Examining the Civil War

The American Civil War has also been called the War Between the States or the War of Rebellion or the War for Southern Independence . It was a clash between the United States of America or the Union and the Confederate States of America or the Confederacy . The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 . There were many reasons for the outbreak of this Civil War such as States ' rights and slavery . The principle cause for this War was purely economic . The Southern states had always tried to become independent because of the

fact that the people and the state were becoming wealthier due to extensive use of slave labor . These states feared a drastic reduction in their wealth if slavery were to be abolished (Guisepi , 2002

Subsequent to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States , the South became apprehensive as they felt that slavery would be abolished , accordingly they started the civil war . On the 12th of April 1861 the Confederate army in Charleston , S .C , started firing on Fort Sumter , which was held by the Union forces . This marked the commencement of hostilities between the North and the South . The prima facie objective of the South was to gain independence and that of the North was to preserve the integrity of the Union . In the year 1862 , Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation and this constituted a major cause for the war . If the North emerged victorious then slavery would be abolished and if the South had won the war then slavery would have been protected in all the Confederate states (Guisepi , 2002

Economic disparities had been on the increase during the early nineteenth century . More than fifty seven per cent of cotton exports from the US had originated in the South and this was mainly due to the employment of slave labor . However , the North had acquired its wealth by establishing industries and as such the inhabitants of the North were opposed to slave labor . In to cope with the demand for labor , the North encouraged immigration . Therefore , there were a large number of European immigrants who worked as laborers in industries and in the construction of railways in the North . The South was a laggard as far as industrialization was concerned and this forced them to import manufactured goods from the North . The southern states opposed the overwhelming taxes and tariffs on imported goods , which was the main source of revenue for the Federal government . The Federal government was unwilling to reduce the taxes since it had to support various welfare measures and provide infrastructure like roads . This led to a further disagreement between the North and the South (Gallagher , 2005

Initially , in the republic there were sectional differences between the regions , which were overlooked , owing to the fact that the vast distances rendered communication difficult if not impossible . The Northerners favored a central government in to enable them to construct railroads , roads , and infrastructure , protect complex trade interests and...