how to start an essay about the civil war

American Civil War - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

The American Civil War, waged from 1861 to 1865, was a seminal event in the United States’ history that stemmed from long-standing regional differences and disputes over slavery. Essays could delve into the political, economic, and social factors that led to the conflict, exploring the disputes between the North and the South regarding states’ rights, slavery, and economic policies. The discourse might extend to the significant battles, military strategies, and the leadership on both sides of the conflict. Discussions could also focus on the Emancipation Proclamation and its implications on the war and the broader struggle for civil rights. Moreover, essays could explore the reconstruction era that followed the war, examining the efforts to reunite the nation, address the legacies of slavery, and establish civil rights for freed slaves. The enduring impact of the American Civil War on the national identity, racial relations, and historical narrative could provide a captivating exploration of this pivotal period in American history. A vast selection of complimentary essay illustrations pertaining to American Civil War you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Nationalism in the Civil War

Introduction The Civil war of 1861-1865 is a central event in America's historical conscience. The war determined what kind of nation America would grow to be. The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution (1773-1776): whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would […]

Civil War was the Westward

Many historians argue that the catalyst for the civil war was the westward expansion of slavery. In 1845, after the United States annexed it the year before, Texas officially became a state- a slave state. The addition of a slave state allowed the Lone Star Republic into the Union. As a result of Texas becoming a state, the Mexican-American War broke out. After the war, the United States bought a massive amount of land from Mexico. The land later became […]

African Americans Made up

During the 1800's in America, African Americans made up most of the population. The Southern states were inundated with slaves. They labored in farms and on plantations. African Americans received cruel treament. They were brutally beaten and looked upon as being inhumane. The issue of equal rights for African Americans caused great disparities between the states. Our new country found itself at war with one another. This was a war of the North versus the South. The Civil War for […]

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The Civil War was the Deadliest

The Civil War was the deadliest and most brutal war ever fought. How did everything stir up between the states in the first place? Southerners had an Agricultural economy and mainly focused on the way they lived their lives to make profit for their well being; this included slaves for more hands to get more work done in less time. On the opposite side of things the northerners had an Industrial economy and wanted to abolish slavery. The north and […]

Many Causes of the Civil War

During the 1860s, the North and South of the United States had many disputes and conflicts. The South succeeded from the North, eventually leading to the civil war. The Civil War was the most destructive war ever fought in the western hemisphere and lasted from 1861 to 1865. The Civil War led to the end of the Confederacy and helped America to grow economically and socially as a nation. Today, America faces an issue with immigrants and their policies on […]

The Battle of Gettysburg Changed Everything

The Battle of Gettysburg changed everything for the Union. During the Civil War, America was fighting against each other, so there were two sides. The Confederates were mainly from the south and the Union was from the north. The concerning issue involved the North wanting slaves to be free while the south wanted to keep slaves. This conflict started the Civil War and up until the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederates were striving. The south was winning every battle, so […]

The Civil War was a War Fought

The Civil War was a war fought between the states. It was fought between the Union and the Confederate States of America. Civil War spies played a major part in how the Confederate (North) won the Civil War (History.com Editors). Spies let generals know when they should attack, where, and whether they should withdraw or not (Mark). The armies of America had been tracked by spies during the Civil War. The spies gathered information on them and in return would […]

The Civil War is Perhaps

The civil war is perhaps the most studied time period in American history. Though the war was only four years, it would alter the course of history and change American culture forever. Among the changes caused by the war, the most prominent were the social and economic changes and the largest being slavery. The country was divided in many ways and all contributed to the start of the war. Most people would say that the war was solely dependent on […]

One of the most Important Events

The Civil War is one of the most important events in the history of the United States of America. It had many important repercussions which went on to have a deep and long lasting impact on the nation. After four years of a cruel battle, from 1861-1865, between a divided nation of the North and South, more than 600,000 people were killed. These lives, however, were not given in vain. Had it not been for the American Civil War where […]

Role of Technology in the American Civil War

The American Civil War is the first real modern war in America. Most of the technology and weaponry used in the Civil War can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution era. The Industrial Revolution was a time of profound transformation that resulted in new manufacturing processes. It was a time of profound transformation that resulted in new manufacturing processes. By the mid-19th century, mass production industries have been developed mainly in the North, which led them to control a […]

The Civil War Ended

The Civil War ended up being a turning point for many women. Women were required to remain at home to cook, clean and take care of their families, while their spouses went to the front line. Even though, women were prohibited from battling in the war, regardless they had critical roles to satisfy. Various women went up against the roles of medical caretakers, spies, promoters of ladies' suffrage, a supporter of social equality, and so forth. But a few women […]

Abraham Lincoln Presidancy

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. At the early age of 7 he and his family moved to Southern Indiana. When he was nine years old his mother passed, and he had to work to help support his family. He had very limited formal schooling because he was working, though he had very little education, he loved to read books and would borrow books from his neighbors. At age 21, Lincoln and his family […]

The American Civil War

The American Civil War was a battle between the South and the North after a number of states in the south seceded after Lincoln's Presidency. The battle started off as states rights but as the battle went on and advanced the battle was fighting to end slavery. Nobody had any idea that this battle would eventually turn into the deadliest battle in American history. This battle cost many people their lives on the battlefield and beyond. Also, it cost a […]

The Civil War is Considered

The Civil War is considered the bloodiest and deadliest wars in the history of the United States. It began in April 1861 when Confederates opened fire on the Union soldiers at Fort Sumter. The war would go on to last four more long years until May 1865. According to American Battlefield Trust, about 2% of the population, or estimated 620,000 men, were lost in the line of duty. As the battle began, there was a shortage of war time labor […]

Civil War and Abraham Lincoln

Thesis: To what extent did Abraham Lincoln’s election influence the outcomes of the Civil War? Introduction: Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States in November of 1860 before the start of the Civil War and continued as president during the War. He sought to unify the nation, to create a better country and to abolish slavery. Abraham Lincoln described the reality that you can’t avoid destiny so you must prepare yourself for it. “You cannot escape […]

