The Civil War: a Critical Turning Point in American History

I believe the Civil War and its aftermath and the changes it brought are the most
significant events that have shaped America into the nation it is today. Even the
Revolutionary War could not compare to the loss of human life and tremendous impact
the Civil War had on the United States of America. Dr. James McPherson said, While
the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865
determined what kind of nation it would be. (McPherson). I think this is an excellent
portrayal of the effect the Civil war had on the U.S.
While the official fighting of the Civil War began on April 21, 1861 and ended
April 9, 1965 the events leading up to the Civil War began at least a century before.
There were many heated discussions about slavery during the writing and signing of the
Constitution of the United States of America. The states could not agree on the path
slavery should take in the U.S. This disagreement resulted in the Three-Fifths
Compromise, which pacified the southern states so they would sign the Constitution and
effectively created the Union. 1808 was the date given to stop the importation of any new
slaves. These compromises didnt solve the problem of slavery. They just swept it under
the rug for the time being. The question of slavery and its resulting evils had been one
that had plagued the nation from the very beginning. As time went on, the issue of
slavery became more contentious and there was more dialogue about it by influential
leaders.
One of the most influential black leaders was Frederick Douglass. Douglass
helped to open up a dialogue and created recognition of the plight of slaves and free
blacks. Douglass was an amazing champion for black rights. As an escaped slave himself
he was able to perfectly understand a slaves perspective and with his literary and oratory
skills he was able to wage a great argument against slavery and influence President
Lincoln. Douglass' influence was crucial to Lincoln's evolution as a thinker over the
course of the war. This influence can be seen in the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's
second inaugural speech. (United).
There are many problems that can be blamed for starting the Civil War. While
slavery was very problematic issue in America, the war can also be blamed upon clashes
between what was considered federal authority and states rights. Jefferson Davis played a
critical role in the Civil War by becoming the President of the Confederate States.
Davis illustrated perfectly the thoughts of the south on the matter of federal authority
when he said, an organization created by the States, to secure the blessings of liberty and
independence against foreign aggression, has been gradually perverted into a machine for
their control in their domestic affairs. (McClellan pg. 339) Davis and other southerners
felt the states were the supreme authority. The Civil War began with the secession of the
southern states. This occurred because of the election of Abraham Lincoln as president.
The south felt they had lost every foothold they held in the federal government with the
election of Lincoln and they knew slavery had seen its last days in the Union. The days
when they (the South) could direct the course of the country were now a part of the past.
(McClellan pg. 334). The southern states felt their best option was to secede from the
Union. This secession of the southern states threatened to tear apart everything the United
States had worked so hard to create.

