between slave states and free states would determine future outcomes, making it a long-term element to cause the Civil War. States in the Border South such as Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri had different environments for their crops; which meant that it was hard for certain plants to grow, dismissing the need for slaves. Crops such as cotton, indigo, and rice would dominate the South and expand the growth of slavery. Slavery was considered the first and main cause of the Civil War. Dating back to the early 1600s on the eastern British coastal shores of Virginia, the concept was based on African-Americans owned as property. Debates on slavery would go back and forth and eventually create a split between the North and the South, respectively the Confederate and the Union. The Compromise of 1850, which was a group of 5 bills over slavery, provided a temporary resolution. But the violent opposite sides could not hold onto the compromise any longer. Another long-term cause of the Civil War was the Underground Railroad. Led by Harriet Tubman, this secret route provided an escape for African-Americans, free or enslaved, to complete freedom in the North. The organization lasted for about 50 years, ending in the midst of the war. Tubman’s successful plan branched off other concepts that indirectly but ultimately resulted in the war, such as the equality of men and women, and the involvement of African-Americans in politics.

The short-term causes are aspects of US history during the mid-1800s, which show that a civil war is not just possible, but now probable; increasing the probability of war and changing the future of the United States. A short-term cause of the war was the debate on states’ rights. The government and the states were fighting since America gained its independence, as they would argue on concerns such as the Articles of Confederation. The main issue with the new governments after the revolution was that they were not willing to form a national government in exchange for their freedom. Although this issue did not last long, it was considered a tension for the war, and would quickly lead to the detachment of the Confederation from the North. Abraham Lincoln, a prominent figure for discussing and eventually siding for abolition, played a key role. Even though Lincoln did not want to abolish slavery, he took it as a deterioration of the country and wanted to act on it as soon as possible when he was elected in 1861. Frederick Douglass also helped convince Lincoln of the decision. South Carolina saw the election as a signal and became the first state to secede from the Union, fueling the Civil War. Six states would soon follow in agreement. In fact, Andrew Jackson predicted the result of war during the concerns of nullification. He claimed it was “an absurdity and a mad project of disunion that was incompatible with the existence of the Union.”

Triggers are aspects of the Civil War right before it began, making the war inevitable. A trigger of the war stems from Nat Turner’s rebellion. A black overseer from Virginia, Turner executed his objective on the 40th anniversary of the Haitian slave rebellion. The results were not so great as slaves who did not even participate were killed, including Turner himself. The revolt seemed to have no preference, as the slaves also killed a baby and some students. But the significance of the rebellion solidified and maximized the South’s stance on slavery, prompting arguments against the North. A former slave even claimed it was “impossible to pass through the country with any safety.” A direct trigger of the Civil War originated at Fort Sumter; when Lincoln issued food and supplies to be brought to his troops, the Confederates launched an attack. In the words of Congressman Daniel Sickles, the assault caused the “North to form a unit,” and as expressed by Frederick Douglass, “War begins where reason ends.” A disastrous battle loomed over the nation’s head. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, described slave life and its popularity exploded throughout the nation. It was even dubbed “the most popular novel of our day,” and soon enough a children’s version and a traveling theater production were made. Even many years before Stowe wrote the novel, she helped runaway slaves cross the Ohio River. The novel helped the North to see the massive and immoral issues behind slavery and used the book as a support for their beliefs and arguments. Uncle Tom’s Cabin went on to expand the abolitionist movement and inspired future soldiers who would fight for the Union. Slaveowners in the South grew irate at Stowe and her ideas and provoked the split between the North and South.

In the fullness of time, the long-term causes, short-term causes, and triggers of the Civil War led to brutal violence generally surrounding the events of slavery. The arguments surrounding slavery generated endless events and scenarios that would form a split into two groups. Certain characters had unique consequences in different areas of the timeline, and the war led to the abolishment of slavery. This essay described and contrasted the actions and reasonings leading up to the war.

“The American Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865.” (Civil War Facts) According to American Battlefield Trust, “10,000 battles were fought across the continent.” (Civil War) Some causes of the American Civil war were Slavery, The Dred Scott Decision, states’ rights, the Missouri Compromise, the secession of the south, and the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

“Slavery first began in 1619 then called Point Comfort Virginia.” (Waxman) The first captives were forced to the Virginia Shores. The majority of the country relied on Native American slaves and indentured servants. By the end of the 1600s transatlantic slaves made an impact on the American colonies. In 1661 the anti-miscegenation statute was written into law in Maryland. This law prohibited marriage between races. In 1776 the American Revolution went into effect. Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are equal and have many rights that couldn’t be taken from them in the Declaration of Independence however, this did not include slaves. For many more years to come slaves were still mistreated and had no rights. (Shah and Juweek) By the end of the American Revolution, slavery was becoming unsuccessful and dying out. (Slavery In the United States) By the 1860s, many people wanted slavery to come to an end. Many slave owners tried to defend slavery. Some of their arguments were cotton was in high demand and the country made slaves necessary, another argument was slaves were happy and well cared for. They also argued slaves were unable to take care of themselves. (The Social Studies Help Center)

The Dred Scott Decision was a supreme court case that ruled that even living in a free state or territory did not entitle a freed slave to freedom. (Dred Scott Decision ) This decision shocked many people in the United States. Dred Scott petitioned that he felt he was entitled to freedom. John Emerson, the slave owner, was a United States Army surgeon who traveled a lot, such as in Illinois and Wisconsin. Scott traveled with him and was living in places where slavery was outlawed. (Missouri’s Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857)

The states’ rights played a big role in starting the civil war. The original constitution banned slavery but Virginia didn’t like this and Massachusetts didn’t ratify the document until they introduced the Bill of Rights. An issue became aware of whether slavery would be allowed in new territories. The Missouri compromise tried to solve the problem. It established that lands west of Mississippi and below latitude 36º30º, except Missouri, as free states. Southern states felt like the North was going to abolish slavery and destroy the southern economy. When Abraham Lincoln came into the presidency this worry only escalated. Feeling like the only ones to protect themselves, southern states wanted to secede. (States’ Rights: The Rallying Cry of Secession)

The Missouri Compromise was an attempt to preserve the power of congress and slave and free states. The Missouri Compromise was a law that was passed in 1820, it acknowledged that Missouri was a slave state and Maine a free state. The Missouri Compromise was abolished in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1857 the Missouri compromise was acknowledged as unconstitutional. The supreme court declared that Congress did not have the authority to ban slavery. (Drexler) In 1819, the US had eleven free states and eleven slave states. When they got Missouri as one of their states they did not know what to do since Missouri. Would throw off the balance and could favor slave interests. The debate was bitter since New York congressman James Tallmadge advised that slavery should be banned in Missouri. Henry Clay came up with a solution that became to be known as the Missouri Compromise. His solution was Missouri would be admitted as a slave state but Maine would become a free state. Maine had been wanting to be separated from Massachusetts for a while. (The Missouri Compromise)

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president, he served from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 that set the slaves free within the confederacy. Abraham Lincoln believed secession was illegal. He used force to protect federal law and the union. According to the White House website, confederate batteries were fired at Fort Sumter and forced their surrender. Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers. Later, four more states joined the Confederacy however four continued with the union. This led to the start of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. (Abraham Lincoln)

After Abraham Lincoln was elected, South Carolina was the first state to call a convention so they could secede from the union. After 3 months after Lincoln’s election, seven states had already separated from the union. (The South Secedes) Seven states seceded from the Union. These states were South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. In February of 1861, these states created the “Confederate States of America”, this was considered illegal by the US government. The Confederate states attacked Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. (Secession of the southern states)