The Civil War was Aged

The Civil war was aged on by many reasons on both sides and leaders from both ends in a disagreement with how the United States of America should be govern. With the leaders and war generals making big decisions and the people of the north and the south both raging their opinions with words and with guns. The war was all about the morality of having slaves, African Americans, work for little money and have no rights. And there were […]

Longstreet First Fought

James Longstreet was a government official, a U.S Army officer, and a famous lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals and known as "Lee's War Horse." James Longstreet was born on January 8, 1821, in Edgefield District, South Carolina to James and Mary Anne Dent Longstreet. He was the son of a prosperous farmer and mostly raised in Augusta, Georgia and Somerville, Alabama. While he was in […]

The Civil War is Central

The Civil war is central to the history of the United States of America and as part of the historical events that define the American experience, it is vastly represented in several historical movies . Indeed, while 1776-1783 revolution created the US, the Civil war of 1861-1865 is said to be the determinant of what kind of nation America would be in the world . By nature, cinematic historical representations of past events are common and loved by Americans and […]

Post Civil War: Economic Factors Shape Democracy in America

Life differed for everyone after the Civil War ended—farmers, Southerners, former slaves, and more—because America was rebuilding itself in more ways than one. Former slaves were set free upon the end of the war, and they believed that their years of unpaid labor gave them a claim to land and ""forty acres and a mule"" became their rallying cry. Whites were not willing to give their property to previous slaves, and the federal government chose not to redistribute land in […]

American Civil War wasn’t Inevitable

The Civil War was and is one of the most outstanding events in the history of the United States. It was a military conflict that occurred in the United States, between 1861 and 1865 (when Abraham Lincoln is elected president). Where the North States fought against the Confederate States of America, composed of the countries of the South, which were just conforming. The struggle took place because the States of the South wanted their independence, while those of the North […]

The Role of Women in the Civil War

The bloodiest conflict in history of North America was not between other countries, like one would might imagine, it was in fact the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the clash between the North and Southern states. The Northern states was committed to ending the practice of slavery. However, the Southern states wished to introduce slavery into the western territories. During this time of conflict over the issue of slavery, Abraham Lincoln won […]

Americans Think of African-Americans

When Americans think of African-Americans in the deep south before the Civil War, the first image that comes to mind is one of slavery. However, many African-Americans secured their freedom and lived in a state of semi-freedom even before slavery was abolished by war. Free blacks lived in all parts of the United States, but the majority lived amongst slavery in the south. Freed Blacks continued to be treated as less than a citizen than their white counterparts because the […]

America’s Role in the World after the Civil War

As the civil war came to an end Americas southern territory was in a horrible economic place it was, looted burned, and destroyed by the unions strength to defeat the confederacy. America saw this as a time to reconstruct morally, socially, and economically. During post-war northern Americas industries soared with the help of tariffs passed during war time. It helped corporations like steel and oil to grow and create better technology and mechanics. The growth of industries in America made […]

Outbreak of the US Civil War

The mid-19th Century was not the happiest time in America. Slavery was still very much a thing in the South; the Mexican-American War had devastated the West, tribes of Native Americans were coming into conflict with the Army on the regular, while tensions between the North and South were at an all-time high. All these factors, as well as so many others, would eventually lead to the outbreak of the US Civil War, the bloodiest war in the history of […]

Civil War and Slavery

The U.S. Civil War began on April 12, 1861 in Fort Sumter, South Carolina. There were several events that led up to this battle. Three major causes of the U.S. Civil War include slavery, states’ rights, and the abolitionist movement. The future of slavery created a consuming issue that prompted the disturbance of the union. That question prompted withdrawal, and severance achieved a war in which the Northern and Western states and regions battled to safeguard the Union, and the […]

Civil War was not about Slavery

Some people that experienced the Civil War and some who did not experience it like to say that the Civil War was not about slavery, but instead about defending rights that states had. President Lincoln even tried to offer a deal to the southern states saying if they returned to the union they could keep their slaves, but they denied his offer. The Civil War was started when Fort Sumter was attacked by the confederates. In return to this, Lincoln had […]

Slavery is an Established Social Institution

Slavery is an established social institution in which God did not condemn, is what Thomas Dew believed, whereas Thomas Jefferson believed the opposite; he said that slavery was a moral evil. This was one of the reasons that had started the American Civil War. Although the slave trade was abolished in 1808, slavery on plantations was still practiced in about 15 southern states, from Texas to the Carolinas. With the south having the ideal weather conditions to support cotton plantations […]

Confederate Soldiers Vs. Union Soldiers: Disentangling Motivations on the Battlefield during the American Civil War

The tumultuous era of the American Civil War witnessed a clash of ideologies, with Confederate and Union soldiers donning uniforms that represented more than just military allegiance. The motivations that propelled these men to the battlefield were as diverse as the nation they fought for. As we delve into the intricacies of why Confederate and Union soldiers fought, we uncover a mosaic of personal, societal, and political factors that converged on the bloody fields of conflict. At the heart of […]

Compare and Contrast the American Revolution and the Civil War Essay: the Dual Pillars of American Freedom

In American history, the American Revolution and the Civil War are two major events with lasting effects. Two chapters, separated in time but linked in subject, depict the rise of a nascent nation battling for freedom, justice, and nationhood. While they share freedom as a purpose, their causes, settings, and legacies differ, creating a vibrant tapestry of contrasts. The Quest for Freedom Both the American Revolution and the Civil War fought for freedom. Liberty, as a rallying cry, links these […]

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a Turning Point in the Civil War

Wars Throughout History Throughout the ages of many, there have been many wars that have graced planet Earth. The Punic wars, a few hundred years before the birth of Christ, saw more than one million people deaths between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire over a hundred-year span. The French Wars on Religion during the mid-1500s saw more than two million people die for the sake of their religion. And the Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and France, […]

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Writing civil war essay: is it really that difficult.

April 6, 2018

Let’s be honest; students receive dozens of essay assignments every year – or every semester, depending on their luck. It can be very difficult to write each of these papers by yourself and submit each one on time. And the essay on civil war assignment is one of the most difficult. Of course, your teacher expects you to write something unique – something that will entertain him or her. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for students to write an interesting paper on a subject that is so common.

