President Abraham Lincoln: The American Civil War

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the american civil war In the 1860s America was divided, a civil war exploded from the roots of the south after the heated election of Abraham Lincoln as president, the threat of the abolition of slaves and the growing economic superiority of the south. The American Civil War was a sectional combat. Roots in political, economic and social elements made it complex and hard to determine a winner in most battles. It was a war between the United States of America (Union) and the Confederate States of America. The tension between the torn nation made it the deadliest and most destructive of all American wars, the first modern war on the continent, and the only conflict in the United States history to be fought entirely on the nations soil. It…show more content…
There was a central issue regarding the 1860 presidential election; slavery. Lincoln’s strong beliefs in abolishing slavery made him very popular in the Northern states but for the South of America, the states that which heavily relied on slaves for economic stability created a difficult barrier to enable Lincoln to be successful in the election. Although Lincoln collected less than 40% of the votes nationwide, he won a landslide victory in the Electoral College. This election is to be seen as one of the most momentous in American history, he started his presidency at a time of great crisis. Even before his election, talk of succession swept through the nation but Lincolns win only intensified the move in the South to split from the Union. On the 20th of December, just one month after his election, South Carolina succeeded from the Union. This started a domino effect and several other states seceded including Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. On the 9th of February 1861 these states became the confederate states of America; a provisional constitution. On the 4th of March 1861, Lincoln was inaugurated and just over a month after war had begun. On April 12, the first shot hurtled over Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This was the beginning of the Civil War. Several other…show more content…
Separating the North and the South from each other, due to tension on disagreements of beliefs about the slaves, simply North wanting slavery abolished and believed it was injustice to humans and on many levels incorrect treatment to humans, simply calling them ‘slaves’ was wrong and disgusting. Whereas, the South believed that slavery had many benefits, one being that it fuelled the economy. Due to the division, the Civil War was bound to happen due to civil unrest. It can be viewed now as a positive and negative event. Positive, that the ending result of the war was that the slaves were freed and human rights were considered. Negative, being that the war caused many issues that manifested into a complete division of the large United States of America. Finally, the education received from The American Civil War is of course of benefit, to us as humans now in modern society, learning about civil unrest and the wars is great knowledge of past times, and looking on building a better
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