Civil War History: Discussion Questions - Essay Example

? Civil War History Q1. The American civil war was between the Union which was the federal government of the United s andthe Confederation which consisted of the Southern slave states that formed the Confederate States of America. In a broad perspective, the Union, which was also knows as the Northern states, held their goals straight and fought for unity. Their position in the war was strong because of their army men and more importantly because of their goals to protect the rights of the states under constitution whereas the confederation wanted to form an independent republic. The geographical factors were known to be a disadvantage for the Union as they had a lesser sheer size than that of the South. A series of rivers in the North Virginia stopped the Union army from capturing the Confederate capital. The confederation had psychological advantages as they were fighting to defend their homes which encouraged them to fight harder than the Union army (Shah, 2007). Q2. It is true to analyze that the civil war was a war against slavery yet there are causes that may be traced back to the tension observed in the history of the nation. There were many economic and social differences between the North and the South. South was more rich in the agricultural production whereas North had more industrial productions than agriculture. This created a gap in the economic attitudes of the regions. Secondly, there were continuous fights against the slave and the non-slave state proponents and this resulted in the abolition movement growth. There were more sympathies for the abolitionists and against the slaves. Eventually the election of Abraham Lincoln ignited the war as the Southerners believed that he was in favor of the interests of the Northerners (McNeese, 2003). Q3. When the slave states had seceded, the civil war became inevitable. In accordance to the events that took place prior to the war and post war; the war could have been stopped only if the Union would have accepted the secession of the slavery states, the confederation changed its mind regarding secession, or the Southerners realized that they were misguided about the dangers they had from the north and they should rebel against the few leaders who lied to them. None of the three conditions were about to happen thus in this sense the war had become inevitable. It is also considered that although the war was not chosen by many of the people, yet they were exploited by their speakers, politicians etc (Donovan, 2002). Q4. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln as a war measure. The abolitionists stated that it did not set free any of the slaves because the states that were in rebellion were not controlled by the Union. The proclamation assured the loyal slave owners that they were allowed to keep their slaves and still remain a part of the Union. It also induced the leaders of the Confederate to declare peace before the deadline. The British also stopped aiding the Confederate and many northerners gained support as they were getting tired of the war. However, the most immediate effect of the Emancipation Proclamation was that the government of the US was put away from the “peculiar institution” of slavery. This placed a barrier between the recognition of South and the European countries. The proclamation also strengthened the meaning of the US constitution by highlighting how it protected the slavery (Guelzo, 2006). Q5. Slaves had no freedom in the US before the civil war. Slavery was immensely impacted in the years that preceded the war because of the many causes of the war that were related to slavery. The differences between the North and South whether social, political or economical were due to the position of slavery in these areas. Slaves suffered immense oppression in the South and did not have any free rights. Slavery in the North was subjected to chances of freedom and the feeling of being free existed in the North. During the civil war, the slaves were taken in the fields to do all the menial works. However, during the last days of the war, the slaves in the South were allowed to join the army and fight against the Union (Ranney, 2006). Q6. Although the civil war was a war against slavery which was fought between two armies; one who supported the slaves and the other who did not, it was rather known to be a war between two social systems. It was a war between the system of slavery and free labor of which one of the systems would be victorious. The North was more in number of men and arms, and the war of the South was to only defend their land. The North fought to win whereas the South fought to avoid losing. Thus, the war was a people’s war to a slight extent but it was driven by the political leaders to a great extent. The people of either side did not want a war but their political leaders exploited them and misguided them (McNeese, 2003). Q7. During the civil war, Robert Lee commanded the Confederate Army. He made attempts to invade North twice and he failed because of which South lost the war. The best way to end a war, if there was no peace treaty that could be agreed upon, was to take over the enemy’s homeland. In this case it was the North. Lee hoped to take the pressure off of Virginia, and if he would have been successful in invading the North, it would mean the victory