When you write civil war essay, you want to make sure that you choose a topic that very few of your classmates would ever think of. In other words, try to be as creative as possible. In this blog post, we will help you with some topics and with a step-by-step guide on how to write the paper faster. We will also cover the five paragraph essay structure and a few tips and tricks to write the perfect essay on the civil war.

The Five Paragraph Essay Structure

The first thing you want to do when you start on a paper is find the best structure. The structure of your essay makes a difference. It can make it easier for you to write the paragraphs and organize your ideas logically. When you write essays on the civil war and reconstruction, you will most probably want to use the five paragraph essay structure. Here is how such a paper would look like:

• The introduction – a paragraph that introduces the topic and presents the thesis statement
• Three body paragraphs (can be more) – each paragraph contains a main idea and covers it in depth
• The conclusion – summarizes everything and contains a call to action

If you master the five paragraph structure, you will be able to quickly create the outline for your reconstruction essay. Also, you will manage to organize all your ideas in a logical manner – one per paragraph.

Steps to Write an Essay on the Civil War

Now that you know how the final paper will look, it’s time to start composing it. Here are the basic steps you need to follow if you want to create a civil war essay quickly and efficiently:

• Find a good topic and write an excellent thesis statement.
• Start doing in-depth research online and offline. Research the topic and use all the main ideas you gather to create an outline (use the five paragraph structure as a guide).
• Write each paragraph of the outline without thinking about proofreading and editing. Just write!
• Ensure that all the information in the first draft is accurate and that everything is properly referenced and cited.
• Edit the draft and polish your writing. Your writing must flow and have cohesion.
• Proofread everything and make sure there are absolutely no errors of any kind in the text.
• Read everything twice to make sure the paper is perfect. In addition, you can have somebody else read your reconstruction era essay and provide feedback.

As you can see, writing an essay on civil war is not as difficult as you thought. However, it is not a simple task either. You may need help from a professional writer if you want the paper to be as good as possible. Experienced academic writers can help you with ideas, an outline, proofreading, or editing. Of course, a writing company can compose the entire paper for you. Perhaps the most difficult part of writing an essay on what caused the civil war is finding the best topic.

Sample Topics for the Civil War Essay

To help you find a good topic – on which the success of your writing largely depends – we have put together a list of some topics that we find interesting for an essay on the American civil war:

• Life in the North versus life in the South
• Changes in public opinion during the war
• Character traits of Abraham Lincoln relevant to the war
• How has the Civil War affected immigration?
• Essay: was the civil war inevitable?
• Was the Civil War completely unnecessary? Why?
• The secession of South Carolina: how it happened

The Best Tips and Tricks

Here are some of the best tips and tricks that you can use to write an exceptional essay on what caused the civil war:

• Make sure the topic of the paper is unique and interesting as well
• Work hard on the thesis statement, introduction and conclusion
• Make sure all claims are properly supported by accurate data
• Ask more experienced writers for an opinion if possible
• Do not make the paper too long, as you will not gain any bonus points for beating around the bush
• Read at least one essay on the civil war written by an established author to see how an exceptional paper looks like

Of course, in case you lack the time to complete the assignment yourself, it is always better to hire an academic writer online than to be late. The same advice applies if you don’t know much about the topic or need an outline or some editing help.

Take a break from writing.

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A Brief Overview of the American Civil War

The Civil War is the central event in America's historical consciousness. While the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 determined what kind of nation it would be. The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution: whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world.

Northern victory in the war preserved the United States as one nation and ended the institution of slavery that had divided the country from its beginning. But these achievements came at the cost of 625,000 lives--nearly as many American soldiers as died in all the other wars in which this country has fought combined. The American Civil War was the largest and most destructive conflict in the Western world between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the onset of World War I in 1914.

The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states. When Abraham Lincoln won election in 1860 as the first Republican president on a platform pledging to keep slavery out of the territories, seven slave states in the deep South seceded and formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. The incoming Lincoln administration and most of the Northern people refused to recognize the legitimacy of secession. They feared that it would discredit democracy and create a fatal precedent that would eventually fragment the no-longer United States into several small, squabbling countries.

The event that triggered war came at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay on April 12, 1861. Claiming this United States fort as their own, the Confederate army on that day opened fire on the federal garrison and forced it to lower the American flag in surrender. Lincoln called out the militia to suppress this "insurrection." Four more slave states seceded and joined the Confederacy. By the end of 1861 nearly a million armed men confronted each other along a line stretching 1200 miles from Virginia to Missouri. Several battles had already taken place--near Manassas Junction in Virginia, in the mountains of western Virginia where Union victories paved the way for creation of the new state of West Virginia, at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, and at Port Royal in South Carolina where the Union navy established a base for a blockade to shut off the Confederacy's access to the outside world.

But the real fighting began in 1862. Huge battles like Shiloh in Tennessee, Gaines' Mill , Second Manassas , and Fredericksburg in Virginia, and Antietam in Maryland foreshadowed even bigger campaigns and battles in subsequent years, from Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to Vicksburg on the Mississippi to Chickamauga and Atlanta in Georgia. By 1864 the original Northern goal of a limited war to restore the Union had given way to a new strategy of "total war" to destroy the Old South and its basic institution of slavery and to give the restored Union a "new birth of freedom," as President Lincoln put it in his address at Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery for Union soldiers killed in the battle there.

For three long years, from 1862 to 1865, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia staved off invasions and attacks by the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by a series of ineffective generals until Ulysses S. Grant came to Virginia from the Western theater to become general in chief of all Union armies in 1864. After bloody battles at places with names like The Wilderness , Spotsylvania , Cold Harbor , and Petersburg , Grant finally brought Lee to bay at Appomattox in April 1865. In the meantime Union armies and river fleets in the theater of war comprising the slave states west of the Appalachian Mountain chain won a long series of victories over Confederate armies commanded by hapless or unlucky Confederate generals. In 1864-1865 General William Tecumseh Sherman led his army deep into the Confederate heartland of Georgia and South Carolina, destroying their economic infrastructure while General George Thomas virtually destroyed the Confederacy's Army of Tennessee at the battle of Nashville . By the spring of 1865 all the principal Confederate armies surrendered, and when Union cavalry captured the fleeing Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Georgia on May 10, 1865, resistance collapsed and the war ended. The long, painful process of rebuilding a united nation free of slavery began.