Works Cited

1. Abraham Lincoln. n.d. 19 3 2021.
2. Civil War Facts. n.d. 16 3 2021.
3. Dred Scott Decision . n.d.
4. Drexler, Ken. Missouri Compromise: Primary Documents in American History. 7 March 2019. 18 3 2021. .
5. Missouri’s Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857. n.d.
6. The secession of the southern states. n.d.
7. Shah, Khushbu and Adolphe Juweek. 400 years since slavery: a timeline of American history. 16 August 2019. 16 3 21. .
8. Slavery In the United States. n.d. 16 3 21.
9. States’ Rights: The Rallying Cry of Secession. n.d. 16 3 21.
10. The Missouri Compromise. n.d.
11. The Social Studies Help Center. n.d.
12. The South Secedes. n.d.
13. Waxman, Olivia B. The First Africans in Virginia Landed in 1619. It Was a Turning Point for Slavery in American History—But Not the Beginning. 20 August 2019. 16 3 21. .

Slavery is the most element to create the Civil War in the Freedom of the United States. The most important encouragement to withdraw eleven southern states from the US Alliance in 1860, which leads to the civil war, is slavery. The resistance of the leader of South Policy leaders to try through the northern anti-police forces to prevent the expansion of slavery in Western regions. After the US Civil War of 1861 to 1865 as well as the formation of alliances in the southern slaves, Abraham Lincoln played an important role in order to lead his country through the crisis.

The largest internal, American civil war, ended slavery and its introduction of measures that lead to the abolition of slavery and promote the passage of thirteen amendments to the Constitution. In 1860 in the south, it was estimated that about 25% of households and 5% of the population have at least one slave, and men with economic relations with a higher proportion of slavery a lot. The biggest slave status in the white population in the black population and the contribution to the Union Army in Virginia and also a motor of the slave trade in the country. A large number of slaves lives in the United States along the border between the Alliance and the Alliance, and the market to buy and sell slaves continues during the Civil War.

Before the beginning of the war, political and economic goals for slaves are very important to expand slaves, but late in the war, the growing probability that slavery is connected to each other is recognized by the slave owner. In the summer of 1861, a non-authorized slave regulation was planned in Mississippi, as the slave uprising was a consistent fear of the past slave and in the war, but this led to a broad penalty for regional slaves. The slave uprising will continue to take place, and more fear in the slaves penetrated, and this leads to the arrest of forty black slaves and two white men who led the uprising the other in June 1861 escaped in Louisiana. Another uprising includes about 400 slaves, which are located in August 1861 in Alabama, and the monitoring of surveillance was harder. Slaves are physically stolen or otherwise punished in the slavery company, and some people are sometimes rewarded for good behavior, but physical punishment is considered more effective to maintain control. Some penalties include murder, rape, and the sale of slave relatives. In and before the civil war, the resistance of slaves spread, and it brings the belief that blacks of alone are more faithful than a combination. It is believed that most people are faithful to the veterans, and the veterans of the union between slaves are popular and spacious, but slave workers have broke, and ceased to exceed farms and plantations.

Slavery owners fled from the escape slaves, which were locked up by the Alliance army, many slave owners fled into the alliance and put their slaves with them, and one of the number of slave owner fled their slaves behind it and many slaves fled from their slaves The Union. The Union Army assessed 200,000 slaves in the Civil War, and slaves are loyal to their owners, but watching and maintaining their ownership. Some slaves are ready to risk their lives and their families, while others do not escape, and the slaves that are trapped on the free hard way. The slave plays an important role in the early military success of the Alliance, the slave repaired the rail repairs, which provided agriculture, built the guidelines, and without soldiers are soldiers. Some slaves in the army rely on a lot and this leads to disease or death for excessive slaves, while others serve as servers. Some farmers can get a salary and not click. The white soldiers were sent to fight because the population was more available to send white men to the army instead of risking the lives of the slave. While most alliances are not owned by slaves, it is expected that the slave owner is compensated when the slaves died in the service of the Union Army, but the alliances, who knew a worker, liked that knows more than a dead white person died. At the beginning of the war of Abraham Lincoln War, from March 1861 to the murder in April 1865, was president of President to keep all or without slaves, while DomainingerAple will support North Slave escape.

LEEDALs began to capture slaves in the first and bitterness of the conflict, which became clear in 1862. General Benjamin F. Butler refused to return the slaves in the Federal Line to their slave ownership and used instead, the theoretical theory that the return of slaves will support the enemy. Lincoln confirmed that it was the need for the army, and was important to escape the slaves with combined lines and labeled slaves as ‘smuggling goods’, and initially as a manufacturer, cooks, personal waiters, etc. The slave wants to be free and part of the Freedom and their union soldiers have scars on the slave body that they encounter the game in theft and the emotional game on the side north, they heard stories about how slaves are ready to fight their own freedom and join the Alliance Army. In November 1861, the del legislative agency proposed a release plan for slaves in Delwar, but Lincoln suggested the same proposal at the beginning of 1862 that the countries of the political limit would be less expensive than that of the persistent War, and attraction was rejected again in March 1862, and the third appeal is also representatives of the marginal stand, which was rejected in July. Lincoln began a careful search for the president’s liberation mission in the middle of 1862 after being rejected to balance the release plans.

The National Assembly adopted the military law, which released the alliance of the bonds and recruited on 17 July 1862 of the Alliance military, and the same day, the National Assembly passed the second expression law in order to liberal liberals of those who participate in the rebellion liberal. Lincoln decided not to show his new position until the new year does not maintain the border landing, partly, as Frederick Dulsass approved many new Lincoln positions, but above all from the south, the statement received a critique and it was Published only slaves in the alliance tax. The slaves liberate throughout the war and many slaves escaped when white men control slaves that rely on plantations for the Alliance Army. Slave patrols were held to prevent earlier efforts and militants from being used to control, but this is less effective as slaves are often far away from the military. The progress of the Union military has a great influence on slavery in areas where they come to control, and the first area they catch are the sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The occupation of the alliance forces made some attempts to provide published slaves, and a camp was founded in Tennessee and was then founded in Memphis, organized these efforts and camps that offer protection, food, and small medical care. Unsuccessful efforts are common because stress has developed between effective and black autonomy.

Black soldiers were normally normal after the liberation statement and were numbered 178 895 at 133,000 from the slave countries and mainly former slaves. Northern people have uncomfortable arms, black and black armies are placed under white officers, with poorer appliances, and medical care, and should be a heavy, partial majority of the workers were angry with the coalition. Jefferson Davis issued 1862 a ‘statement against liberation’ and claimed to return the Alliance Army, which will return to slavery in the federal uniforms, and this leads to the fact that Lincoln threatens to threaten a rebel soldier because the black soldier killed in fascinating conditions had been. However, without revenge for this kind of happening. The black army is not the same and is often exposed to more difficult conditions. Black soldiers developed well on the battlefield and acquire the respect of the Alliance Army and the Alliance, but revealed with black alliance soldiers by the Union. Millions of blacks are still slaves in early 1865, and a large number of slaves is daily on federal instruments, as the ability to confirm racial control decreased when the Alliance army is weakened. Some southern white people fled to South America, where they could flee the Federal Law at the end of the war. The slave sees freedom instead of the end of slavery, but also the training, the voting rights, and the right to the law, and the 13th amendment was adopted in January 1865, the slave ended in the Union, and ensures that slaves were liberated in the south become. A narrative of loyal slaves, revealed in the south after the end of the war, are more slaves living in the south, but most work for their gentlemen.