of the South. He was trying to win the war but ended up losing it. The decision to invade the North was rather a failed strategy that he used, and resulted in defeat (Henty, 2006). Q8. Democracy came as a revolution in itself after the civil war. Democracy inaugurated when the North won the war and slavery was abolished. The victory also preserved the Union along with the amendments of the constitution where it was declared that slavery will no longer be practiced on any grounds. This is where the system of democracy ignited in the US. Democracy greatly developed after the civil war and these developments are still important in the American democracy today. They assist in understanding the meaning of democracy in modern times. In his view, Donald rightly points out the advantages to the North of population and resources and declares that the South “died of democracy” (Shah, 2007). Q9. The political consequences were that North had won the civil war thus it forced the South to unite with the United States. This meant that the Southerners had to give equal rights to its slaves. This was a political move and it had a great impact on the economics. As slavery became an essential component in the culture and economics of the South, abolitionism was initiated by the North where the factories, government, business thrived. South produced the raw materials and North manufactured these raw materials into finished products that were used locally and internationally. It also impacted the Southern economics hugely as all the African Americans served as the part of the labor market (Pearson, 2009). Q10. At the beginning of the civil war, both the armies were made up of amateur soldiers. These soldiers were poorly equipped, untrained and weakly organized. The Northern army was however given better provisions as compared to the South. South army could not get the supply of the goods after the blockade made by the Union on the Atlantic coast. The political leadership of the Union was stronger than the Confederacy which is considered as one of the reasons they won the war. The confederacy applied weak and flawed military strategy which weakened their soldiers. They applied the defensive strategy which according to Lee was victorious yet the strong leadership of the Union overpowered the Confederacy (Hazen, 2007). Q11. In the period of the reconstruction, the different parts of America were put back together after the bloody war. The reconstruction process also resulted in many conflicts amongst the people of the South. The main conflict arose between the Planters and the Freedmen. The planters in the South had owned a major part of the economical, social and political point of view whereas the freedmen wanted equality both politically and legally. Although the purpose of the reconstruction was to bring back the North and the South but it rather resulted in a failure to do so. The lessons learnt were that despite efforts made for the reconstruction, there were political and social conflicts that existed due to the difference in perceptions (Franklin, 2012). Q12. President Andrew tried to take the charge of reconstruction when he became the president. He offered a plan to the southern states that they would make a separate constitution and enter the Union without allowing freedmen’s political rights. With this plan the northerners were feared by the results. The confederate leaders were put on high positions through elections. The new southern government was refused by the Congress and it created a showdown amongst Congress and Johnson. Johnson was severely opposed by the Congress and as a result he was challenged by the House of Representatives (Fitzgerald, 2010). Q13. The civil war had a major affect on United States as a nation. The South was modernized during reconstruction as before it was just a rural area and it lacked many infrastructural facilities. After the civil war, the roads were built, education system was enhanced and factories were introduced. These factories are still working and they contribute to the US economy. More importantly the civil war saved America from being divided into two countries. Civil war ended the slavery and introduced the amendments in the constitution in the light of which Americans are still given equal rights and freedom. The civil war also impacted the power of the states and the federal government (Andreano, 2011). References Andreano R. (2011). The Economic Impact of the American Civil War. NY: Literary Licensing, LLC. Donovan T. (2002). The American Civil War. UK: Square One Publishers, Inc Fitzgerald S. (2010). Reconstruction: Rebuilding America After the Civil War. Capstone Franklin J. (2012). Reconstruction after the Civil War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Guelzo A. (2006). Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. NY: Simon and Schuster Hazen W. (2007). The Civil War. Good Year Books. Henty G. (2006). With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War. NY: Wildside Press LLC. McNeese T. (2003). America’s Civil War. London: Lorenz Educational Press. Pearson F. (2009). Civil Wars: Internal Struggles, Global Consequences. Canada: University of Toronto Press. Ranney J. (2006). In The Wake of Slavery. Greenwood Publishing Group. Shah R. (2007). The Civil War: The American Civil War 1861-1865. London: EZ Comics – Historical Comic. Read More