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Is it a good idea to write a college essay about American civil war?

It is a rather informative and broad topic for students interested in history. You may find good samples on this topic in our database.

How to use civil war essay samples to create my own paper?

In writing an essay, you may appeal to our templates as a database of ideas, facts, and references. In addition, you may use them to inspire writing or general development. Finally, we showcase our professionalism to potential clients.

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We do not advise presenting our samples as yours since other students could use the text in their papers.

Writing an American civil war research paper requires deep knowledge of American history and the causes of conflicts within the country’s borders. In our database, you may find an abundance of samples that reveal the turning point of American society and the struggle for equality for all citizens.

Challenges and Advice of American Civil War Essay Writing

The chief causes of the Civil War in the United States were slavery and the economic instability of that time. The war was between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy), where more than 13% of African Americans were enslaved. Abraham Lincoln was elected president due to his anti-slavery expansion rhetoric. The time is considered a period of nation formation.

In your civil war essays, you should be careful with all the historical events and figures. For instance, having to write about the end of the war, you are to mention all the reasons and consequences of the final battle, the surrender of Confederates, the abolishment of slavery, and the guarantee of civil rights. In any case, writing about historical events is time-consuming as it requires finding and investigating credible sources.

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Applying qualitative samples when writing essays about the civil war is a paramount need of every student. Dealing with plenty of dates and events may turn out to be a tedious task.

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By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 20, 2023 | Original: October 15, 2009

The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War Between the States, as the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin.

Causes of the Civil War

In the mid-19th century, while the United States was experiencing an era of tremendous growth, a fundamental economic difference existed between the country’s northern and southern regions.

In the North, manufacturing and industry was well established, and agriculture was mostly limited to small-scale farms, while the South’s economy was based on a system of large-scale farming that depended on the labor of Black enslaved people to grow certain crops, especially cotton and tobacco.

Growing abolitionist sentiment in the North after the 1830s and northern opposition to slavery’s extension into the new western territories led many southerners to fear that the existence of slavery in America —and thus the backbone of their economy—was in danger.

Did you know? Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jackson earned his famous nickname, "Stonewall," from his steadfast defensive efforts in the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas). At Chancellorsville, Jackson was shot by one of his own men, who mistook him for Union cavalry. His arm was amputated, and he died from pneumonia eight days later.

In 1854, the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act , which essentially opened all new territories to slavery by asserting the rule of popular sovereignty over congressional edict. Pro- and anti-slavery forces struggled violently in “ Bleeding Kansas ,” while opposition to the act in the North led to the formation of the Republican Party , a new political entity based on the principle of opposing slavery’s extension into the western territories. After the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case (1857) confirmed the legality of slavery in the territories, the abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry in 1859 convinced more and more southerners that their northern neighbors were bent on the destruction of the “peculiar institution” that sustained them. Abraham Lincoln ’s election in November 1860 was the final straw, and within three months seven southern states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas—had seceded from the United States.

Outbreak of the Civil War (1861)

Even as Lincoln took office in March 1861, Confederate forces threatened the federal-held Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. On April 12, after Lincoln ordered a fleet to resupply Sumter, Confederate artillery fired the first shots of the Civil War. Sumter’s commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered after less than two days of bombardment, leaving the fort in the hands of Confederate forces under Pierre G.T. Beauregard. Four more southern states—Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee—joined the Confederacy after Fort Sumter. Border slave states like Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland did not secede, but there was much Confederate sympathy among their citizens.

Though on the surface the Civil War may have seemed a lopsided conflict, with the 23 states of the Union enjoying an enormous advantage in population, manufacturing (including arms production) and railroad construction, the Confederates had a strong military tradition, along with some of the best soldiers and commanders in the nation. They also had a cause they believed in: preserving their long-held traditions and institutions, chief among these being slavery.

In the First Battle of Bull Run (known in the South as First Manassas) on July 21, 1861, 35,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson forced a greater number of Union forces (or Federals) to retreat towards Washington, D.C., dashing any hopes of a quick Union victory and leading Lincoln to call for 500,000 more recruits. In fact, both sides’ initial call for troops had to be widened after it became clear that the war would not be a limited or short conflict.

The Civil War in Virginia (1862)

George B. McClellan —who replaced the aging General Winfield Scott as supreme commander of the Union Army after the first months of the war—was beloved by his troops, but his reluctance to advance frustrated Lincoln. In the spring of 1862, McClellan finally led his Army of the Potomac up the peninsula between the York and James Rivers, capturing Yorktown on May 4. The combined forces of Robert E. Lee and Jackson successfully drove back McClellan’s army in the Seven Days’ Battles (June 25-July 1), and a cautious McClellan called for yet more reinforcements in order to move against Richmond. Lincoln refused, and instead withdrew the Army of the Potomac to Washington. By mid-1862, McClellan had been replaced as Union general-in-chief by Henry W. Halleck, though he remained in command of the Army of the Potomac.

Lee then moved his troops northwards and split his men, sending Jackson to meet Pope’s forces near Manassas, while Lee himself moved separately with the second half of the army. On August 29, Union troops led by John Pope struck Jackson’s forces in the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas). The next day, Lee hit the Federal left flank with a massive assault, driving Pope’s men back towards Washington. On the heels of his victory at Manassas, Lee began the first Confederate invasion of the North. Despite contradictory orders from Lincoln and Halleck, McClellan was able to reorganize his army and strike at Lee on September 14 in Maryland, driving the Confederates back to a defensive position along Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg.

On September 17, the Army of the Potomac hit Lee’s forces (reinforced by Jackson’s) in what became the war’s bloodiest single day of fighting. Total casualties at the Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg) numbered 12,410 of some 69,000 troops on the Union side, and 13,724 of around 52,000 for the Confederates. The Union victory at Antietam would prove decisive, as it halted the Confederate advance in Maryland and forced Lee to retreat into Virginia. Still, McClellan’s failure to pursue his advantage earned him the scorn of Lincoln and Halleck, who removed him from command in favor of Ambrose E. Burnside . Burnside’s assault on Lee’s troops near Fredericksburg on December 13 ended in heavy Union casualties and a Confederate victory; he was promptly replaced by Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker , and both armies settled into winter quarters across the Rappahannock River from each other.