Slavery is the most important factor in creating a Civil War in the US, and the life of slavery received significant changes than the trade union troops taking control of large countries. Inside and before the Civil War, the slave plays a positive role to free themselves, and many people fled so Abraham Lincoln indicates the explanation for the liberation and freed millions of black legally. Lincoln successfully conducted his country through its largest internal crisis, the US civil war, the end of slavery and its transfer measures lead to abolishing the slave level and promoting the paragraph thirteen amendments to the Constitution.

The war is one of the foremost deadliest wars in history however it conjointly was the largest turning purpose in history yet. one of the foremost necessary events regarding the war is the finish of slavery. The aftermath of the war created the thirteenth, 14th, and fifteenth Amendments. This aftermath is termed reconstruction. but we have a tendency to be here to debate materials that are associated with the war just like the confederacy, the union triumph, and reconstruction.

The reason for the Union triumph is attributable to outsized makers that replaced slaves to higher the economy. yet support from political leaders like Abraham Lincoln made the release that will enable slaves to be free and also the thirteenth amendment that freed the slaves but if they were condemned against the law they’d ultimately come and work at no cost and occasionally several slaves were incorrectly suspect. A higher population as a result of several slaves began traveling to the north as they believed that achievement African to war as they believe that they will be useful ( American Yawp, chapter 14, IV. War for release 1863-1865, module 13) thereupon being aforesaid the confederate wasn’t utterly outnumbered but the Union had additional of a favorable position.

Now let’s point out the confederacy beliefs and what they believe they symbolize and the way it relates to modern-day and also the history of their beliefs and the way it relates to one thing known as racism. These individuals were terribly pro-slavery. the entire opposite of the union’s beliefs and needed to stay to “traditional values “. They were White- supremacist individuals, pastoralism. this kind of confederacy is to be believed as majority republicans. It is like they believe “if your not, or came here wrongfully in America then you shouldn’t incline constant rights as us”. this sort of goes all the means back to the start of history. This caused a large conflict that we have a tendency to still have currently in this country and that’s known as racism. Confederates cause panic in voters by telling them anyone who is completely different ar dangerous and modifications our country’s beliefs. wherever several of them believed that Catholics were the damaging ones with their beliefs. Or once Hispanics came into the country and plenty of Americans believes that the Hispanics were unavowed in medication even if they only needed to be here for a stronger chance or to hunt asylum. Long story short the confederacy stands for what they believe are recent traditional values wherever you want to be thought of as a subject in fashionable days and long ago they were pro-slavery wherever America was a White man’s country.

Well once slaves were free many people who made their income on hard labor lost a lot of money which affected their economy compared to the Union however, many free Americans were accused of crimes they did not commit and were sentenced to work for free for those hard labor. So they were basically backed to square one to where they were before all this. Many slaves escaped to the north to be free however many confederate slave owners would try to hunt the slaves down before they escaped to the north. However when the civil war started many African Americans and now free slaves decided to join the union in the Civil War to help the union win. Although many people lost their lives during the civil war it made a huge impact on American history.

The thirteenth amendment essentially created slaves that were still slaves within the confederate facet free therefore it get rid of all slavery within the nation. The 14th amendment granted citizenship to anyone born on the soil. this is often fairly necessary as a result it gave freed slaves citizenship within the country. The fifteenth change gave anyone born a subject the correct to be able to vote in spite of race, religion, gender, or sex. The right that they were granted was the adoption of the 15th amendment which gave African Americans. The Civil war transformed the whole nation once these rights were in place some good and some bad.

In Conclusion, the confederacy stood for the classic “American values “ and was pro-slavery and white-supremacist and did many things that were very illegal technically by accusing slaves of crimes they did not commit. The Civil war transformed the government and created something called the reconstruction which gave African Americans freedom and rights to be treated as an equal in America which the confederate disagreed with as they believed that America was meant for the white man and the white men only. The union won basically with factors such as machinery that replaced slaves, population especially important in the war and it helped them with the war, As well as the support of political leaders most famously Abraham Lincoln. Overall the Civil War is one of the most impactful events in American history and changed the way we view each other rather of whether we are citizens or someone from a different country. It’s amazing to see how much we have grown as a country and how different we were back then however it amazes me how we still have the same problem. The civil war gave us a realization about the topic of racism and how we treat people who we believe are different and view them as a threat. We still have to deal with the topic of racism and it makes me fear that we are all just taking a huge step back as a society. It makes many people fear that there will be another war that will be based on racism. Overall I believe that learning about the Civil war could give a sort of reality check on the topic of racism and equality. The Civil War had a huge impact on the north

What did the slaves do during the civil war? Every time someone says “the civil war” most people think of a divided country that fought for the slaves’ freedom. What we don’t know as well is the slaves’ side of the war. Did they silently rebel, or were they obedient and helped their masters? Thanks to historians interviewing former slaves and finding letters and diaries, we now have some answers.

The civil war seemed inevitable. The debate over slavery started before the founding of the United States and was not resolved by the founding fathers. Those who opposed slavery often pointed to the Declaration of Independence arguing that it applied equally to Black people as well as white people. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”- The Declaration of Independence

Slaveowners often justified slavery by pointing to slavery in the Bible. They also claimed black people could not live on their own and the owners believed providing food and shelter was honorable. Slaves “were not human beings with rights and a soul but beasts of burden maintained to advance their owners interests.” – Slavery Remembered. This time was a bad time when it came to relationships in the United States. Abraham Lincoln once stated that “slavery is the cancer of bondage” -Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War. Unfortunately, the North and South could not agree, and a civil war resulted from the division.

The real-life of slaves was more brutal than slave owners wanted to admit. A normal day in the life of a slave was constant work and forced labor. In the words of a former slave, “working from the sun to sun was the pervasive reality with frequent additional chores at night, many times slaves fell onto their beds too tired to move until morning.” – Slavery Remembered. Statistics show that most female slaves were house servants, and most male slaves were fieldhands. The fieldhand job was worse than you’d expect as they worked very long hours. They were often fed like horses. Compared to the house servant who got additional privileges and got to eat at a table with a plate. The food quality also depended on the master and how they were feeling at the moment. Sometimes the slave’s food would be the same as the masters but could also be disgusting or anywhere in between. This drastic difference in treatment made the slaves turn on each other and that made the odds of rebellion lower.

In addition to the hard work and divisions, slaves were often physically beaten. Some masters would punish slaves if they were mad about anything. The main forms of punishment were whipping beatings, sales, murder, forced sex, and slave breeding. The most common punishment in the south was whipping and beating (62.2% of 167 slaves reporting) and the least common punishment was slave breeding (4.8% of 167 slaves reporting). Then there were some fair masters who gave punishments only when necessary. Those who didn’t punish because they were angry were decent, but they still had slaves.

Being a slave also meant that family names were often lost. If their family name was known, many slaves stayed with their family name. If not, some would get their master’s last name and some would make up their last name. If the slave was sold, they could stick with their previous master’s name or take the new master’s name. Everything in a slave’s life was dependent on their master.