The north and the south had extreme differences in their economy. The south was
dependent on slave labor to provide the labor to maintain their crops and their large
plantations. Jefferson Davis shared his thoughts on the problems this created when he
said, The people of the Southern States, whose almost exclusive occupation was
agriculture, early perceived a tendency in the Northern States to render a common
government subservient to their own purposes by imposing burthens on commerce as
protection to their manufacturing and shipping interests. (McClellan pg. 339-340)
The north, however, was more urban and focused a lot on commerce and industry. These
differences produced differences in all aspects of daily life. Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
slavery is no scholar, no improver; it does not love the whistle of the railroad; it does not
love the newspaper, the mail-bag, a college, a book or a preacher who has the absurd
whim of saying what he thinks; it does not increase the white population; it does not
improve the soil; everything goes to decay. (Digital) I think these two quotes do a great
job in summing up the reason why economy played such a large role in the Civil War.
The political element at the time of the Civil War played an important role in
pushing the
President Abraham Lincoln was one of the most critical figures in the Civil War.
Lincoln was elected in 1860 by Republican moderate strategy and by sweeping the
entire Northeast and Midwest (Nash pg. 417). Interestingly he won the election with less
than 40 percent of the popular vote. Lincoln did not want a civil war, nor did he want
states to secede from the Union. Lincoln firmly opposed secession and any compromise
with the principle of stopping the extension of slavery. (Nash pg. 418) Unlike Jefferson
Davis, President Lincoln did not feel the ultimate authority lay with the states but instead
with the federal government. He said Our States have neither more nor less power than
that reserved to them in the Union by the Constitution, no one of them ever having been a
State out of the Union. (McClellan pg. 342) President Lincoln was a staunch supporter
of the Constitution and I think this was one of the most important traits he possessed that
enabled him to pick up the shattered pieces of the country and start on the road to
rebuilding it as an even stronger Union.
The Civil War was a critical turning point in American history because it finally
resolved the slave issue, which had plagued the United States from its founding, once and
for all. Lincoln, Davis and Douglass played immensely important roles in the Civil War
through their leadership in causes they believed in. While the above mention figures in
the Civil War were critical to its success they were by no means alone in their battle. This
was a battle fought by every American. Many played seemingly small roles and yet the
Civil War would have either not taken place or would have not been won with out them.
I think this quote by Dr. James McPherson perfectly sums up two of the critical
questions surrounding the Civil War, The war resolved two fundamental questions left
unresolved by the revolution: whether the United States was to be a dissolvable
confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national
government (McPherson). As we ponder this remark we can see why the Civil War
was so significant in shaping America. We can also see that these lessons learned the
hard way still have an affect on the strength on our nation as a whole and on the race
issues plaguing our society today. Through this war we now know we can stand as an
indivisible nation, despite our differences. This war changed the lives of Americans from

that point on because, while we may still have a lot of work to do, we have guaranteed
equality to all of Americas citizens.

Reflection
Changing Interpretations of Americas Past illustrates just how many different
answers there are to the question of why the Civil War began in the first place. Some say
Those who assume this postulate (the war was fought because of slavery), are so
theorize upon it, are but superficial observers (McClellan pg. 346). Others say, [O]f the
American Civil War it may be safely asserted that there was but a single cause,
slavery (McClellan pg. 347) While there are probably untold viewpoints of the real
cause of the war, I feel it can be safely stated that it was probably a combination of many,
if not all, of these view points. While these viewpoints are many and diverse it can be
said that the United States of America is just as diverse and that is one of the reasons the
Civil War and its lessons is still applicable today.
Today we are facing riots over racial inequality and this is one thing that is
causing us to be a divided nation. The Washington Post wrote this in one of its blogs
about the riots, the consequences of government-sponsored segregation in places such as
Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, where violent protest has erupted over the deaths of
black men at the hands of police (Washington). The principles we learned as a country
from the Civil War about equal rights and respect are critical elements that need to be put
in place at this time.
Many of my General Education courses have focused on expanding horizons and
learning about different peoples and cultures. One of the Civil Wars main elements was
on treating people of a different race and culture respectfully and humanely. I feel these
elements fit in extremely well with what I have been taught in my GE courses. These
elements will also play a crucial role in my future classes and in becoming a health care
provider, as I will come into contact with many people with different beliefs, different
races and different cultures.



Works Cited
McPherson, D. (n.d.). A Brief Overview of the American Civil War. Retrieved May 5,
2015, from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-waroverview/overview.html
http://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/people.htm
McClellan, J. (2000). Civil War. In Changing Interpretations of America's Past (2nd ed.,
Vol. 1,). Dushkin/ McGraw-Hill.
United States. National Park Service. (2015, April 28). People. Retrieved May 5, 2015
https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/people.htm
Digital History.(n.d.).Retrieved May 5,2015,from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3558digitalhistory
Nash, G., Jeffrey, J., Howe, J., Frederick, P., Davis, A., Winkler, A., . . . Pestana, C.
(2011). The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society (Custom Edition
for Salt Lake Community College ed., Vol. 1). Pearson.
From Ferguson to Baltimore: The consequences of government-sponsored segregation.
(n.d.). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/03/fromferguson-to-baltimore-the-consequences-of-government-sponsored-segregation/

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