The American Revolution was far more important to American society and history than The Civil War.

GMan, your argumentation is sound and I do agree that both wars are important. However, on the whole the Civil War is far more important when we look at it from the angle of preservation, which you so strongly use against it. For example, you mention the great fortunes and gits earned from the Revolution; independence, a constitution, folklore, ect. However, what you fail to mention is the importance of preserving these things, especially the Constitution (which I will claim to be the most important document in American history). First we need to look at the actual histories and instigating factors of both wars. The Revolution was fought because we wanted equal representation in Parliament as colonies of the British Empire. When this fundamental right was refused we declared independence from Britain and 250 years later here we are. The Civil War on the other hand, represents at what cost we as Americans will go through to ensure these rights are protected. Slavery being one of the largest factors in the Civil War depicts the never ending American struggle to ensure all people, no mater what differences seperate us, are equal under God and Law. Getting to your book analogy: As a writer I agree the opening chapters of any novel are gravely important. However, their purpose is merely constructional. It is in these chapters where we meet or protagonist and their supporting cast of characters. They are then faced with an antagonist, whether it be man, nature, concept, ect, but these early chapters have little more importance beyond this point. Later on in the novel we reach the climax, the point where our hero is tested and we see whether he falls or rises above the conflict. This, my friend, is the essence of the Civil War. America was faced with a challenge: United under liberty or divided by belief. The war represents the essence of what America is today. We are all different and interpret what the Constitution means in our own way. It may be the Revalution which gave us priveledge to these rights, but the Civil war demonstrated what we were willing to do to ensure they lived on. Continuing, your argument "without the Revolutionary War American history would have been different" is a weak argument in general. To say something is superior based soley on precedence is simply flawed. We might a well contend that the fighting which brought about the drafting of the Magna Carta is superior because the Constitutions roots to the document drafted in 1215. It is like saying the First World War is better than World War II because without World War I and the Treaty of Versailles Hitler may never have come to power, despite the fact that the social, political, and military efforts far exceeded those achieved after the Great War. In conclusion we must look to what the two wars represent. The Revolution demonstrates the American ideal to be free and for the government to fairly represent to will of the people. On the other hand, the Civil War shows us that we feel these values are so important that man will turn on his brother before he turns on the Constitution.