Questions:

1. What were two competing visions of America (North/South) for the future?

2. What role did minorities play during the civil war?

3. How did relations of commerce, between the North, South and other nations, affect the outcome of the war?

Introduction:

There are many times lines that can be used to determine the path of the Civil War. Events such as the attack on Fort Sumter, which initially began the war, the battle of Bull Run and of course one of the most famous battle, Gettysburg. But, the path to the Civil War can be traced back even further, going as far back as the signing of the constitution. The minute the constitution was put into action, and was not applied to African Americans, a gradual separation of slavery and anti-slavery supporters was set forth.

Can we really call the Civil War a ‘civil war?’ No declaration of war was proposed by the South, instead, the southern states just decided to secede from the Union. The Union saw this as a threat and resolved to extinguish the idea of secession and reform the Union as it once was.

African Americans in the Civil War:

1792- A federal law is passed that prohibits blacks from carrying arms for the U.S. Army

 "Our feelings urge us to say to our countrymen that we are ready to stand by and defend our Government as the equals of its white defenders; to do so with 'our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,' for the sake of freedom, and as good citizens; and we ask you to modify your laws, that we may enlist, -- that full scope may be given to the patriotic feelings burning in the colored man's breast."

More than 200,000 blacks fought for the Union, and 38,000 died, the majority of disease.

"With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln declared all slaves in areas rebelling against the United States to be free on January 1, 1863. (One million slaves in Union territory remained officially enslaved). Many slaves in the South did not even hear about the proclamation until months later. And many of those who did hear of it were forced to continue as slaves without Union soldiers to enforce the edict."

Economic Factors:

 "at bottom the so-called Civil War ? was a social war, ending in the unquestioned establishment of a new power in the government, making vast changes ? in the course of industrial development, and in the constitution inherited from the Fathers"

Conclusion:

As many Americans know, it was the Northern Union which ultimately “won” the Civil War, but not unlike the South, the North sustained heavy economic damages. They may have won the battles, but they lost money through the purchase of ammunitions, payment for soldiers…etc. But the North also last something else, the financial safety of the Southern economy. The war left the South in a hole; many plantations were either destroyed or shut down, and the abolishment of slavery would prove to be more work for the future.

Bibliography:

http://www.us-civilwar.com/cause.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4narr5.html

http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/ransom.civil.war.us

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