The American Civil war was fundamentally fought over the emancipation of the slaves, thus when the war ended the Southerners became the losers of the war. However when President Johnson was left to reconstruct his country after Lincoln’s assassination, the Southern white men prevailed the winners as they were brought back into a society that treated them as the superior. For the North the civil war was a fight to keep together a country that had been rapidly falling apart, while for the south, the civil war was a fight for their lifestyle. Thus the Southerners had more on the line with this fight, and as a result they had more to loose. The southerners lost their homes, their economy, their lifestyle, their slaves, money, and the Union’s …show more content…
President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction was lenient to the Southerners as he admitted the southern states back into the union. The only losers in this case were the former slave owners, as Johnson punished them by taking away their land. This plan outraged the republicans in congress as the republicans planned to admit sates back into the union on account that fifty percent of the state needed to pledge loyalty to the union with the Wade-Davis Bill. The republicans also made it clear that states would not be admitted back into the union unless the former slaves were treated equally. Since Johnson was a Democrat, he ignored his republican congress and enacted his lenient plan. Although Johnson’s plan allowed the South join the union fairly faster than the Wade-Davis Bill, the republicans still had great power and presence against the southern democrats. The republican’s had obtained such a large portion of congress that the republicans would have impeached president Johnson. However that power became short lived, as the Southern democrats were able to regain power in event of the compromise of 1868. With the compromise the Republicans won the presidential election, but the southern democrats were finally able to regain their power in the state governments and drown out the southern republicans. Thus the Southern white men prevailed the winners of reconstruction,
Perhaps the greatest war in American History, the Civil War, fought over one hundred and fifty years ago, is considered to be the bloodiest battle and most unique because of the number of casualties and the fact that it was the only war fought on American soil. The legacy that the Civil War left behind for future generations was one of hope, equality and understanding. However, the rebuilding of the South and the new laws that were to be enacted to stop any other wars breaking out that would divide the Union were an endeavor that would shape the future of the South, North and the rest of the United States for many years. The freeing of the slaves in the South has led to many other equality reforms throughout the years which have made all men
Though the south still had farming, and had joined the union, the south never bounced back to its former self after being decimated in the Civil War. The entire face of the southern economic system changed and their infrastructure was left in ruins after the battles. However before the start of the Civil War, there was a rush of southern pride throughout the south. Many southern residents had a fierce loyalty to their way of life and would die defending it. Thus being one of the main factors in the Civil War.
The problem of slavery and its extension into other territories was the fundamental cause of the Civil War. The American Civil War was the most crucial event because it preserved the United States as a single nation and ended slavery, which had split the country since its founding. The Union's major goal was to keep the United States together, but the Confederacy wanted to create a split in which slavery would be permitted. ‘’The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most
The American Civil War was a long and violent conflict, pitting the southern slave-owning Confederacy against the northern, socially progressive “Yankees” of the Union government. The Union government won the war based on many factors, most of which relate to its superior resources but also include poor planning on the part of the Confederacy. At first glance the conflict seemed much more even-handed in appearance than it was in reality. The differences in the attitudes of the two factions were striking. The Confederates were not only convinced that they could not be invaded, but were utterly convinced as to the truth of their cause.
The support of the wealthy southerner was increased on these politics and were steadfast in refusal to bend from the southern way of life. To fully comprehend the significance of the Civil War, the most important event in the history of the United States, it is necessary to understand its outcome. Such an understanding will allow one to more fully appreciate the monumental changes that the war brought about: the remaking of the Southern social and economic structure, the strengthening of the Federal government, and the elimination of the major sectional distinctions in this country. Internal conflict was provoked by
After, The Supreme Court’s confirmation on the legality of slavery in the territories convinced a lot of Southerners that the Northern was seeking the destruction of the “peculiar institution” that was sustained, which made the Southern, and Northern ties almost on its last straw. Then Lincoln’s election was the final straw, and made seven of the Southern states seceding from the United States. When the Civil War was over The Union won even though their armies weren’t as great as the South’s they managed a close victory possibly because of The Union’s sheer number of troops, but even though The Union won they lost a great leader, Abraham Lincoln who was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes which turned the hearts of the people of the United States dearly, thus ending the American Civil War at a cost of 620,000 soldiers from both sides, plus a great leader Abraham
He favored a moderate policy that would conjoin the South with the Union without any punishment for treason. Many resisted Lincoln’s plan, saying it was not harsh enough while others did not know if Lincoln was being too lenient. The Radical Republicans and moderate Republicans were caught in a conflict. One important event of the Reconstruction Period was the Wade-Davis Bill. This was formed by the Radical Republicans and moderate Republicans.