In addition to awful living conditions, slaves were kept uneducated. An uneducated slave was a dependent slave. Being a dependent person can lead to poor decisions and not knowing what to do, and you’re most likely to be more naive than most people. If you’re an educated slave, your odds of being able to survive without your master are higher. An educated slave is more knowledgeable on what to do and what not to do. Most slave owners forbid any type of education for their slaves. This is a reason it was hard to find slaves’ diaries. The more they knew, the more likely they could survive if they escaped. Masters needed their slaves to be as naive as possible.

Frederick Douglass is a good example of a former slave who escaped after he was self-educated. He made an autobiography called Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave. In that book, he described his time as a slave in Maryland. After some time as a slave, his master sent him to work for his master’s brother. The brothers’ wife taught him the alphabet, and from there he learned to read and write on his own. He took time teaching the enslaved people how to read using the Bible. After escaping, he was an advocate for women’s rights, and their right to vote, and he was an anti-slavery advocate. His education was very damaging to the slave owners.

Other forms of rebelling were less obvious but just as damaging to the slave masters. Theft of food, household items, ammunition, and guns was common. Destruction of weapons and breaking or damaging tools made harvesting more expensive. The reason, slaves damage their tools was to get their masters to spend money to replace that item. It’s basically a way to waste their money. If they weren’t damaging their tools, slaves would use them as weapons against masters or overseers.

Women slaves often had a more passive role in rebelling against their masters. They would rebel verbally and were more likely to steal from their masters. According to many accounts, men “were more likely to participate in the areas of resistance that required strength and endurance; they predominated in running away, hiding in the woods and joining in fatal confrontations with white men.” -Slavery Remembered. Hiding in the woods was a common way to rebel without the risk of running away. Slaves would just leave and hide to get rest. They would return to their homes at night for food and leave before dawn to hide again. This rebellion cost their masters a lot of money in lost productivity.

Larger uprisings from the slaves also occurred, including burning barns, ruining crops, murdering overseers, and refusing punishment. In Louisiana, a group of slaves burned boats on the river as a form of rebellion. Another Louisiana plantation had the slaves’ slave revolt, chase out the overseer and destroy all the property on-site. Some slaves even hung their masters if given the opportunity. These rebellions made other masters nervous and slaves in nearby plantations would suffer more brutal beatings and living conditions got worse.

The ultimate form of rebellion was escaping. Hundreds of slaves escaped during the Civil War despite the risks of severe beatings or death if they were caught. A law called The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was made to try and stop slaves from escaping. The new law was an attempt to have slaves returned to their masters if found. Most people ignored the law and many helped escaped slaves to stay free.

Harriet Tubman is an example of one person who ignored the law and continued to help. Harriet was born and raised a slave and escaped in 1849. Once she had escaped slavery, she helped many people get to safety and was the nickname “Moses.” She used the underground railroad system to help free her people during the Civil War. She returned to the south eighteen times to help hundreds of slaves escape captivity. On her last trip south, she even helped her parents escape and the bounty on her went up to $40,000. But the bounty, the law, and the war did not stop her work.

Some slave owners would allow their slaves to help fight in the war, but that led to stealing supplies and weakened the South. Many masters didn’t want their slaves to have weapons because they were afraid the slave would use the weapons to rebel. In this case, slaves were given “household chores” such as cooks, carpenters, guards, teamsters, and scouts. Even though there weren’t given weapons, they still found ways to rebel and weaken their masters.

In the Civil War, former slaves could fight for the north, but they usually had lower pay. The U.S. army hadn’t accepted black soldiers, although they fought in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The army was racist back then and many union officials believed that black people weren’t as skilled. For this reason, they were only paid 10 percent (excluding the clothing and allowance) of what white soldiers would get. But the navy on the other hand had already accepted blacks since 1861. In the navy, they were serving as stewards, coal beavers, captains, and shipboard firemen. They were getting equal pay in the navy. Although these former slaves helped fight, there were not enough to really impact the outcome of the war.

For years, history books have led us to believe that the slaves did not play a role in how the Civil War turned out. The voices of the slaves were silent. Today, we know that the slaves were very busy during the war and most tried to weaken their masters. When their master wasn’t home, they had an opportunity to rebel which weakened the south and helped the north win. Did these efforts result in the south being weakened enough to lose the war? The many acts of rebellion seem to prove that the slaves helped win the war for their freedom. Every act, no matter how big or how small, weakened or distracted their masters in the south and helped to strengthen the north

An online source explains that Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 (Lincoln). His birthplace was Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln accomplished many great things, he was one of the great presidents of the United States and led the Union through the Civil War. One of his other great accomplishments was he abolished slavery. Without Lincoln slavery may have never been abolished. Lincoln died on April 14, 1865. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. Abe was not schooled as a kid. He spent most of his time reading. His whole childhood he only had 18 months of schooling. When Abe was young his mom died. His father remarried and grew very close to his stepmother. The Lincoln family moved to Illinois in 1816. One of the main reasons was because of their opposition to slavery. Abe worked on his father’s farm and tended a store. Lincoln was given the nickname Honest Abe for all of the things he did while working at that store. One day Abe was counting the change in the register, and he realized that he paid a lady a few cents short. He tracked her down and paid her the money that she had been owed. Another time Abe did not give a lady enough tea, so he packed up a box of tea and personally delivered it to the lady. The lady said that she didn’t even realize that she was not given enough tea. On November 4, 1842, Abe married Mary Todd. Mary Todd was an upper-class woman. She came from a rich family who owned many slaves. Lincoln and Mary Todd had four children together. Their first son was born in 1843. His name was Robert Todd, he was the only one of Lincoln’s four sons to live until adulthood. Their second son’s name was Edward Baker. Edward did not even live until he was five. Their third son was William Wallace. William also died at a very young age. Their last son’s name was Thomas, his nickname was Tad. Lincoln became interested in politics when the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed. This act allowed people in these two territories to decide whether or not slavery would be allowed. Lincoln ran for senate in 1856. He lost to Stephan A. Douglas. After his loss, he became a speaker. Many people loved him as a speaker, so he decided to run for president in 1860 he entered the presidential poll. Not many people thought that Lincoln would win the election because nobody in the South liked him. He was finally chosen as the Republican representative and won the election on November 6, 1860. Lincoln was sworn in on March 4, 1861.

When the South broke away from the Union Lincoln declared secession illegal. He said that he would go to war to protect the Union. The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter. The South forced the Union to surrender this fort. Throughout the Civil, War Lincoln could not find a capable general of leading the North. After going through many generals he finally found Ulysses S. Grant. Grant would command many key battles in the Civil War and later lead the Union to victory. A few years into the war the Union stopped fighting to bring the Confederacy back. They started fighting to try and abolish slavery. Lincoln believed that if he tried to broaden the goals of war he maybe could beat the South. Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all of the slaves in southern states. The main goal of the Civil War for the North was to fight for Freedom.

