The American Civil War

The American Civil War

Introduction

This war is named after the American Civil War conflict that occurred in the United States from 1861 to 1865 and placed on opposite sides of the south and north of that country.

At the beginning of the 1860s the U.S. were already a nation of remarkable progress, ready to take a prominent place in the economic and political world. Only the internal issues "tied" in a sense that the country off to new heights. This is perhaps a discreet way of referring to the south, which had economic and social differences in relation to the brutal north.

These differences are explained largely by way of initial colonization of the two regions, and in the north are engaged in an occupation residence, where settlers had the goal of making the lands they occupied their final abode. Down south, the colonial system was chosen similar to that employed in Cuba or Brazil, with a predominance of large properties devoted to monoculture ( plantation ), use of slave labor (which at that time had already been extinguished in the north) and extreme dependence on imported manufactured goods.

Soon, with the advance of the second wave of the Industrial Revolution restrictions regarding slavery became increasingly strong, but large farmers of southern producers refused to give up his source of labor so cheap. The split north / south states and slave / free states became increasingly polarized in all parts of society, going emptying into the political debate: which way should the United States following the southern slave, or the northern industrial and cosmopolitan? The issue would only be resolved by arms.

The capital of the Confederacy was Richmond (Virginia), President Jefferson was appointed Davi s. The breakaway states drew up a constitution, which coincided in most respects to that of the Union. Specifically, however, the property was put under protection of slaves. In the south began with the expropriation of federal property, including military installations included. The union faithful garrison of Fort Sumter, a fortress in the harbor of Charleston (South Carolina), was opposed to the handover to the south. On 12 April 1861 Confederate troops took the fort under artillery fire. This military action was the cause of the bloodiest conflict on American soil today.

Abraham Lincoln made ??after the surrender of Fort Sumter up an army of 75,000 volunteers and advance towards the south. He had hoped to be able to force the rebels with a quick victory in the knee. But the South was prepared for a military confrontation. The Confederates were not only highly motivated troops, but also better trained officers. Therefore, the Southern Army could decide the first battles of the Civil War itself. But things soon turned in favor of the North.

Introduction to the root causes of the war

Slavery

The question of slavery concerned not only the welfare of the slaves (though the abolitionists had raised the issue) but also the fact that slavery was an evil anachronism incompatible with American values ??or a cheap ...