History of the American Civil War - Essay Example

History of the American Civil War The backdrop of American Civil War was already on the process of development as soon as the war of independence was over. The struggle to attain more power with the intention to govern the nation was one of the main reasons that it gave birth between Congress and Presidency and finally such power conflict led to one of the greatest bloodbaths in the American history that still casts is its impact over the common people of the nation. Adoption of the Articles of Confederation had a great role to play in paving the path towards the mass destruction that newly independent America experienced. The Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on 15th Nov, 1777. At that point of time Congress was the sole federal governmental institution in the United States of America and final draft of the Articles empowered the Congress with various political capacities, including negotiation of diplomatic treaties, capacity of declaring war and power to solve various issues related to the Western Territories. However, the Articles of Confederation was not full proof and it just provided the Congress with highest level of legislative powers, but without any authority to execute them. The Federalists, or a group of reformers, who emerged from the American Revolutionary War, in this context, opined that the Articles were not perfect to form a powerful central state and lacked some of the most important provisions for complete governance. The biggest criticism against the Articles of Confederation was that, it did not give taxing authority to the government, rather in times of national emergency the government had to request for funds from the States. The Articles also failed to authorize government with the powers of uniform tariff imposition, granting lands and undertake the burden of unpaid debts. Another major criticism against these articles was that they did not have the balancing capacity between large and small states, when it came to legislative decision making process. Criticism of the Federalists soon proved to be true. The Treaty of Paris was signed in the year 1783 and United States gained its independence finally but the governmental structure of the newly formed nation was completely unsettled. Soon, in the aftermath period of signing the Treaty of Paris, the Revolution took place and it was followed by the collapse of continental dollar all over U.S, leading to the great economic depression. At the same time, due to its unsettled governmental structure, feasibility of the American Government was challenged by political turmoil in different states across the nation. Situation became worse, as adding fuel to the prevailing political condition the debtors started asking for new government that would liberate them from the burdens of debt. The Continental Congress was also incapable to develop a fruitful cooperation between the States, in order to encourage economic and commercial developments in the country. The American Civil war not only wasted a great deal of property but at the same time it caused loss of innumerable lives of innocent citizens. At the same time it also opens up scope to criticize the leaders of the armies as due to their imprudent decisions so many lives were lost, causing an irreparable damage to the American society. Time before the American Civil War (1861-1865): Though adoption of the Articles of Confederation was one of the main reasons that led the whole nation to the situation of mass killing but if we look at history from a more specific perspective we will see that since 1820s onwards the inevitability of war was becoming clear. According to the historical references we know that since the time the white people intruded the land, they claimed the superior position in the land and at the same time they used the black people as well as the natives of native America as their slaves. Almost over two centuries these people were being tortured, brutalized, tormented and murdered by the intruders but finally they started to realize that they also have individual entity and they are not like the beasts as they are treated by the ‘white rulers.’ These people started claiming their rights and equality in the society just same as the white people. However, just the moment these downtrodden people started to express their feeling, it immediately created a great deal of impact over the sense of superiority of the white people the rate of oppression as well as inflicting torture also increased. It is during the time of 1820s that the so-called slaves were rising against the arbitrary ruling system of the white people. Clearly, America during this time was divided between two clear sections the North and the South. People residing at the North, were mainly people belonging to the ruling class and people of the South were mainly dominated by the white men. Perhaps, the first clear indication of such rebellion occurred during the year 1920. In this year Missouri Compromise, though the state is basically a slave state but at the same time it restricted the spread of the system of slavery anywhere else in the territory of Louisiana. Till this time period the white people did not take the whole situation in a very serious way but the white section of the society was also realizing that a tempest in on its way of approach. However, within a decade occurrence of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion and establishment of The Liberator clearly showed that the situation has gone out of the hands of the existing system of governance. Though regarding ratification of the US Constitution a series of prolonged debate occurred between federalists and anti-federalists but there has not been no such change occurred in the context of social respect of the Afro-American people. It was by the year 1835 that the “Angry differences between the people of the North and South” was heightened to such an extent that was never witnessed before (Grimsted, 2003, p.3). Observing the situation the Southern Times of Columbia commented, “Mobs, strikes, riots, abolition movements … seem to be the engrossing topics of the day …. The whole country … seems ready to take fire on the most trivial occasion.” (Southern Times; Grimsted, 2003, p.3) Amidst all these socio-political turmoil formation of the Union of the slavery Free State was