On July 1, 1863, the Confederates marched on Gettysburg. This battle was the one battle of the Civil War that was fought in the North. This battle lasted for three days and was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. An online source states that there were 51,000 deaths in this battle (ABPP). After this battle was over Lincoln made one of his most famous speeches. He made the Gettysburg Address and recited it at Gettysburg. In this speech, Lincoln talked about the American Revolution and promised the people of the North that America would survive. He also thanked all of the people who died at Gettysburg, for sacrificing their lives to save the Union. After Lincoln stated the Gettysburg Address everyone realized how bright and intelligent he was. The Gettysburg Address is still considered one of the greatest speeches in American history. On April 9, 1865, General Grant surrounded Robert E. Lee’s forces at the Appomattox Courthouse, in Virginia. Lee surrendered and this marked the end of the

On April 9, 1865, General Grant surrounded Robert E. Lee’s forces at the Appomattox Courthouse, in Virginia. Lee surrendered and this marked the end of the Kuhn 4 Civil War. All of the slaves n the South were freed, and everyone in the North celebrated. Little did the country know what would happen 6 days later. According to a source on the evening of April 14, 1864, Abraham Lincoln left the White House to attend a play at Ford’s theater in Washington D.C. (Lincoln Assassination). Lincoln was attending a comedy called “Our American Cousin”. In the presidential box with him were Mary Todd, Major Henry Rathbone, and Rathbone’s fiancée. John Wilkes Booth crept up behind Lincoln. At a funny part in the play, Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head. Rathbone slashed Booth in the arm. Booth jumped over the railing in the presidential box and got his foot caught on a flag on the way down. When Booth landed he broke his left leg. He ran outside of the theater and disappeared on his horse. Lincoln was taken across the street and died the next morning. After Lincoln died there was a two-week manhunt searching for Booth. After two weeks Booth was found hiding out in a barn in Bowling Green, Virginia. He was shot and killed. There were four other co-conspirators in this assassination. The other four were supposed to take out the Vice President and the Secretary of State. None of them followed through, but they were all still hanged. Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest U.S Presidents of all time. He is honored for all the great things he did for this country. Many people say that Lincoln started the United States because he brought the South back to the country. Lincoln abolished slavery and that was one of the greatest things that he ever did. One of the other great things he did was help win the Civil War. The North may not have won the war if Lincoln was not been, president. The Union may not have even gone to war if Lincoln wasn’t been, president. Lincoln ended up paying the ultimate sacrifice for all of the great things he did.

The Civil War began due to inflexible contrasts between the free and slave states over the force of the public government to deny subjection in the domains that had not yet become states. At the point when Abraham Lincoln won the political race in 1860 as the primary Republican president on a stage swearing to keep subjugation out of the domains, seven slave states in the profound South withdrew and framed another country, the Confederate States of America. The approaching Lincoln organization and a large portion of the Northern public would not perceive the authenticity of withdrawal. They expected that it would ruin a majority-rule government and make a lethal point of reference that would ultimately piece the as of now not United States into a few little, quarreling nations. The Civil War affirmed the single political substance of the United States, prompted an opportunity for multiple million subjugated Americans, laid out an all the more remarkable and unified national government, and established the groundwork for America’s rise as a force to be reckoned with in the twentieth century. The Civil War made ready for Americans to live, learn and move about in manners that had appeared to be everything except incomprehensible only a couple of years sooner. Outsiders additionally started considering the quickly developing country to be a place where there are fresh chances to succeed and started coming here in record numbers. The Civil War brought about the crucial adjustment of the connection between the states and the national government, the opportunity of millions of slaves, and a change in the social and financial bearing of the country. No other occasion in American history impacted the advancement of our country more than the Civil War.

The grueling days of a soldier during the civil war were not in any way simple. Not only did soldiers have to face the unfortunate consequence of dying at any time, their daily routine is full of hardships. Whenever the Civil War broke out in 1861, the new Union and Confederate armed forces were made up generally of beginner officers who were inadequately trained, prepared, and coordinated. Northern soldiers commonly delighted in preferable arrangements over their Southern partners, particularly after the Union barricade of the Atlantic coast made it challenging to get products and supplies all through the South. The staples of a soldier’s eating regimen were bread, meat, and espresso, enhanced by rice, beans, and canned natural products or vegetables, when accessible. The meat they got was hamburger or pork, protected with salt to make it last longer, and the officers referred to this as ‘salt pony.’ Both militaries progressively supplanted bread with thick wafers known as hardtack, which were famously challenging to eat and must be absorbed water to make them consumable. Practically every American family was moved by the conflict. As indicated by the latest estimate, the conflict brought about 750,000 military passings, North and South; a bigger number of passings than in any remaining American conflicts joined. Nobody knows the number of regular folks, straightforwardly or by implication; who were killed or injured in the contention; nobody has at any point determined the number of American lives that were crushed, destroyed, or broken in light of the conflict. The conflict finished carries on with; the conflict changed lives. The soldiers who experienced fight wounds or waiting ailments frequently got poor or no clinical treatment for their ailments. Previous Union and Confederate troopers met with an assortment of clinical issues, some of which were hard to distinguish. Therefore, more officers on the two sides passed on from sicknesses or diseases than from front-line wounds. After the conflict, injured and sick veterans caused something of a well-being emergency, if by some stroke of good luck on the grounds that their numbers were so enormous and their requirement for clinical therapy so intense. The war had achieved affliction, however, a delayed timeframe required consideration and backing of injured fighters who wore red identifications of fortitude for the other lives, even into the 1930s and mid-1940s. After the war, the villages in the South were completely destroyed and destroyed from the aftermath of the war. Furthermore, the Confederate bonds and currencies became worthless. All the banks in the South were destroyed and the economy in the South eventually shut down after the destruction of the war.

There were numerous constructive outcomes of the Civil War; for instance, slavery was restricted, citizenship was allowed to all individuals brought into the world in the U.S., and women’s rights development acquired a foothold. The country met up when it saw that states couldn’t just decide to leave the association, and the possibility of the states as one single nation turned out to be more unmistakable. Once more the Civil War permitted the country to unite as one and reinforced individuals in general. Maybe the most getting thorough image of the Civil War is the unification of individuals and the states. While many individuals improve on the Civil War and guarantee that it was about regardless of whether servitude ought to be permitted in the U.S., the conflict was truly about regardless of whether the states reserved the privilege to withdraw and how far state freedoms expanded. The U.S. started as a country that overlooked authority when individuals felt that their chiefs were off base. This is generally apparent in the way that individuals acted previously, during, and after the American Revolution with respect to British rule. The Civil War assisted with settling the issue of what powers had a place with the states and what powers had a place with the national government. Agreeing on this power appointment assisted with making an all the more impressive and joined country. Regardless of the scaling down of the military after 1865, the conflict affirmed and built up the military strain on the American public. America had long positioned its confidence in the force of individuals in arms and in their surrendering of said arms once the risk was finished. Yet, students of history are progressively uncovering the damaging long-haul costs, physical and mental, to those associated with the Civil War, warriors, and non-soldiers the same. Eventually, the force of the state to get its own reality was affirmed somewhere in the range of 1861 and 1865, yet the purposes to which that power was put after 1865 regularly had a more grounded reverberation globally, surely in the twentieth century than locally. Also, military strength, as opposed to supporting a solid, positive, outward-looking focal state, slowly developed into an excessively guarded, negative, internally focused one. In this regard, as in others, the Civil War’s heritage was one of anguish and stagnation. Along these lines, a long way from removing and evolving anything, the Civil War left immeasurably an excess of the equivalent. However, the Civil War affected the existence of each American, whether it was in the war zone or on the homefront, negatively. At the point when volunteers began to join the Union and Confederate militaries, families, and companions were regularly set in opposition to each other. It was normal for a dad and child, or a sibling and sibling to battle on inverse sides of the war.