After the Emancipation Proclamation (1863-4)

Lincoln had used the occasion of the Union victory at Antietam to issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , which freed all enslaved people in the rebellious states after January 1, 1863. He justified his decision as a wartime measure, and did not go so far as to free the enslaved people in the border states loyal to the Union. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation deprived the Confederacy of the bulk of its labor forces and put international public opinion strongly on the Union side. Some 186,000 Black Civil War soldiers would join the Union Army by the time the war ended in 1865, and 38,000 lost their lives.

In the spring of 1863, Hooker’s plans for a Union offensive were thwarted by a surprise attack by the bulk of Lee’s forces on May 1, whereupon Hooker pulled his men back to Chancellorsville. The Confederates gained a costly victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville , suffering 13,000 casualties (around 22 percent of their troops); the Union lost 17,000 men (15 percent). Lee launched another invasion of the North in June, attacking Union forces commanded by General George Meade on July 1 near Gettysburg, in southern Pennsylvania. Over three days of fierce fighting, the Confederates were unable to push through the Union center, and suffered casualties of close to 60 percent.

Meade failed to counterattack, however, and Lee’s remaining forces were able to escape into Virginia, ending the last Confederate invasion of the North. Also in July 1863, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant took Vicksburg (Mississippi) in the Siege of Vicksburg , a victory that would prove to be the turning point of the war in the western theater. After a Confederate victory at Chickamauga Creek, Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in September, Lincoln expanded Grant’s command, and he led a reinforced Federal army (including two corps from the Army of the Potomac) to victory in the Battle of Chattanooga in late November.

Toward a Union Victory (1864-65)

In March 1864, Lincoln put Grant in supreme command of the Union armies, replacing Halleck. Leaving William Tecumseh Sherman in control in the West, Grant headed to Washington, where he led the Army of the Potomac towards Lee’s troops in northern Virginia. Despite heavy Union casualties in the Battle of the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania (both May 1864), at Cold Harbor (early June) and the key rail center of Petersburg (June), Grant pursued a strategy of attrition, putting Petersburg under siege for the next nine months.

Sherman outmaneuvered Confederate forces to take Atlanta by September, after which he and some 60,000 Union troops began the famous “March to the Sea,” devastating Georgia on the way to capturing Savannah on December 21. Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, fell to Sherman’s men by mid-February, and Jefferson Davis belatedly handed over the supreme command to Lee, with the Confederate war effort on its last legs. Sherman pressed on through North Carolina, capturing Fayetteville, Bentonville, Goldsboro and Raleigh by mid-April.

Meanwhile, exhausted by the Union siege of Petersburg and Richmond, Lee’s forces made a last attempt at resistance, attacking and captured the Federal-controlled Fort Stedman on March 25. An immediate counterattack reversed the victory, however, and on the night of April 2-3 Lee’s forces evacuated Richmond. For most of the next week, Grant and Meade pursued the Confederates along the Appomattox River, finally exhausting their possibilities for escape. Grant accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9. On the eve of victory, the Union lost its great leader: The actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on April 14. Sherman received Johnston’s surrender at Durham Station, North Carolina on April 26, effectively ending the Civil War.

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The American Civil War Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: United States , America , Lincoln , Organization , Slavery , Violence , Government , War

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Published: 01/02/2020

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The American Civil War

The American civil war was fought from 1861 to 1865 and is believed to have consumed more lives than all other wars combined. The war was anticipated for over 40 years after the American Revolution due to conflicts between the North and south. There were many issues between the two sides, but slavery was the central issue. Another cause was taxation of goods imported from foreign countries. The taxes were called tariffs and the southerners felt oppressed since they imported more goods than the northerners. Goods exported from the south were heavily taxed, which was not applicable to goods of equal value exported from the north. These irregularities existed because the northern and Midwestern states had become very influential and their populations were increasing. Southern states were not very populated, which made them lose their power. This created sectionalism where the states were distinguished by differences in economy, culture, and values (Ford, 2004). The issue of slavery formed the center stage in the conflict leading to the civil war. Slaves provided labor in the plantations and farms owned by the whites. The southerners had more acceptance of slavery since the colonial period than the northerners. People from the north felt that the institution of slavery was uncivilized and should be abolished. Slavery for the southern Americans was protected by both the federal and state laws. The first confrontation occurred in 1819 when Missouri was admitted to the union as a slave state. This upset the balance of power in the senate, which constituted of 11 Free states and 11 slave states. The admission of Missouri increased the number of slave states to twelve. In 1820, Senator Henry Clay proposed the Missouri Compromise that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to keep the balance of power (Glatthaar and Gallagher, 2001). The fugitive slave law passed in 1850 required all Americans to return runaway slaves. In 1857, the Supreme Court failed to grant freedom to Scott Dred who was a slave. This ruling was controversial to the northern anti-slavery leaders. In 1859, John Brown was executed for his attempt to steal weapons from the federal armory. This incident proved that the southern interests were not well represented in the senate, and the southerners wanted to secede from the north. The election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860, who was a republican and anti-slavery activist was viewed as a blow against secession by southern democrats (Ford, 2004). However, South Carolina and six other states managed to secede in 1860 and early 1861 and formed the Confederate States of America. These states attacked Fort Sumter in 1861, which belonged to the Union and was supported by the North. Lincoln called upon 75,000 from 23 states loyal to the Union to quell the rebellion of the south. States loyal to the union and those in the south began raising volunteers to serve in the armies. This marked the beginning of the civil war between the north and south. The war came to an end when three constitutional amendments were passed by congress. The 13th amendment of 1865 abolished the institution of slavery. The 14th amendment of 1868 granted citizenship to freed slaves and the 15th amendment of 1870 gave them the right to vote. The war had changed the political, social, and economic setup of America in less than 10 years. The ruling from the Scott case had concluded that African Americans could not attain partial or full citizenship whether free or slaves. This separated the country along racial lines since Africans were not entitled to constitutional rights enjoyed by the whites (Ford, 2004). The Blacks were considered inferior and could not interact with the whites either socially or politically. The 13th amendment aimed at forestalling the secession but was interfered with by the war and replaced in 1865 with the amendment that abolished slavery. The abolishment of slavery was not a goal of the government since Lincoln raised armies to preserve the Union and not to abolish slavery. Abolishing slavery was eventually assimilated as an aim for the preservation of the union by 1863. The end of the civil war ended the institution of slavery and secession by the southern states. The Confederacy was founded by Alexander to fight for the rights of slaves. The institution of slavery was built on racism, and it was difficult for the confederacy to fight for their rights. Racism continued even in the Reconstruction Era between 1865 and 1877. This undermined the 13th, 14th, and 15th constitutional amendments. The rights of the African Americans eroded in the following decades, and they were marginalized and segregated politically and economically. The white supremacy in the south was still evident after the civil war. Three black Americans could be lynched every week in the south between 1890 and 1920. Black Americans had to pay taxes but were denied the constitutional rights enjoyed by the whites (Glatthaar and Gallagher, 2001). The government had forgotten the rights of slaves in a rush to prevent the secession of the south. The southern philosophers considered slaves to be contented in slavery since they were committed and faithful to their masters. This made the southerners fight for the existence of the institution of slavery, but they were overwhelmed by the military strength of the Union. This ideology of slavery remained among the southerners as the country progressed to the industrial age and the Progressive Era. The south developed the Great Alibi since its defects became virtues of the war and their defeat turned victory long after the war had ended. The northern states considered themselves to be the savior of the nation by instilling morality to the southern states. Slavery continued to dominate the disagreements between the north and the south in the 19th century. The southern states took long to reconstruct due to destruction by the north that was better armed and had bigger troops than the southern forces. The civil war erupted in 1861, but the differences between the two sides began with the Declaration of Independence. The declaration did not address the abolition of slavery effectively, and the African Americans were granted fewer rights than the whites. These rights were still debatable between the abolitionists and the southern masters. The war stopped in 1865, but its legacy still exists in the current society. The war granted freedom to the slaves, and it gave them constitutional rights even though they were fully entitled to these rights several decades after the war.

