My position on the Civil War and an argument against it. (MOD 2 Disc 1) - Assignment Example

The American Civil War was eventually won by the Union, a victory which led to slavery being completely abolished throughout the nation and the end of 4 years of destructive warfare. As an individual in favour of the Union, it is easy to describe the many positive aspects of this side. Firstly, the Union was the side in favour of the abolition of slavery (McPherson & Hogue, 2009), a stance which encouraged human rights for all races and encouraged freedom. The American Civil War was first and foremost a war dedicated to resolving the issues that both sides had regarding slavery, and the Unionists were dedicated to seeing the Confederate states abolish this tradition.

From a modern perspective, slavery and the associated treatment of black people are incomprehensible and immoral. Another reason to support the Union is that it was the side of the democratically elected Abraham Lincoln (McPherson & Hogue, 2009), and held the same view as the majority of Americans (23 states as opposed to 11 Confederate states [McPherson & Hogue, 2009]). It is wrong, however, to assume that the winning side is always the right side. In every story there are several viewpoints and we cannot see everything in black and white.

One of the main problems with the Union is related to the democracy point raised above. 23 states wanted to abolish slavery, but 11 states didnt. The Union encouraged ignoring the views of over 5 million people (McPherson & Hogue, 2009) in the Southern states, which is something that a true democracy could not. It is easy to say that the Union was in favour of freedom, but another type of freedom is freedom of opinion, and it could be said that the Confederacy had this taken away from them by the Unionists zeal for abolition.

It is also possible to argue in favour of the Confederacy. It can be argued that the Confederate states were aiming to protect themselves; not only their way of life with regard to slavery, but also to protect their economy from the Union (McPherson & Hogue, 2009). It is also wrongly assumed that Confederacy states were the only ones that employed and imported slaves (McPherson & Hogue, 2009). It is evident that the story here is not just black and white.ReferencesMcPherson, J. M., & Hogue, J. K. (2009).

Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. McGraw-Hill.