Troops on the two sides were exceptionally youthful. Most soldiers were younger than 21. The battle was exceptionally merciless for these young men. They regularly tracked down themselves from one man to another battle. As the war seethed on with its new advances, for example, cone-molded projectiles, which made rifles two times as exact, new forms of guns, and hand explosives, more than one-fourth of the soldiers would kick the bucket in some random fight. The South before long found it particularly difficult to come by newcomers to supplant their setbacks. Passing on in a fight was not by any means the only setback from war; infection killed a bigger number of men than projectiles during the Civil War. Clinical consideration of the combat zone was exceptionally crude. Rather than fixing up injuries, arms, and legs were regularly cut off. This type of clinical consideration frequently prompted contamination. With the absence of prescriptions, these contaminations regularly prompted demise. Accordingly, a large portion of the injured kicked the bucket. The South was hardest hit during the Civil War. Returning soldiers tracked down crushed urban communities and farmlands. A significant number of the rail lines in the South had been annihilated. Ranches and estates were obliterated, and numerous southern urban areas caught fire like Atlanta, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia (the Confederacy’s legislative center). The Southern monetary framework was likewise demolished. After the war, Confederate cash was useless. As the men left for the fight to come, the women had to assume control over their positions. During the four long stretches of the fight, women ran the homesteads and ranches in the South and the organizations in the North. A few women even became involved on the front line. A few women would dress as men to really face conflict, while others went about as spies and worked in emergency clinics as attendants.

The American Civil War was seemingly the main war throughout the entire existence of the country. The War of Independence might have permitted America to turn into its own nation, yet the Civil War brought about something significantly more significant than that, the finish of subjugation in the southern states. Every one of the issues that caused the Civil War was based around subjection, for example, states’ rights that elaborate how bondage would be dealt with in each state, and attempting to save the Union since the South withdrew from the North because of their desire for subjugation. However, the Civil War affirmed the single political element of the United States, prompted an opportunity for multiple million oppressed Americans, laid out an all the more impressive and unified national government, and established the framework for America’s development as a force to be reckoned with in the twentieth century.

The Civil War was the deadliest war in our nation’s history, and the war began with the signing of the Ordinance of Secession in Charleston on Dec. 20, 1860. The American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 was a battle between the Northern States, led by Abraham Lincoln (Union), and the Southern States, led by Jefferson Davis (Confederates) fought for the moral issues of slavery. The American Civil War has become a point of controversy and argument when discussing key events in shaping America. The biggest question that arises when discussing this war is “Could have the South won the war?” Historians believed during the war; one action led to a particular outcome. But if a different action had been taken it would have led to a different outcome. This Paper will explain and inform you of some theories suggesting ways the Confederates could have won the bloodiest war in American history.

Leadership was a major factor in the events of the war. Three men more than any others determined the outcome of the American Civil War. The confederacy’s president, Jefferson Davis, and two generals, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The most common scenario centers on the actions of General Lee. Lee focused on conducting an offensive war against the armies of the north. Historians believed that Lee didn’t see this as a war but saw it as a struggle between governments. His strategy was to attack and attack forcing the Union to end the war by marching all the way to Washington and disputing peace with a sword. A tactic that was suggested to Lee was guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla warfare was basically abandoning the entire South to Union control and then raiding federal supply lines, depots, and isolated units. This strategy would have also worked with Jackson’s view on fighting the North. Jackson proposed moving against the Northern people’s industries and their way of life. Meaning strikes the North’s undefended factories, farms, and railroads. While doing that, Jackson would be avoiding the Union’s strength and field armies. With guerilla warfare tactics, he would strike at the weakness of the union and against small detached union units. Unfortunately, the South wanted no part in this strategy. Overall these two generals could not do anything unless approved by President Jefferson Davis. Davis opposed offensive action against the North. He wanted to remain defensive in the belief that the major European powers like England or France would intervene on the Confederacy’s side to guarantee cotton for their mills. Unfortunately, this hope for aid was ultimately the beginning of the downfall of the South. The Confederate military leadership was generally superior to Union leadership. This superiority produced a number of Southern successes. But it failed to bring about victory in the end only because the top Confederate political and military leaders failed to understand and thus did not exploit the opportunities offered to them. The most iconic battle was the South had the highest chance of defeating the Union was First Manassas on July 21, 1861, where Thomas Jackson earned his nickname “Stonewall”. On this day, Jackson a military genius was able to defend a position by creating a wall with his brigade. This location known today as Henry House Hill is an expansive plateau of open pasture. The area was sloped downward and behind them was a thicket of young pine trees and a sunken road. With this position, union troops had to charge head-on to make any contact with the Confederates. Confederates had the advantage of the hill as a defense against Union artillery but also his men were able to lay down on the ground and fire at the Union soldiers approaching the hill. With this engagement, Jackson produced a high sense of morale amongst his troops that strengthen them and gave them hope they could win the war. In turn, they won this battle, forcing the Union troops to retreat. Now, here is where an opportunity arose where the South could have possibly won the war. While the Union soldiers are retreating, they are running in chaos and unorganized. if Stonewall pursued the North and captured some enemies, they would have most likely gotten information. But the biggest blow they could have dealt was to march all the way to Washington while there were only five thousand troops defending the nation’s capital. With Stonewall’s brigade and southern reinforcements still coming to aid them in battle, they had the advantage in numbers and leadership at that moment. Some say if Lee was general at this moment, he would have pursued the North and possibly won the war due to Lee’s aggressiveness. In the end, the commander and Chief Davis denied any action against the North. It was the fundamentally different views of warfare of these three men that settled the fate of the South. Failure to recognize the realities facing the South and disagreements over strategies are what doomed the Confederacy.

Transportation was essential in the years of the Civil War. Northern states created significant rail networks to connect manufacturing centers in major cities while the South’s cotton-based economy mainly relied on connecting plantations to major ports for export elsewhere. Railroad development was minimal in the South and large shipments were primarily made from inland areas by the river to ports like New Orleans and Charleston – rivers that would get patrolled by the Union Navy. Rivers and railroads emphasized and heighten the outcome of certain battles. For example, if the Confederates stayed in control of the Mississippi River, even though Ulysses S. Grant captured it on July 4, 1863, they would have forced the Union to fight on two fronts. By not having southern states split in half, warfare on the river would have been a bonus, but also easier for spies to infiltrate and return safely back home. But in this case, Grant’s strategic control of the river made it easier to divide and conquer. Railroads were another asset that could have possibly changed the outcome of the war. Railroad systems, David Thomas of the Cleveland Civil War Table, suggested that provisions, ammunition, and men would have decimated the union. Meaning starvation would slowly spread throughout and dwindle the Union force’s numbers. Lack of transportation also suggested less of a worry about reinforcements and firepower entering southern borders. Unfortunately, with the union’s access to the railroad systems, they were able to focus their entire efforts on the East.

The Confederate victory at the Battle of Bull Run was a definite victory for the South and had cost the Union dearly. Later, Antietam had given the Union a small victory and prompted President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation announcing all slaves in the Confederate territory still in rebellion were freed. Unfortunately for the North, this was soon followed by another Confederate victory at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The South was fighting to preserve their way of life and most importantly to protect perceived constitutional rights. Unfortunately, the North was doing the same. Nationalism started to become a huge factor that played an essential part in how the Confederacy built itself. Some historians blamed the Confederate defeat on its strict adherence to states’ rights and failure to develop a strong national identity. Jefferson Davis could have nationalized the railroads and industry. Governors could have cooperated more with Jefferson in Richmond. A powerful central government with a strong national identity could have opened many doors for the Confederates. Allies like Great Britain with a strong naval force or France with much need resources could have changed the tide of the war completely. The South was the supplier of cotton to the two European powers. Britain becoming an ally was inevitable if only, Lee has won the Battle of Antietam. Britain relied heavily on the South’s cotton to power its textile factories. If Great Britain recognized the Confederacy as its own country, Lincoln and the North would be against them to the extreme. Possibly in turn try to invade Canada and hurt British merchant ships. France did consider signing with the Confederacy, but they would not join unless Great Britain did. French wanted cotton but also, had an alternative motive of creating an empire in Mexico. It would be easier to conquer with the help of the Confederates.