Ford, C. T. (2004). The American Civil War: An overview. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers. Glatthaar, J. T., & Gallagher, G. W. (2001). The American Civil War. Oxford: Osprey Military.

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How Civil Wars Start

63 pages • 2 hours read

How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them

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Summary and Study Guide

How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them by American political scientist Barbara F. Walter is split into two halves. The first half documents the patterns and risk factors that lead to civil wars. It shows how civil wars in the 21st century differ substantially from prior time periods, including the US Civil War in the 19th century. While each civil war has unique aspects, Walter uses evidence from around the world to show that they follow similar patterns. In doing so, she provides tools to better identify the precursors of civil wars to stop them from occurring.

In the second half of the book, Walter focuses on the vulnerability of democracy in the US. She suggests that there are currently the same precursors that lead to civil wars. Walter argues that Trump’s presidency, including his refusal to accept the 2020 election results, have helped to erode American democracy. Furthermore, the rise of alt-right militias that target civilians and infrastructure indicates the emergence of an insurgency. Finally, the country’s systemic issues of law, race, and justice are putting it on the path toward ethnic cleansing and genocide . Walter hopes that by highlighting the political instability in the US, Americans can prevent a second civil war from happening.

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How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them was a New York Times bestseller and has won several other awards. It has generally received positive feedback, although some critics believe the book does not provide sufficient advice to stop a civil war in the US, whereas others believe she has exaggerated the risk of a second civil war.

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Content Warning: The source text depicts acts of violence and other crimes associated with civil wars.

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In the Introduction, Walter uses the example of Adam Fox’s attempted kidnapping and assassination of Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, in 2020 to illustrate how the US is not immune to political instability or another civil war. She also works to dispel popular ideas about civil wars, which typically use pre-21st-century civil wars as their basis. Prior to the 21st century, civil wars took place on battlefields and involved large standing armies and conventional warfare tactics. Today, however, civil wars are fought by guerilla warfare and militias who often target civilians and public infrastructure. These conflicts are often due to deep ethnic and cultural tensions that turn into political factions who are willing to fight for power.

Walter next turns to defining autocracy , democracy, and anocracy in Chapter 1. These categories are important because they determine how close or far away a country is from civil war. Civil wars only occur in anocracies due to weak governments and political factions based on ethnic and cultural groups. Walter argues that anocracy represents one of four risk factors that best predict civil wars. Walter focuses on the rapid democratization of Iraq and the recent phenomenon of newer and once-safe democracies, especially Ukraine, moving toward autocracies to show how this anocracy or middle zone is especially dangerous to a country’s political stability.

In Chapter 2, Walter focuses on the second predictor of civil wars: factionalism . Ethnic entrepreneurs use fearmongering rhetoric to gradually build support for political parties based on racial, ethnic, or religious identities over policies. They publicly question their rivals’ language, history, and geography. By doing so, ethnic entrepreneurs instill in their supporters feelings of fear and vulnerability. Supporters are more likely to embrace violence in this climate because they feel their way of life is under threat by other groups. Walter uses the breakup of Yugoslavia , led largely by Slobodan Milošević , as a case study to highlight the dangers of factionalism to a country’s political stability. 

Walter focuses on the dark consequences of loss of power, especially by “sons of soil” groups (e.g., the Moro in the Philippines, the Abkhazians in Georgia, and the Assamese in India), which represents the third risk factor that predicts civil wars. Loss of power helps researchers figure out who will start civil wars. However, this risk factor does not represent a trigger. Instead, Walter argues in Chapter 4 that loss of hope, particularly after failed protests and elections, is a key trigger. She uses the case studies of Northern Ireland and Syria to support this assertion . Loss of hope represents the final risk factor.

Walter next turns to how social media algorithms serve as accelerants for violence and conflict (Chapter 5). She strongly believes that social media has helped corrode democracies around the world over the last decade. She explores three interconnecting ways these platforms have helped erode democratic institutions, including through the spread of misinformation and disinformation, enabling voters themselves to elect populist leaders who stoke fear through misinformation and disinformation and increasing factionalism through divisive content.

