The American Civil War Essay -- History Historical Civil War Essays

The American Civil War In May of 1861 five states in the upper south United States seceded from the Union and joined the seven states already seceded and created the Confederate States of America. This was the beginning of the Civil War; it was the Union against the Confederates. Many People believed that the war would be over quickly they thought it was more of an uprising then a full on war. Nobody expected it to last four years and take so many lives. The Civil War was a serious test for the new democracy of the United States, it tested the strength of the government and all of the people involved. This would be a defining moment for the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the reasons for the south secession was the fact that the north was going to abolish slavery and the south still strongly believed in slavery. It was a very strong part of there work force, most of the income was from agriculture and the slaves worked the fields for the farmers. Then in early 1863 Lincoln passd the Emacipation Proclamation this stated that all slaves in the south were free and were welcome in the north. The north hope this would bring African American workers north and they would fight the war with the north. Another leading cause of the war was the election of president Lincoln he won the election but did not get a single electoral vote from the south. Lincoln was a strong abolishionist and he thought that if slavery was going to stay it should not be allowed in any new states joining the union. This angered the south and they felt that they had not been fairly represented in the election. This fueled many in the south to question if they should stay with the north. There were many important battles in the war but the first was the first battle at Bull Run. The Union sent a group of volunteer soldiers and they were not ready to fight them lacking training and they were disorderly on the battlefield. The confederate?s army was better prepared for the battle and they had a constant flow of troops coming in so they forced the Union soldiers to retreat. There were nearly 5,000 casualties, this showed that this was going to be long and drawn out. Many civilians came out to watch this battle because they thought that it would be a good form of entertainment, they soon learned that this was not true and that this war would be a bloody one. The Union also learned that th... ... was on of the most important points in American history is proved that our government was strong and here to stay. Through out the entire war congress and the other branches continued to function with out problems. They showed that even under dire circumstances like war in your back yard the American people can be strong. Many people today still honor the soldiers who lost there lives by holding civil war reninactments and the sites of famous battles. The largest one is when they reninact Gettysburg they do it every summer and include more then 3,000 people. When the Union won the war it proved a point, it showed that a sound government and solid leadership is best. The entire time the American people stood behind President Lincoln and General Grant. The confederates didn?t have a full government established and they had problems getting descions made and problems solved quickly. America is now a stronger nation because of this war with its self. Works Cited: ?Civil War? www.civilwar.com Online Google 14 Jan. 2005. ?Civil War? www.civil-war.net Online Google 14 Jan. 2005. Keith D. Dickinson ?The Civil War for Dummies.? New York: For Dummies press. March 2001