The main causes of the US Civil War [Abstract] The American Civil War is the only civil war in American history. It exploded between the United States of American and Confederate States of American. On the one hand, eleven southern states formed the Confederate States of American for leaving the United States of American, which also called" the Confederacy" and allowed slavery. On the other hand, the US government and the states also formed another union, which briefly named "the North", each state where slavery was illegal supported the Union.
After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the rise of the Republican party, Southerners feared the tipping of the balance of political power against them; their need for self-determination parallel the colonists’ belief of rebelling against the oppressive government of Great Britain. However, the Civil War represented something more: the clash of the feudalistic, agrarian South with the industrialized, capitalistic North. These two powers differed socially, politically, and economically, and were especially conflicted over slavery. These two sections of the United States were divided against one another, and could not survive this way. Therefore, it is more accurate to state that though the Civil War resembled some aspects of the American Revolution, it was a clash between two forces who could not exist with one another in their current state, leading inevitably to conflict between the
Civil War Causes We will never really know the main reason why the Civil War started because it was too far back in time for anyone to be alive and actually know what happened. Majority of people think it was slavery but there were more reasons than just slavery. From what we know there are many different reasons the civil war was started. The Civil war happened in April 1861 to May of 1865 between the North and South parts of the United States. The North and South were turning into two different economies which led to the Civil War.
The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).
The American Civil War that was started due to the controversy over slavery in 1861, was won by The Union supported by President Lincoln against the Confederate states. President Lincoln’s original goal during the civil war was to reunify the nation as quickly as possible and help both sides come to an understanding. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the newly formed United States’ reconstruction era began. The Reconstruction era was put into effect by the Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. The Union’s victory in the Civil War had given African Americans a new sense of hope, devastated the southern economy, and eased the history of disunity in American political life.
Lasting from 1861 to 1865, the Civil war was on of the bloodiest wars in the American history. This war was no surprise, a war that had been slowly and seemingly been anticipated. Many events took place within the years leading up to the Civil War that indicated the ultimate secession of the “cotton states” from the Union. While slavery was a component in the disagreements that led to the war and the majority theories regarding the causes of the war were in relation to slavery, it was not the true solitary or the true source. The root causes that contributed were the economic and social divergence between the South and the North, state vs. national rights, and the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott Case.
Addressing books like the How the North Won the Civil War as well as Why the South Lost the Civil War, this book highlights and stresses how the subject has been constantly and continually written about by prominent historians. “Most historians,” the historians posit, “still largely ascribe Confederate defeat to… military strategy, military superiority, leadership, political factors, diplomacy, and the tension between localism and centralism.” The author combat this by addressing new interpretations over the same question, theorizing that some reasons, such as “issues of the blockade, states’ rights, battlefield success, economic development, resources, and the like,” do not adequately explain the reasons for Confederate loss. Moreover, much of the methodology and sourcing utilized in the book rely on both primary and secondary resources. Relying on statistics and other accounts from voices present during the time for primary sourcing, a prime realization over how well researched the book is comes from the biographical essays toward the back of the book, which spans almost twenty pages; a testament to how many secondary sources were
Abraham Lincoln’s vs Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites. When Lincoln first acted after the civil war, he offered policies that would allow the confederate slaves to become part of the union again and would allow a pardon for those states.