Walter then turns her attention to the US. In Chapter 6, Walter documents how American democracy is at its most vulnerable state in over two centuries, with the country displaying all four risk factors that prelude civil wars. She pays particular attention to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, who she believes have intentionally set the US on this destructive course by exacerbating ethnic tension to maintain political power. She also presents what a civil war might look like in the US since it would be drastically different than its first civil war (Chapter 7). Walter also documents the strategies extremists use to intentionally erode democracy. While not all the strategies are present in the US, the fact that even some are raises concerns for Walter. In particular, the presence of early stages of ethnic cleansing is especially worrying.

Despite the vulnerable state of American democracy, Walter remains hopeful that Americans have the tools to fix it (Chapter 8). In particular, Americans must shore up their political institutions. Only by doing so can trust in the US government be restored. Once this happens, the US government can more effectively combat its domestic extremist problem.

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What the 'Dawn of the Civil War' can tell us about today's acrimonious politics

Dave Davies

In The Demon of Unrest, author Erik Larson chronicles the five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the start of the Civil War, drawing parallels to today's political climate.

Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Slavery and the Civil War Essay

Theme essays. diversity, extra credit option. reconstruction, works cited.

During the period of 1820-1860, the life of white and black people in the South depended on developing the Institute of slavery which shaped not only social but also economic life of the region. The Institute of slavery was primarily for the Southern states, and this feature helped to distinguish the South from the other regions of the USA.

Slavery played the key role in shaping the economic and social life of the South because it influenced the trade and economic relations in the region as well as the social and class structure representing slave owners, white farmers without slaves, and slaves as the main labor force in the region.

The development of the South during the period of 1820-1860 was based on growing cotton intensively. To guarantee the enormous exports of cotton, it was necessary to rely on slaves as the main cheap or almost free workforce. The farmers of the South grew different crops, but the economic success was associated with the farms of those planters who lived in the regions with fertile soil and focused on growing cotton basing on slavery.

Thus, the prosperity of this or that white farmer and planter depended on using slaves in his farm or plantation. Slaves working for planters took the lowest social positions as well as free slaves living in cities whose economic situation was also problematic. The white population of the South was divided into slave owners and yeoman farmers who had no slaves.

Thus, having no opportunities to use the advantages of slavery, yeoman farmers relied on their families’ powers, and they were poorer in comparison with planters (Picture 1). However, not all the planters were equally successful in their economic situation. Many planters owned only a few slaves, and they also had to work at their plantations or perform definite duties.

Slaves were also different in their status because of the functions performed. From this point, the social stratification was necessary not only for dividing the Southern population into black slaves and white owners but also to demonstrate the differences within these two main classes (Davidson et al.).

As a result, different social classes had various cultures. It is important to note that slaves were more common features in spite of their status in families, and they were united regarding the culture which was reflected in their religion, vision, and songs. The difference in the social status of the white population was more obvious, and the single common feature was the prejudice and discrimination against slaves.

Picture 1. Yeoman Farmer’s House

The Civil War became the real challenge for the USA because it changed all the structures and institutions of the country reforming the aspects of the political, economic, and social life. Furthermore, the Civil War brought significant losses and sufferings for both the representatives of the Northern and Southern armies.

It is important to note that the situation of the Union in the war was more advantageous in comparison with the position of the Confederacy during the prolonged period of the war actions.

As a result, the South suffered from more significant economic and social changes as well as from extreme losses in the war in comparison with the North’s costs. Thus, the main impact of the Civil War was the abolition of slavery which changed the economic and social structures of the South and contributed to shifting the focus on the role of federal government.

The Civil War resulted in abolishing slavery and preserving the political unity of the country. Nevertheless, these positive outcomes were achieved at the expense of significant losses in the number of population and in promoting more sufferings for ordinary people. A lot of the Confederacy’s soldiers died at the battlefields, suffering from extreme wounds and the lack of food because of the problems with weapon and food provision.

During the war, the Union focused on abolishing slaves who were proclaimed free. Thus, former slaves from the Southern states were inclined to find jobs in the North or join the Union army.

As a result, the army of the Confederacy also began to suffer from the lack of forces (Davidson et al.). Moreover, the situation was problematic off the battlefield because all the issues of food provision and work at plantations and farms challenged women living in the Southern states.

The forces of the Union army were more balanced, and their losses were less significant than in the Southern states. Furthermore, the end of the war did not change the structure of the social life in the North significantly. The impact of the war was more important for the Southerners who had to build their economic and social life without references to slavery.

The next important change was the alternations in the social role of women. Many women had to work at farms in the South and to perform as nurses in the North (Picture 2). The vision of the women’s role in the society was changed in a way.

However, in spite of the fact that the population of the South had to rebuild the social structure and adapt to the new social and economic realities, the whole economic situation was changed for better with references to intensifying the international trade. Furthermore, the abolishment of slavery was oriented to the social and democratic progress in the country.

Picture 2. “Our Women and the War”. Harper’s Weekly, 1862

Diversity is one of the main characteristic features of the American nation from the early periods of its formation. The American nation cannot be discussed as a stable one because the formation of the nation depends on the active migration processes intensifying the general diversity. As a result, the American nation is characterized by the richness of cultures, values, and lifestyles.

This richness is also typical for the early period of the American history when the country’s population was diverse in relation to ethnicity, cultures, religion, and social status. From this point, diversity directly shaped the American nation because the country’s population never was identical.

The Americans respected diversity if the question was associated with the problem of first migrations and the Americans’ difference from the English population. To win independence, it was necessary to admit the difference from the English people, but diversity was also the trigger for conflicts between the Americans, Englishmen, and Frenchmen as well as Indian tribes.

The ethic diversity was not respected by the first Americans. The further importations of slaves to America worsened the situation, and ethnic diversity increased, involving cultural and social diversity.

Diversity was respected only with references to the negative consequences of slave importation. Thus, the Southerners focused on using black slaves for development of their plantations (Davidson et al.). From this point, white planers concentrated on the difference of blacks and used it for discrimination.

Furthermore, slavery also provoked the cultural and lifestyle diversity between the South and the North of the country which resulted in the Civil War because of impossibility to share different values typical for the Southerners and Northerners. Moreover, the diversity in lifestyles of the Southerners was deeper because it depended on the fact of having or not slaves.

