Civil war of the North and South in America. The causes of the war of 1861-1865

The war of the North and South in America has become one of the bloodiest stages in the formation of modern American society. During the 5 years of armed conflict, the unsettled United States, despite countless victims, managed to pave the way for its future existence and development.

USA in the XIX century and its disintegration

The first and main cause of the military conflict between the states was born at the dawn of colonization. In 1619 the first African slaves were brought to Virginia. The slave system began to form. A few decades later, the first swallows of the future conflict began to appear. Individuals began to oppose slavery. The first was Roger Williams. Step by step, the first legislative acts began to appear, facilitating and regulating the life of slaves, who gradually received "human" rights, often violated by their masters.

In the XIX century, when the war of the North and South in America became inevitable, Congress nevertheless tried to find a compromise by peaceful means. So, in 1820 the Missouri compromise was signed, as a result of which the slavery area was expanded. The boundary of the slave-owning regions clearly appeared. So, the South completely opposed itself to the North. In 1854, this agreement was canceled. Also this year, the Republican Party was formed on the platform of organizations struggling with slavery. And already in 1860, the representative of this political force, Abraham Lincoln , became president .

In the same year, the United States lost six southern regions, which announced their withdrawal from the federation and the establishment of the Confederation of States. A few months later, after the first victories of the Confederation at Fort Sumter, five more states announced the withdrawal from the US. The northern states announced mobilization - the Civil War of the North and South in America started.

American South and its traditions

What was the sharp confrontation between the states that existed side by side for centuries? It can not be said that the South was completely slave-owning and inhuman. On the contrary, at the beginning of the nineteenth century a large number of speeches against slavery took place here, but by 1830 they had exhausted themselves.

The southern states were radically opposite to the North. After the US-Mexican War, the States received huge land holdings. Fertile soils had to be processed. Planters found a way out by buying slaves. As a result, the South has become an agrarian region requiring a permanent workforce, in which there was a significant shortage. Because of cheap labor, the war of the North and South began in America. The essence of the conflict, according to many historians, lay deeper.

Northern states

The northern states were the absolute opposite of the bourgeois South. The business and enterprising North developed thanks to industry and engineering. There was no slavery, and civilian labor was encouraged. From all corners of the world, people who dreamed of getting rich and making money came here. In the northern regions, a flexible system of taxation was established and established, and charity existed. Admittedly, despite the status of free citizens, African Americans and in the North were second-class people.

The causes of the war in the North and South in America

• The struggle to abolish slavery. Many historians have called this item just a political ploy by Lincoln, which was needed to strengthen its authority in Europe.
• The difference in the mentality of the population of the northern and southern regions.
• The desire of the northern states to control the southern neighbors due to the majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
• Dependence of the industrial revolution on agricultural products of the South. The northern regions bought cotton, tobacco and sugar at low tariffs, forcing the planters to survive, not to succeed.

The course of military operations in the first period of the war

In April 1861, the Civil War of the North and South began in America. Historians for a long time could not understand who started the armed conflict. After comparing the facts of shelling with artillery it became clear that the war was unleashed by Southerners.

The first battle and the victory of the Confederate troops took place near Fort Sumter. After this defeat, President Lincoln put "in the gun" 75,000 volunteers. He did not want a bloody resolution to the conflict and suggested that the Southern States repay him on his own and punish the instigators. But the war of the North and South in America was already inevitable. The Southerners were inspired by the first victories and were eager to fight. The notions of honor and valor of brave southern boys did not give them the right to retreat. And the advantages at the initial stage of the war were greater in the South - a sufficient number of trained soldiers and commanders, as well as weapons stores remained after the war with Mexico.

Lincoln declared the blockade of all the states of the Confederation.

In July 1861, a battle took place on the Bull Run River, during which the Confederate troops won the victory. But instead of going on a counter-offensive against Washington, the Southerners chose defensive tactics, and the strategic advantage was lost. The confrontation escalated in the summer of 1861. Nevertheless, if the southerners are cleverer, the war between the North and the South in America would have ended. Who would have won at this stage of the conflict, so this is certainly not the Federation.

In April 1862, one of the most bloody battles in the Civil War took place, killing six thousand people - the Battle of Shiloh. This battle, albeit with great losses, was won by the Allied forces and in the same month they entered New Orleans and Memphis without a single shot.

In August, the Northerner troops approached the capital of the Confederation of Richmond, but a half-smaller army of southerners, led by General Lee, was able to repel them. In September, the troops once again fought on the Bull Run River. There was an opportunity to capture Washington, but luck did not accompany the Confederates again.

abolition of slavery

One of the secret trumps of Abraham Lincoln, which he taught as the main reason for confrontation between states, was the question of the abolition of slavery. And at the right time, the president took advantage of him, abolishing slavery in the insurgent states, since the war of the North and South in America in 1861-1865 could drag on for a longer period.

In September, Lincoln signed a proclamation on the release of slaves in the states fighting with the Union. In peaceful areas, slavery persisted.

So, the president killed two birds with one stone. He declared himself to the whole world as a man fighting for the civil rights of the black people. Now Europe could not help the Confederation. On the other hand, with one stroke of the pen he increased the strength of his army.

The second stage of the war

In May 1863, the second stage of the military campaign began. The war of the North and South in America resumed with new zeal.

In early July, the epochal battle began at Gettysburg, lasting several days, as a result of which the troops of the Confederates were forced to retreat. This defeat took thousands of lives and broke the fighting spirit of the southerners, they still resisted, but without much success.

July 4, 1863 Vicksberg fell under the onslaught of General Grant. Lincoln immediately appointed him commander-in-chief of the army of the northerners. From this moment, the confrontation between two tactical generals, Lee and Grant, began.

Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston - the city outside the city passed under the control of Union troops. President Davis sent Lincoln a letter proposing peace, but North needed obedience to the South, not equality.

The war of the North and South in America in the 19th century ended with the capitulation of the Confederate troops, the noble South fell, and the business and greedy North won.

Results

• Abolition of slavery.
• The United States remained an integral federal entity.
• Representatives of the northern states received the majority of seats in the Chamber and pushed the laws necessary for business and industry that hit the "wallets" of the southerners.
• Over 600 thousand people were killed.
• The beginning of an industrial revolution in the southern regions, total industrialization.
• Expansion of the US single market.
• Development of trade unions and public organizations.

Such results resulted in the war of the North and South in America. She got the name Civil. Such a bloody confrontation between their citizens in the United States was no more.