From 1861 to 1865, approximately 620,000 soldiers' lives were cut short, not to mention the 50,000 civilian lives that were also claimed. Soldiers lost during that time exceeded the combination of soldiers lost from the Revolutionary War, both World Wars, the Korean War, the Mexican War, and even the Spanish-American War. In comparison to today's population, six million people would die in four years or two percent of our population. The impact of death on the human capital grew in importance. It became familiar in fact, a part of daily life for Americans at that time.
The two causes of the civil war were slavery and Abraham Lincoln. Slavery was very big in the South because it helped them with their economy, but the North was completely against slavery. The North and South could not compromise with their issues, and the Election of Abraham Lincoln turned everything sour and led to the civil war. Although, the war was very deadly, at the end, the North side managed to get what they always wanted, this was to abolish
There are a few battles that are better known than others. One of the most famous battles of the entire Civil War is the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle only lasted about three days starting on July 1, 1863 until July 3, 1863, but it was one of the most deadly of the entire war. In just those three days 51,000 lives were lost. Even though there were so many lives lost, it is most famous for how much of a defeat for the South the loss of this battle was; to most historians it is considered the turning point in the war.
In fact, the common idea that the Civil War was fought over slavery is in great part a falicy. While being a portion of what was fought over, the abolition of slavery which was not a moral dilemma in society at the time seem small when compared to things like expansion westward and cession of the southern states from the Union, forming their own constitution, printing currency and even electing their own president, were much bigger issues, which without ironing out, would have made the US much smaller and arguably weaker than it is
In contrast, Northern society evolved around the Calvinist religious ideals of industriousness, and placed great importance on the gathering of wealth. As a result, the great majority of the United States Army’s officer corps was Southern aristocrats and a large number of the common soldiers were Southern as well. These soldiers and officers near unanimously left the US Army to create and lead the core of the Confederate armies. Among the officers that defected to the South was Robert E. Lee, who would be one of the greatest reasons for Confederate longevity in the proceeding four years. Repeatedly throughout the early stages of the war, vastly outnumbered but highly organized Confederate armies turned circles around the much larger and largely poor-led Union forces.
Seeing as though the Confederacy initially had an advantage over the Union as far as better generals and espiritu morale, the South seemed highly likely to win the war. In the book, Why the Confederacy Lost, the idea that the South had any chance of winning is combatted, while also proving why the North won. Although the North did not possess the knowledge of the land on which they fought, their ability to win was based purely on slaves, the South's demoralization and lack of ideology, their uniforms, and their odds against the South altogether; if the North had not have won, the end of slavery and even a civil war would have been inevitable with time. In the beginning, Grant wanted to mobilize every available man and apply pressure on all fronts. What was a better way to utilize every available man than to utilize slaves?
Why the North Won the Civil War Robert McClure Civil War History Professor Edwards May 3, 2013 The American Civil War was no certainly a defining time in our young nation, and the question still persists as to why the North won the war. There are many differing opinions on the subject, with some even believing that it wasn’t so much that the North won the war as that the South lost it. It is difficult to identify one specific reason why the North won or, for the sake of argument, one specific reason why the South lost. There are reasonable explanations as to why the Union ended up victorious. Three of the most compelling reasons include the continued neutrality of European nations, the battle of attrition, and the superiority of the Union government.
There was a lot of pressure between the north and south. Just like any other large group of people, of course there were some disagreements, which is probably why the whole thing escalated the way it did. What one liked the other did not, for example, the confederate states (South) wanted to keep slavery around because it was very important to them and the union (North) did not find the need to keep it around. The emancipation of slaves depended on who won the war or not which caused more problems than expected. President Lincoln, just by going off of the fact that he asked the soldiers to only sign up for three months shows that he did not expect the war to last as long as it did.
Douglas developed his own doctrine of letting the people decide the question of slavery. He ridiculed Lincoln about his idea of state uniformity rather than domestic institutions and accused him of promoting a war of sectionalism. He also mocked “black Republicans” who he accused of demanding racial equality. Overall, he believed in the Southern interest, but supported popular sovereignty and ultimately alienated Southern voters. On the other hand Lincoln shared some Southern attitudes towards slaves as he agreed with the Dred Scott decision that slaves could not be citizens and refused to support the Fugitive Slave Law as well.
Not all Southerners were in favor of slavery. Many wanted to abolish the practice, including many whites. Hinton Helper was a white author from the south and he wrote the book The Impending Crisis of the South speaking out against slavery. Helper believed that slavery was negatively impacting southern economy. In addition, Helper argued the South’s wealth, growth and culture were being disrupted by the dependence upon slaves.