Why is the Civil War a Failure to Nation Building?

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08 Oct 2007

Why is the Civil War a Failure to Nation Building

In the years 1861 to 1865 , America was in the middle of a bloody and costly civil war . Thousands died and many more were wounded . But this is simply counting the physical injuries and death . If one factors in the emotional scars and the traumatic experiences then the extent of the damage is very much significant . The casualties - in excess of World War II numbers - included soldiers and civilians , women as well as

men Properties were destroyed and industries were obliterated as Confederates and Union soldiers fought it out to the bitter end

This will look at the Civil War from another perspective . The study will attempt to find evidence to support the claim the Civil War was detrimental to nation building and that there is nothing in it that contributes to further advance the development of the U .S . into an economic power . The only reason why the Civil War can be seen in a positive light is the fact that the victors are now in the position to rewrite history . But an unbiased view of the facts will prove that the Civil War did more damage than positive contribution

Optimistic View

It has been said that the victors will write history the way they want it to . There is a grain of truth in this saying and it is especially applicable to the U .S . Civil War of 1861 to 1865 . Since the North and the seat of government claimed victory they have to show that blood spilled and the money spent to sustain the bloody campaign was for a higher purpose

There are those who will argue that , .this irrepressible conflict served as a rite of passage from an imperfect union of disparate states to a single national entity . In the process one civilization passed from the national scene and a significantly more united country emerged (Kingseed , 2004 , page 2

The only problem with this narrow-minded view is that it does not allow any room for a counter-argument . There is a better way than bringing to slaughter half a million men most of them youngsters and inflicting irreparable wounds both physically and mentally . Moreover , the aftermath of the war was interpreted without considering the whole picture . If the optimists would factor in what happened to the South after 1865 then he will conclude that the war actually crippled that part of the United States for decades to come

The War

The battle lines were drawn , On one side were eleven southern states that had split from the United States . the Confederate States of America led by President Jefferson Davis (Anderson , 2004 ,

. 5 . On the other side were all the Northern States who call themselves the Union

Many youngsters and eager adventurers embraced the war . They were filled with a sense of patriotism and love for their place of origin And most of them thought that the war...