Paper Topic:

American History

American History

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8 February 2006

The growth of sectionalism and the events which led up to the conflict made war an inevitable outcome of the hostilities which had arisen from the to ideologically different factions which grew in the United States Historians distinguish several factors which made the civil war an inevitable event they include economic factors political measures dictated by the sectional economic interests ideological incompatibility between north and south and the underlining social conflict which made inevitable not only the

civil war but also a second American revolution

The case for the war being an avoidable conflict stresses that Americans had lived with the issues which eventually led to the outbreak of war for generations . Thus historians who adhere to this theory claim that there was a strong possibility for a compromise to be found , using as a basis for the argument the evidence of the pre-war compromises which alleviated sectional tensions . Revisionist historians account for the breakout of the Civil War by asserting that the vital instrument of compromise was neglected by a blundering generation ' in the events leading up to the Civil War . The theory of a blundering generation holds validity to an extent . However this very theory in itself destroys the idea that the war was a repressible ' conflict , for , it only highlights the extent to which there was serious division in the country which could not be resolved irrespective of how many compromises either side conceded

The core issues such as that of free labour contradicting slave labour still remained persisting in the affirmation of two competing nations within America , one of which had to obliterate the ideals of the other in to finally put to rest the dividing issues . Only then could the States be truly united . Revisionist historians examined the causes of the Civil War at a time when war as a means of solving problems was not considered to be a sound solution . Therefore , it could be argued that revisionist historians writing in the 1930s and 1940s lacked a degree of historical empathy , for they saw war as a great evil , whereas in the 19th century war was seen as a natural occurrence and a justifiable means of solving problems . Thus in the eyes of nineteenth century politicians , armed conflict , would have been seen as an inevitable step in to advance their political ideology once an opportunity arose In the case of the American civil war , Southern secession was the opportunity seized upon by the North . The lack of a strong anti-violence movement in the events leading up to the civil war strongly suggests the acceptable nature of war in to resolve issues and illustrates the extent to which sectionalism had grown and divided the country into two separate nations

In summary , I believe that the civil war was an inevitable occurrence too many factors leading up to the civil war had the effect of exacerbating the fundamental differences between the North...

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