The American Civil War and
The Causes, Course, Consequences, Reconstruction and the Effects on the American People
Elizabeth H. Burgtorf
OH Institute
The American Civil War was a war between the Union and Confederacy that lasted from 1861 to 1865. During this time, the country was divided. People fought against their friends and family either for the South which was the Confederacy and for slavery, or for the North which was the Union and against slavery. The causes of the war, the course, and the Reconstruction changed American people and the country itself. The Civil War destroyed the country’s economic system and divided the United States of America.
Many causes led to the Civil War: Abraham Lincoln’s election, slavery, economics, and population size in each state. Shortly before the Civil War began Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States. Many believe that the reason the war started was because of his election. Before his election President Lincoln had always expressed his opinions as for slavery which gave him the support of the South. Then during his campaign he decided to change his views and be against slavery. Abraham Lincoln’s decision to change his views on slavery caused uproar within the country and many southern states had a strong desire to secede. Once the Southern states began to secede, the Presidential election only contributed to the start of the Civil War as an effort to preserve the Union. President Lincoln stated that although his personal views hadn’t changed on slavery, he thought that the best way to end the war was by ending slavery. Ending slavery would provide the country with more people to fight in the war.
Another possible cause as to why the Civil War started was economics. The North had a prospering industrial economy and the South consisted of an agrarian economy. The South had a heavy dependency on cheap and free labor. The North also had a better economic system because those states had a market from around the world. Ninety percent of the nation’s skilled workers lived in the North. The North provided the country with its main source of income because of the population size and the amount of factories there. The North had a large population whereas the South’s population was sparse. These differences between the two parts of the country caused tension and were reasons as to why the Civil War began.
After President Lincoln’s election, the southern states began to feel that the federal government was too strong and that the North would soon control them. The southern states decided that being united within the country would no longer be suitable, so each state began to secede. South Carolina was the first state to leave the Union and form the Confederate States of America. Shortly after, six other states seceded which caused large amounts of tension that led to the beginning of the Civil War.
A total of eleven states were formed as the Confederacy. The South decided to negotiate with other countries for arms. On April 12th, 1861 the Confederates opened fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and the battles began. The first battle was fought at Bull Run, also known as Manassas. The Union’s Army consisted of 28,000 men and was commanded by General McDowell and the Confederate’s Army consisted of 33,000 men and was commanded by General Beauregard. Once this first battle occurred, other battles soon followed. (The History Place, 1996)
The Battle of Gettysburg was a significant battle during the Civil War. This battle lasted from July 1 - 3, 1863. During the battle General Robert E. Lee attempted to invade the North in an effort to take pressure off of Virginia and possibly end the war. He failed at invading the North and would therefore never try an invasion that large again. There were 51,000 casualties and 28,000 of them were Confederate soldiers. The Battle of Gettysburg was a devastating loss for the South and the Union claimed a victory.
The final major engagement of the Civil War was the Battle of Appomattox Court House. During this battle General Lee surrendered to General Grant and the Civil War came to an end. The Unions had yet another victory and there were 700 casualties. The Appomattox Court House Battle was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. Although this was only one Army that surrendered, the other Confederate Armies would quickly follow. There were several more small battles after General Lee surrendered, but the South knew that they had lost. (Martin Kelley, 2011)
On April 14th 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Many blamed his death on the South. The North believed that because his killer, John Wilkes Booth, was a Confederate the South was to blame. On April 15th, 1865 Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency and on April 18th, 1865 General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered in North Carolina and the American Civil War ended.
In total, 617,000 Americans died in the war and the South was destroyed. In January of 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment passed which abolished slavery in the United States. A new country was formed. Four million African American slaves were free and the reconstruction of the country began. The South suffered a lot of physical disruption. People from the South were not able to plant or harvest crops regularly because the Union troops burned their crops and other means of harvesting. Blacks were forced to stay with their owners because they did not have any other place to live. The South’s infrastructure was completely destroyed. Their roads, towns, and plantations had been burned down, their ships had been destroyed, and stealing and famine became a huge problem after the war ended. The South was wiped out and had to begin again from the bottom up.
Shortly after the war ended, the federal government sent military to the South to impose martial law which would help make the South’s economic system stable again. The government helped the South by providing money to reconstruct. The federal government also got the South started with private industries. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments soon followed the Thirteenth and granted African American’s with freedom through the ability to live freely within the country and even vote, and the country began to unite once again.
The American Civil War caused destruction but also gave the United States of America a new beginning by building the framework that was needed to become a country where every citizen was treated equally. African Americans were finally free and every citizen of the United States began to work towards creating an equal government and country. Through the causes, course, and reconstruction stages of the Civil War, our country had changed and so did the American people themselves. We began the long fight for equality, one that we still endure today. We have made much advancement in our country with equality since the War. This advancement includes having an African American president. But our country still suffers tremendously with the subject of equality. Many people in the South still believe in slavery and feel whites are above blacks in this society. The possibility of equality is still something that is being worked on to this day. But we have made a lot of improvement in the years that followed the War.
Looking back on the Reconstruction that took place in this country after the Civil War, I have been reminded of what the United States of America believes in and what we as citizens stand for. In the many years that have followed the War, this country has rebuilt itself to become a completely united country that strives for equality for everyone. Although there have been many advancements in our society in these past years, there are still citizens that do not believe in equality. These citizens are mainly found in the South. Since I have grown up in the South, I have noticed that you can still walk down a street and see a Confederate flag. People in the South still use words that discriminate blacks when referring to them, and blacks can still be looked down upon in the South. But slowly this country is moving ahead with the subject of equality. The United States now has an African American president, which was something that not even Abraham Lincoln believed would be possible. These small advancements have shown me that even though the people of the United States have had setbacks, we are constantly moving forward and growing together. Thanks to the American Civil War, we have begun to strive for equality, which is something that will be worked on for many years to come. But I know now that no matter what state we live in or color we are, we as citizens will always come together when we need to and our country will always be united as one.
Citations –
(Robert Morgan, The Journal of Historical Review, 1993)
(MultiEditor Inc, 2008)
(George, Pocantico Hills School, 1999)
(Golden and Oberlin High Schools, 1996)
(United States White House, Information Services, US National Park Service)
(Africans in America, PBS Online)
(USA History in Brief, 2005)
(Kylie Cloutier and Hunter Burgtorf, 2011)
(The History Place, 1996)
(Martin Kelley, 2011)
