American Civil War

From ArticleWorld

The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865. Eleven states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America.

The birth of the Confederacy

Abraham Lincoln promised to halt the expansion of slavery in the United States. The wealth of southern states relied on slave labor in their fields. So, upon Lincoln’s election in 1860, seven southern states seceded prior to his inauguration: South Caroline on December 21, 1860, Mississippi on January 9, 1861, Florida on January 10, 1861, Alabama on January 11, 1861, Georgia on January 19, 1861, Louisiana on January 26, 1861, and Texas on February 1, 1861.

By seceded, states could no longer hold northern states responsible for the return of their fugitive slaves and gave up all holds to western territories among other technicalities.

The confederate states elected Jefferson Davis as their president, who ordered the first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861. While their were no casualties, the attach prompted the secession of four more states, Virginia on April 17, 1861, Arkansas on May 6, 1861, North Carolina on May 20, 1861, and Tennessee of June 8, 1861.

Border states included Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Maryland was on the brink of seceding until the Union government ordered martial law on the state and arrested pro-Confederate entities. Parts of Missouri and Kentucky were claimed by the Confederacy, but the states as a whole remained part of the Union. West Virginia was comprised of northern counties of Virginia, who emancipated themselves and became a separate state to join the Union.

Conclusion

Upon the promotion of Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general in 1864, a philosophy of “total war” was implemented. The bloody last year of battle resulted in Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

Historians and scholars disagree on the exact reasons that sparked the war and why the Union was victorious. On the one hand, the North has access to more supplies and had more people in both civilian and military numbers. The goal of the North was to reunite the United States, while the Confederate states aimed to protect their own interest and not work together for a common cause.