During the years of war, the South neglected key points. New Orleans was a major distribution port for the South. Union captured it without firing a single bullet. General Winfield Scott, general-in-chief of the U.S. Army and a veteran of the Mexican War, proposed a military strategy to defeat the Confederacy. It was known as the Anaconda Strategy. The Anaconda plan called for a full blockade of the Southern coastline and control of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River was the South’s major inland waterway and was a valuable transportation and shipping route. In addition, controlling the river meant the Union army could isolate Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana from the other Confederate states and split the Confederacy in two. The Union naval blockade was established in 1861 but was ineffective, allowing around one in three blockade runners to break through. Then, in March of 1862, the Union launched a campaign to seize control of the Mississippi River in the North. The Union’s strategy was highly so successful that it prompted the Confederates to aggressively counterattack in response, particularly in General Lee’s failed Gettysburg campaign in 1863, which caused such devastating losses that it is considered by many historians to be the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. After the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, and Port Hudson in Louisiana on July 9, 1863, the Union won complete control of the Mississippi River. Due to the Confederate army’s small size, Confederate President Jefferson Davis avoided major battles with the Union army to prevent the annihilation of his army and instead planned to only participate in small, limited engagements when the odds were in their favor. This is where they were wrong. Protection of where their main source of revenue was located was not on the minds of the South. This is referred to as a strategy of attrition – a strategy of winning by not losing and simply wearing out the enemy by prolonging the war and making it too costly to continue. The problem with this strategy is the governors, congressmen, and residents of the various border states along the Confederate perimeter requested the presence of small armies in those states to prevent Union invasion. Davis instead could have settled on an “offensive-defensive” strategy in which troops would be moved around to meet military needs instead of trying to defend the border and, if the opportunity presented itself, to go on the offensive and perhaps even invade the North.

Throughout the war the tide constantly shifted, and with that so did the political, economic, and military strength of either side. Although each side had its share of military successes, in the end, the superior Northern economy, centralized government, and overwhelming manpower would eventually lead to victory. In mid-1863, both the Union and the Confederacy could have won the war although; the Confederacy lacked the industry, or manpower to wage a long war with the Union. After reviewing the statistics of the North’s “overwhelming numbers and resources”—two and a half times the South’s population, three times its railroad capacity, nine times its industrial production, and so on—Current concluded that “surely, in view of the disparity of resources, it would have taken a miracle…to enable the South to win. To this day historians blame the head of the Confederacy Jefferson, as the main downfall of the South. Some believe it was just the overwhelming number of the Union. The advantages and disadvantages on either side affected the course of the war but the most dominant argument on why the South lost were leaders not compromising, nationalism as a country, Scott’s brilliant plan, and lack of use of the transportation system. Overall the South just missed way too many opportunities and did not capitalize on the advantages they had.

Works Cited

1. Alexander, Bevin. ‘How the South Could Have Won the Civil War: The Fatal Errors that Led to Confederate Defeat.’ Crown Forum, 2008.

Governmental Issues

Arun ( 2018 ) highlights many different factors that would have played a part at the beginning of the Civil War in America, as mentioned earlier on. These causes can be split into several different categories, though the main one, other than slavery, issues in the Government played an important role. For example, State Rights was a cause of the Civil War. There had been many different political debates over what power belonged to the Federal government, which were the northern states and free of slavery, and what belonged to the Sovereign States, which were in the south and were known as slave states. This became a power struggle between the two political parties created, one for each power, The Democratic-Republican Party representing the South and favoring State Rights, and the Federalists which represented the North and believed in a centralized national government with strong fiscal roots. On the other hand, it is believed that one of the main root causes of these power struggles was Slavery as the South believed that slavery was a State issue and therefore it should be up to the states that slavery was in to deal with it, making them extremely unwilling to accept any outside influences intervention, especially from the Federal Government. This example shows that while there were other causes of the civil war in America, most of these smaller causes had, in some shape or form, a link to the slavery arguments that were running through the whole of America. However, while this source seems to be reliable, Arun is not only an educationist but also a fantasy writer and so, from the information found about him, he isn’t a well-known or well-regarded writer, which makes his assumptions and his writings questionable.

Moreover, whilst Slavery was a major issue in the Civil War, it was not the only issue that pushed the county into conflict with itself, is Trumann (23 March 2015). He states that while Slavery was a major issue, it became intertwined with other issues, such as state rights, the power of the federal government, and the South’s ‘way of life’. The South heavily relied on its agriculture and, as a result of this, many of the plantation owners relied on having slaves in order to run. This meant that the South’s economy heavily relied on having its slaves and the run-up to the civil war was a threat to their way of life. On the other hand, the North was filled with industries and welcomed entrepreneurs. There was a mixture of nationalities and religions with no slaves, though the low-paid workers lived lives like the slaves in the South. The conflict between the two in terms of power became worst when the North tried to intervene in how the South ran itself, an example being when South Carolina passed a bill that prevented the Federal tariff legislation of 1823 and 1832 to be enforced on their states and, after February 1833 making it so that the tariffs would not be recognized. This, as a result, brought both South Carolina and the Federal government into direct conflict before Congress pushed the Force Bill through that allowed the president to use the Military to force the state of South Carolina into line. This resulted in South Carolina promising it would be the last time that this worked. This piece of information is most likely reliable as this was written for a history learning website, but it is unknown where this information has come from, which means that it may not be as correct in terms of the facts. However, what remains clear and reliable is the idea that it was not just Slavery that resulted in the American civil war breaking out, but also the tensions between the North and the South.

As previously mentioned, Martin Kelly also puts forward the argument that it was also the problems caused within the government of the Americas that caused the American Civil War which allowed it to become a war due to the divided desires on both sides. Governments have tried to create an equal number of both states, but this has become increasingly difficult. As a result of these new states, things like the Fugitive Slave Act were created in order to protect the best interests of both the North and the South, but problems continued to occur, one in the form of a violent race in Lawrence, Kansas into something that became known as Kansas’ Bleeding. This has also led to struggles within the Senate. Kelly also raises the point that America’s federal and state rights also played an important role in causing the civil war. As pointed out, there have always been two sides to America, the independent states and the federal states. Although attempts had been made to alleviate the animosity between the two, such as the Constitution, problems were still encountered that led to the creation of the United States Constitution. This ignored the rights of states, which should have had a choice, but instead, it led to even greater problems. One such problem was the idea of annulment which would have granted states the right to declare federal acts unconstitutional, meaning that they should not have followed them and could eventually have them removed. However, this was rejected, with the result that the southern states felt like they were no longer respected and had very little power and leaving them to contemplate succession thoughts. Other reasons Kelly raised as main causes were The Abolitionist Movement and The Election of Abraham Lincoln, both of which fall under the causes of the government due to their political side of the argument. Kelly’s argument about there being more than just one reason for the beginning of the American Civil War is a compelling one, with all of the problems in America showing some form of leading factor to the Civil War, however, they all have one common factor, Slavery. This could mean that even though there could be other major causes, they are all connected to one major cause, or it could mean that while these causes do have a similar start they are all separate from one another in terms of reasons for the War to start. Kelly’s works by Lui are majorly reliable due to his occupation by Lui as a history teacher that specializes in America History, which means that he does in fact know what he is talking about as it is what he has mostly learned about in great depth.

