The war between the North and the South in America has become one of the bloodiest stages in the formation of modern American society. For 5 years of armed conflict, the still unformed United States, despite the countless number of victims, managed to create the ground for its future existence and development.
USA in the 19th century and its collapse
The first and main reason for the military conflict between the states was born at the dawn of colonization. In 1619, the first African slaves were brought to Virginia. The slave system began to take shape. Within a few decades, the first signs of a future conflict began to appear. Individuals began to speak out against slavery. The first was Roger Williams. Step by step, the first legislative acts began to appear, facilitating and regulating the life of slaves, who gradually received "human" rights, often violated by their masters.
In the 19th century, when war between the North and the South in America became inevitable, Congress still tried to find a compromise by peaceful means. So, in 1820, the Missouri Compromise was signed, inas a result of which the area of slavery was expanded. The boundary of the slave-owning regions clearly appeared. Thus, the South completely opposed itself to the North. In 1854 this agreement was cancelled. Also this year, the Republican Party was formed on the platform of anti-slavery organizations. And already in 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a representative of this political force, became president.
In the same year, the United States lost six southern regions, which announced their withdrawal from the federation and the creation of the Confederation of States. A few months later, after the first Confederate victories at Fort Sumter, five more states announced their withdrawal from the United States. The Northern states have announced mobilization - the Civil War of the North and South in America has started.
The American South and its traditions
What was such a sharp confrontation between the states that existed side by side for centuries? It cannot be said that the South was completely slave-owning and inhumane. On the contrary, at the beginning of the 19th century, a large number of protests against slavery took place here, but by 1830 they had exhausted themselves.
The way of the southern states was radically opposite to the North. After the Mexican-American War, the States received huge land holdings. The fertile soils needed to be cultivated. The planters found a way out by buying slaves. As a result, the South became an agrarian region requiring a permanent labor force, which was in significant shortage. Because of cheap labor, the war of the North and South began in America. The essence of the conflict, according to many historians, lay deeper.
Northern States
The northern states were the exact opposite of the bourgeois South. The businesslike and enterprising North developed thanks to industry and engineering. There was no slavery here, and free labor was encouraged. From all over the world people came here who dreamed of getting rich and making capital. In the northern regions, a flexible system of taxation was carried out and established, and there was charity. It should be recognized that, despite the status of free citizens, African Americans in the North were second-class citizens.
Causes of the North-South War in America
- Struggle to abolish slavery. Many historians call this point just a political ploy by Lincoln, which was needed to strengthen his authority in Europe.
- The difference between the mentality of the population of the northern and southern regions.
- The desire of the northern states to control the southern neighbors through the majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
- Dependence of the Industrial Revolution on the agricultural products of the South. The northern regions bought cotton, tobacco and sugar at reduced rates, forcing planters to survive rather than prosper.
The course of hostilities in the first period of the war
In April 1861, the American Civil War began. Historians for a long time could not understand who started the armed conflict. After comparing the facts of shelling by artillery, it became clear that the warunleashed by southerners.
The first battle and victory of the Confederate troops took place near Fort Sumter. After this defeat, President Lincoln put 75,000 volunteers into the gun. He did not want a bloody resolution of the conflict and offered the Southern states to pay it off on their own and punish the instigators. But the war of the North and the South in America was already inevitable. The southerners were inspired by the first victories and rushed into battle. The concepts of honor and valor of the brave southern guys did not give them the right to retreat. And the South had more advantages at the initial stage of the war - a sufficient number of trained soldiers and commanders, as well as weapons depots, remained after the war with Mexico.
Lincoln declared a blockade of all the states of the Confederacy.
In July 1861, the Battle of Bull Run took place, during which the Confederate troops won. But instead of launching a counteroffensive against Washington, the southerners opted for a defensive tactic, and the strategic advantage was lost. The confrontation escalated in the summer of 1861. However, if the southerners had been smarter, the war between the North and the South in America would have ended. Who would win at this point in the conflict would certainly not be the Federation.
In April 1862, one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War took place, which claimed the lives of six thousand people - the Battle of Shiloh. This battle, although with heavy losses, was won by the allied forces and already in the same month they entered New Orleans and Memphis without firing a shot.
In August the troopsNortherners approached the Confederate capital of Richmond, but half the size of the southern army, led by General Lee, was able to repulse them. In September, the troops again fought on the Bull Run River. An opportunity arose to capture Washington, but luck again did not accompany the Confederates.
Abolition of slavery
One of Abraham Lincoln's secret cards, which he taught as the main reason for the confrontation between the states, was the question of the abolition of slavery. And at the right time, the president took advantage of it by abolishing slavery in the rebel states, since the war between the North and the South in America in 1861-1865 could drag on for a longer period.
In September, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in the states at war with the Union. In peaceful areas, slavery persisted.
So, the president killed two birds with one stone. He declared himself to the whole world as a man fighting for the civil rights of the black population. Now Europe could not help the Confederation. On the other hand, with the stroke of a pen, he increased the size of his army.
Second stage of the war
In May 1863, the second stage of the military campaign began. The North-South war in America has resumed with new zeal.
In early July, the epochal Battle of Gettysburg began, lasting several days, as a result of which the Confederate troops were forced to retreat. This defeat claimed thousands of lives and broke the morale of the southerners, they still resisted, but without much success.
July 4, 1863 Vicksburg fell under pressureGeneral Grant. Lincoln immediately appointed him commander-in-chief of the northern army. From that moment, the confrontation between two tactical generals - Lee and Grant - began.
Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston - city after city came under the control of the Union troops. President Davis sent Lincoln a letter offering peace, but the North wanted the obedience of the South, not equality.
The war between the North and the South in America in the 19th century ended with the surrender of the Confederate troops, the noble South fell, and the businesslike and greedy North won.
Results
- Slavery abolition.
- The United States has remained an integral federal entity.
- Representatives of the northern states won the majority of seats in the House and pushed through laws necessary for business and industry, hitting the "purses" of southerners.
- More than 600,000 people killed.
- The beginning of the industrial revolution in the southern regions, total industrialization.
- Expansion of the US single market.
- Development of trade unions and public organizations.
The war between the North and the South in America led to such results. She received the name Civil. There has never been such a bloody confrontation between its citizens in the United States.