Great religious diversity was also typical for the nation. White population followed different branches of Christianity relating to their roots, and black people developed their own religious movements contributing to diversifying the religious life of the Americans (Davidson et al.).

Thus, the aspects of diversity are reflected in each sphere of the first Americans’ life with references to differences in ethnicities, followed religions, cultures, values, lifestyles, and social patterns. This diversity also provoked a lot of conflicts in the history of the nation.

The role of women in the American society changed depending on the most important political and social changes. The periods of reforms and transformations also promoted the changes in the social positions of women. The most notable changes are typical for the period of the Jacksonian era and for the Civil War period.

The changes in the role of women are closely connected with the development of women’s movements during the 1850s and with the focus on women’s powers off the battlefield during the Civil War period.

During the Jacksonian era, women began to play significant roles in the religious and social life of the country. Having rather limited rights, women could realize their potentials only in relation to families and church work. That is why, many women paid much attention to their church duties and responsibilities.

Later, the church work was expanded, and women began to organize special religious groups in order to contribute to reforming definite aspects of the Church’s progress. Women also were the main members of the prayer meetings, and much attention was drawn to the charity activities and assistance to hospitals (Davidson et al.).

Women also played the significant role in the development of revivalism as the characteristic feature of the period. Moreover, the active church work and the focus on forming organizations was the first step to the progress of the women’s rights movements.

It is important to note that the participation of women in the social life was rather limited during a long period of time that is why membership and belonging to different church organizations as well as development of women’s rights movements contributed to increasing the role of women within the society. Proclaiming the necessity of abolishment, socially active women also concentrated on the idea of suffrage which was achieved later.

The period of the 1850s is closely connected with the growth of the women’s rights movements because it was the period of stating to the democratic rights and freedoms within the society (Davidson et al.). The next important event is the Civil War. The war influenced the position of the Southern white and black women significantly, revealing their powers and ability to overcome a lot of challenges.

The end of the Civil War provided women with the opportunity to achieve all the proclaimed ideals of the women’s rights movements along with changing the position of male and female slaves in the American society.

The development of the American nation is based on pursuing certain ideals and following definite values. The main values which are greatly important for the Americans are associated with the notions which had the significant meaning during the periods of migration and creating the independent state. The two main values are opportunity and equality.

These values are also fixed in the Constitution of the country in order to emphasize their extreme meaning for the whole nation.

Opportunity and equality are the values which are shaped with references to the economic and social ideals because all the Americans are equal, and each American should have the opportunity to achieve the individual goal. Nevertheless, in spite of the proclaimed ideals, the above-mentioned values were discussed during a long period of time only with references to the white population of the country.

The other values typical for the Americans are also based not on the religious, moral or cultural ideals but on the social aspects. During the Jacksonian era, the Americans focused on such values as the democratic society. Following the ideals of rights and freedoms, the American population intended to realize them completely within the developed democratic society (Davidson et al.).

Moreover, these ideals were correlated with such values as equality and opportunity. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that for many Americans the notions of democratic society, opportunity, and equality were directly connected with the economic growth. That is why, during long periods of time Americans concentrated on achieving freedoms along with pursuing the economic prosperity.

Thus, it is possible to determine such key values which regulate the social attitudes and inclinations of the Americans as equality and opportunity, freedoms and rights. In spite of the fact the USA was the country with the determined role of religion in the society, moral and religious aspects were not proclaimed as the basic values of the nation because of the prolonged focus of the Americans on their independence and prosperity.

From this point, opportunity, equality, freedoms, and rights are discussed as more significant values for the developed nation than the religious principles. The creation of the state independent from the influence of the British Empire resulted in determining the associated values and ideals which were pursued by the Americans during prolonged periods of the nation’s development.

The period of Reconstruction was oriented to adapting African Americans to the realities of the free social life and to rebuilding the economic structure of the South. The end of the Civil War guaranteed the abolishment of slavery, but the question of black people’s equality to the whites was rather controversial.

That is why, the period of Reconstruction was rather complex and had two opposite outcomes for the African Americans’ further life in the society and for the general economic progress of the states. Reconstruction was successful in providing such opportunities for African Americans as education and a choice to live in any region or to select the employer.

However, Reconstruction can also be discussed as a failure because the issues of racism were not overcome during the period, and the era of slavery was changed with the era of strict social segregation leading to significant discrimination of black people.

The positive changes in the life of African Americans after the Civil War were connected with receiving more opportunities for the social progress. Thus, many public schools were opened for the black population in order to increase the level of literacy (Picture 3). Furthermore, the impossibility to support the Southerners’ plantations without the free work of slaves led to changing the economic focus.

Thus, industrialization of the region could contribute to creating more workplaces for African Americans (Davidson et al.). Moreover, the racial and social equality should also be supported with references to providing more political rights for African Americans.

Reconstruction was the period of observing many black politicians at the American political arena. The question of blacks’ suffrage became one of the most discussed issues. From this point, during the period of Reconstruction African Americans did first steps on the path of equality.

Nevertheless, Reconstruction was also a great failure. The South remained unchanged in relation to the social relations between the whites and blacks. After the Civil War, segregation was intensified. The economic and social pressure as well as discrimination against the blacks was based on the developed concept of racism (Davidson et al.).

The Southerners preserved the prejudiced attitude toward the blacks, and prejudice and discrimination became the main challenge for African Americans in all the spheres of the life.

In spite of definite successes of Reconstruction, African Americans suffered from the results of segregation and discrimination, and they were prevented from changing their economic and social status.

Picture 3. Public Schools

Davidson, James, Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark Lytle, and Michael Stoff. US: A Narrative History . USA: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 31). Slavery and the Civil War. https://ivypanda.com/essays/slavery-and-the-civil-war/

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IvyPanda . (2023) 'Slavery and the Civil War'. 31 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Slavery and the Civil War." December 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/slavery-and-the-civil-war/.

1. IvyPanda . "Slavery and the Civil War." December 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/slavery-and-the-civil-war/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Slavery and the Civil War." December 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/slavery-and-the-civil-war/.

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American Civil War

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Published: Dec 18, 2018

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