North-South Divide

Martin Kelly ( May 2019 ) states that, instead of there being lots of little causes, there are five main causes as to why the American Civil War began. He states that one of these was Slavery in the Economy and Society, with the South allowing slavery which played a major role in the economy and the society of the South. It had been firmly established within the Southern States and emphasized ‘ white supremacy, especially since there were very few black people and slaves were not allowed to own property or the right to vote. This became worst once the South became reliant on cotton, which resulted in them becoming much more dependent on Slavery. On the other hand, the North was an industry-reliant economy that had many movements toward removing Slavery from being legal. This resulted in the abolishment of laws and the removal of slavery. This led to an influx of European immigrants that helped to strengthen their economy, even though these immigrants were relying on low wages. Another cause was the arguments between slave and non-slave states which also contributed to the North-South divide, with America expanding it led to the creation of many new American states, but it couldn’t be agreed on whether they would be slave states or non-slave states. Overall, Kelly’s argument about there being more than just one reason for the beginning of the American Civil War is a compelling one, with all of the problems in America showing some form of leading factor to the Civil War, however, they all have one common factor, Slavery. This could mean that even though there could be five major causes they are all connected to one major cause, or it could mean that while the five major causes do have a similar start they are all separate from one another in terms of reasons for the War to start. Kelly’s works are majorly reliable due to his occupation as a history teacher that specializes in America History, which means that he does in fact know what he is talking about as it is what he has mostly learned about in great depth.

James Oakes ( August 30, 2012 ) also questioned whether slavery was really the cause of the Civil War in America or about the divide found between the Northern and Southern States, which slavery factored into. In his research, he claimed that revisionists have come up with other reasons for the Civil War. These included the fact that slavery was beginning to die out in the Southern States, becoming less important to their economy and society though it still existed. It was more due to the Southern leaders being more concerned about defending their state rights than slavery that they joined the Civil War. As well as this, they believed that the North didn’t go to war over slavery and they didn’t begin to emancipate any of the slaves. Instead, it was more for the interests of Northern capitalism vs the South agrarians, those who advocated for a redistribution of landed property. This suggested that the Civil War was more of an accident brought on by the clumsy attempts of politicians, especially as it was believed that there was a tiny minority of abolitionists as most Northerners shared the belief of black racial inferiority. However, while some of this can be written off as just myth, especially considering that Slavery never began to die out as it was still very profitable and important to their economy, it does demonstrate the fact that most of the reasoning did come from the differences found between the Northern and Southern States and how they wanted things to be run. Oakes also found that abolitionists did make plans in order to free slaves, found within Section Four of the Confiscation Act that specifically authorized the forfeiture of slaves. As well as this the Republicans came up with two possible policies, the first being made to ensure freedom national and restrict slavery to the states where it already existed, meaning that no new slave states could be added to the Union and that the South could no longer enforce the Fugitive Slave Clause. Once this was accepted by the rest of America, with weak compensation being given to those that had lost their slaves, the Republicans would then enforce their second policy which was direct military emancipation, immediate and uncompensated. Overall, this source of information is both informative but also unreliable. The reason that this is informative is that, while it does give some facts that can be considered as myths and untrue, these would have stemmed from some information about the time that was true, meaning that somewhere in the reasoning for the Civil War was due to the divide between the Northern and Southern States. However, it is unreliable as it is unclear which of the facts are myths in some cases. This means that all the facts that are given by this source cannot be taken at face value but should be investigated in more detail to ensure they are correct. Due to these reasons, while this source can be used as a reference for some of the causes, it should not be relied upon completely to gain the answers needed.

Moreover, Peter Fitzgerald ( Aug 15, 2011) while also agreeing that slavery was a cause, there were other main causes for the American Revolution, such as the State vs Federal rights problem. This was mostly due to the South feeling as if they had begun to lose control over their own interests, leading to them creating arguments using their state rights to claim that slavery rights should continue to protect their interests. This also led to their argument that any specific rights that they already had from any decision in the past should be kept, meaning that if a Southerner decide to move into a Northern State with all their belongings, including a slave. the slave would continue to be a slave as it counted as one of their belongings. This coincided with the creation of the US Constitution which was created without the knowledge of the Southern Governors. This led to the South gaining the impression that the Constitution, due to it not being created with their input, would suppress their rights and their power to act independently as it implements one set of rules that everyone, no matter the states, had to follow. This source does put forth a compelling argument for an alternate reason for the beginning of the Civil War, however, it can not be considered extremely reliable as there are no actually sold pieces of evidence to support the argument given. While it does raise valid points that can be seen as the reasons, there is no factual evidence mentioned that shows it to be true so unless it is researched into further, this source is to be read as a guideline into what the causes were, but can not really be relied upon fully to be supporting evidence to claim slavery was not the main cause for the Civil war on its own.

Economy

The economy in America was also an issue that had an impact on the start of the American Civil War, as pointed out by Fitzgerald. With it being known that the South was a mostly agricultural area for work, it is understandable why the need for workers was so high. The main crop in products was cotton, which had a very strong market value, demonstrating that this was one of the methods that earned the South most of its money. However, this crop needed a large amount of labor, which was why the slaves were important. The slaves could be paid very little or not at all for the plantation owners to make large sums of cash. Due to this fact, the abolition of slavery in lots of the American states meant that the economy in those areas, if they were slave states in the South, would result in a collapse of the economy as they were unable to produce the amount of cotton or other products to generate enough money. While this source does provide us with a motive for the economy being a cause of the Civil War, it doesn’t give us any factual evidence that proves this to be a true cause of the civil war, those it dies to coincide with other evidence for other sources. As well as this, it is also a cause that links to slavery, which demonstrates the fact that, while it may not have been the main cause, slavery did play a key role in this cause as it was the loss of slavery that would have caused the economy to collapse. This means that, yet again, while this source can be used as a guideline to find the answer and where to look, it isn’t a reliable source to use to back an argument.

Another who agrees that the Civil War was impacted by something other than slavery is Bruce Chadwick ( n.d. ) who agrees that the economy had a larger impact on the cause of the Civil War than it is given. With the differences in the economies between the North, which was industrial, and the South, which was agricultural, showed that the fallout of the slavery debate would have a different impact on each of the different groups of states. The loss of slavery in the North would have had very little impact, given the fact that the factories had industrialized and were now run by machines meant that their economy would carry on running strong, with very little damage to their economy. However, for the South, this was very different. Due to their heavy reliance on slave labor, when the abolition of slavery came around it meant that any of the big profits that were being made by the plantation owners at the time were being reduced to a much smaller amount, leading to a crash in the South’s economy as the production levels reduced. This means that while the loss of slavery would have been a problem for the South and the slave states, it was more of the economical difficulties that would have been the main aim of the disagreements, especially in the face of the North’s continuing success. This is proven to be factually correct as in the work it is stated that the information used was found within textbooks along with census data and other journals to provide evidence for the opinion that it was the agricultural economy that had an impact on the cause of the American Civil war, although he does also state that this would not be the only reason it was an important one. This source is more reliable and Chadwick is a historian, lecturer, and author of 28 books on various topics including the Civil War, suggesting that he is well-advised on the topic of the causes of the civil war.