Civil War – Causes, Dates and Battles

The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 led to the secession of seven southern states, which led to the formation of the Confederate States of America. These states quickly gained the support of four additional states. The surrender of the Confederacy in 1865 brought an end to the War Between the States, another name for the American Civil War. The conflict was the bloodiest and most expensive war ever fought on American soil. Out of a total of 2.4 million soldiers, approximately 620,000 of them were killed, and millions more were injured. Additionally, a large portion of the South was left in ruins.

The Root Causes of the American Civil War

During the middle of the 19th century, the United States was going through a period of tremendous economic expansion; however, there was a fundamental economic divide between the northern and southern regions of the country.

The economy of the North was based on manufacturing and industry, and agriculture was primarily limited to small-scale farms. In contrast, the economy of the South was based on a system of large-scale farming that relied on the labour of Black enslaved people to grow certain crops, particularly cotton and tobacco. In the North, manufacturing and industry were well established.

Growing abolitionist sentiment in the North after the 1830s and northern opposition to the extension of slavery 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. This fear was fueled by the expansion of northern opposition to the extension of slavery into the new western territories.

Thomas Jonathan Jackson, the famous Confederate general who earned the nickname “Stonewall” for his resolute defensive efforts in the First Battle of Bull Run, was given the moniker “Stonewall” (First Manassas). At the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson was killed when one of his own men shot him, thinking he was a member of the Union cavalry. An amputation of his arm was performed, but he succumbed to pneumonia eight days after the procedure.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act was enacted by the United States Congress in 1854. This act essentially legalised the practise of slavery in all newly acquired territories by putting the rule of popular sovereignty above that of congressional edict. Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces engaged in bloody conflict in what became known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Meanwhile, opposition to the act in the North led to the establishment of the Republican Party, which was a new political entity founded on the principle of opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories. After the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case (1857) confirmed that slavery was legal in the territories, the abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry in 1859 convinced more and more southerners that their northern neighbours were intent on destroying the “peculiar institution” that sustained them. This occurred after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case (1857) confirmed that slavery was legal in the territories. The election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 was the final straw, and within three months, seven southern states had seceded from the United States: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

The Beginning of the American Civil War (1861)

Even as Lincoln took office as president in March of 1861, Confederate forces were already posing a threat to Fort Sumter, which was held by the federal government in Charleston, South Carolina. After Lincoln issued an order for a fleet to resupply Fort Sumter on April 12, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by artillery belonging to the Confederacy. After less than two days of bombardment, Major Robert Anderson, the commander of Fort Sumter, surrendered, giving control of the fort to the Confederate forces led by Pierre G.T. Beauregard. Following the battle of Fort Sumter, an additional four southern states  Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee joined the Confederacy. Although border states with slaves, such as Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland, did not secede from the Union, their populations exhibited a high degree of sympathy for the Confederacy.

What Exactly Took Place During the Massacre at Wounded Knee

In the First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas, which took place on July 21, 1861, 35,000 Confederate soldiers led by Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson forced a greater number of Union forces, also known as Federals, to retreat towards Washington, D.C. This dashed any hopes of an easy victory for the Union and prompted Abraham Lincoln to call for 500,000 more soldiers to join the fight. After it became apparent that the war would not be a limited or short conflict, initial calls for troops from both sides had to be expanded. In point of fact, both sides’ calls for troops had to be expanded.

Conclusion 

The study found that the opportunity-based explanation offered by James Fearon and David Laitin in their article published in the 2003 issue of the American Political Science Review was the most influential explanation for the beginning of the civil war. Although the Civil War may have appeared to be a one-sided conflict on the surface, with the 23 states of the Union enjoying an enormous advantage in population, manufacturing (including the production of arms), and railroad construction, the Confederates had a strong military tradition, along with some of the best soldiers and commanders in the nation. This despite the fact that the Union had an enormous advantage in population, manufacturing (including the production of arms), and railroad construction. They also fought for a cause that they believed in, which was the maintenance of their time-honored customs and institutions, the most important of which was slavery.