already on a progress. In the year 1845 Texas entered the Union and the compromise of 1850 also included California as a free state in the Union. These types of changes in the conventional political as well as social order created huge agitation among the white people as they started realizing that the kind of benefit they used to sow from the slaves were gradually slipping out of their hands. Such agitation received a further boost as the Supreme Court judge Dred Scott came up with a judgment that since that time onwards the Federal government of the nation can interfere within the issues related to slavery. Thus, almost the four decades of the pre-Civil War social condition clearly showed that there were several factors that actually played a leading part in constructing the grounds as well as occurrence of the Civil War. The Civil War (1861-1865): The American Civil War has created a huge impact over the common human psyche as it created a great deal of impact though its magnitude of destruction as well as mass killing. Gray W. Gallagher comments, “Three million men served in the Union and Confederate armies, the majority of whom enlisted during the first two years of the war.” (Gallagher, 2001, p.70) Soldiers have both side had their separate reflection over the about the actual status of the nation. According to the Union soldiers, it was their primary aim to secure independence for them. They clearly said behind the development of the America their native predecessors have contributed to the greatest. Thus, the soldiers of the Union expressed their opinion as free children of the nation and it is their onus to save the nation from all those who will attempt to snatch away the freedom and liberty of the common people. On the other hand the Confederates have expressed their opinion that as the responsibility of developing America is rested over them that is why it is important to fight against all those who are against such development. Finally, it has become a battle of democracy against the tyrannical system. There are several examples that the soldiers also have described the main aim of the war, “Just before the battle of Chancellorsville, a member of the 44th Virginia Infantry described the conflict as ‘a struggle between Liberty on one side, and Tyranny on the other’ and vowed to uphold the ‘holy cause of Southern freedom.” (Gallagher, 2001, p.70) Post Civil War Period (1865 onwards): The year 1865 characterized the end of the civil war and the tremendous mass destruction that the whole nation faces during the span of four years. However, the economic and loss of lives that people faced during this period of time could not be compensated for a further longer period. Despite the war ended but it did not stop anger of the Afro Americans from being exposed. On one hand they were ready to take revenge of the torture and brutal treatment that they had to face for such a long time. On the other hand residents of the southern part of America were scared that any moment they might either be murdered or they will be thrown out of their houses. Finally the Presidency was left with no other option that to announce complete abolition of slavery across the nation. Consequently, they also received all those rights from the system of governance of the nation that provided them with opportunity to enjoy the same rights like their white counterparts. In addition to the massive change it also became important to put forth certain other changes as well with the purpose of accelerating the financial stability of the nation. Heather Cox Richardson comments in the book, West from Appomattox, “Although questions about the relationship between the government and its citizens were hardly new in 1865, one thing made the post- Civil War years critical for American identity: during the war … for the first time in American history, Congress had imposed national taxes. After the war, individuals – taxpayers – had a new and powerful interest in their government and were concerned about who should be able to vote about how their money was spent.” (Richardson, 2007, p.2) During the reconstruction of America in the post war phase such development becomes extremely important as people became more politically conscious and such consciousness also helped to inculcate such morality among the political leaders that they have become well aware about their duties as well as they also learnt to utilize the money properly for the national welfare. Conclusion: Not only in the history of America but in the international history also has the ill effects of the Civil War are often been cited to show to which extent a war can create havoc over different aspects of a nation. The American Civil war was not only a giant clash between the troops of the Northern and Southern part of the nation but it also exhibited the problems of racism and discrimination in the society. At the end of the civil war, though the black people received recognition of the state as human beings but a deep scar was created among both these communities that took a long time to be erased. While pondering over the ill effects of the civil war over economy and society of the America, it seems that economic losses have been compensated adequately but the emotional harm that has been caused over the general psyche, has remained irreparably damaged. The clear line of discrimination that has been formed between people and also created class distinction could not be compensated. Even in the modern society, the germ of the same discrimination has existed among general section. The civil war, on many occasions, is still the sole determining factor of social status and prestige of individuals. Moreover, the clear gap between people belonging to original American ethnic background and people belonging to the Afro American ethnicity has still remained. Though the mark has been blurred but the mentality, that people belonging to each group is meant for opposing each other, actually developed since the time of the Civil War era. References 1. Grimsted, D., (2003), American Mobbing, 1828-1861: Toward Civil War, New York: Oxford University Press US 2. Gallagher, G. W., (2001), The American Civil War: the war in the East 1861 - May 1863, New York: Osprey Publishing 3. Richardson, H.C., (2007), West from Appomattox: the reconstruction of America after the Civil War, Yale: Yale University Press Read More