The History of~The American Civil War(Part 1: Prelude to War)

The American Civil War; the bloodiest conflict in US Military history. It was a deadly time for the United States, but it gave the nation a new definition for the nation and it's people.

This is Part 1 of this 6-part wiki page series about the American Civil War. In this page, we will talk about the events and the issues that lead to the eventual conflict.

## Prelude to War

The American Civil War was a truly unique kind of Civil War, unlike in other countries where a Civil War was about political superiority or overthrowing their monarchy. In the United States, it was about human rights and changing the very definition on what it is to be an American, and a reminder of what the nation's founding fathers were thinking when they created the nation, especially the words of the Declaration of Independence where it says "All men are created equal", "With certain inalienable rights", and "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

Though, the writers of the Declaration (Thomas Jefferson and Timothy Matlack) wrote hundreds of drafts of the document, many of them included the abolishment of slavery, but out of fear of losing support of the Southern Colonies, they left it out.

Here are the issues which would lead to the American Civil War.

### Slavery

Even before the United States was formally created on July 4, 1776, there were certain American landholders who also owned slaves (which did the hard work for their owner, and many of them were from Africa who were unfairly sold into slavery to not just do the work for their white owners but also be subjected to severe maltreatment. Even when the US was created, this issue continued even through the American revolution where it saw African slaves fighting on both sides, but those who fought for the Americans went back into slavery, and after the US won its revolution, the slave owners continued their maltreatment of their African slaves, and it'll only get worse as the 18th century became the 19th century and as the United States was expanding its sphere of influence in North America.

The biggest commodity of the Southern States was Cotton which was used to make soft and rather cheap clothing for not just the US, but also a lot of America's trading partners of the time (namely Great Britain and France) and this made the Southern States very rich, and the need for slavery increased significantly because of it. The big reason for this was a device called the "Cotton Gin" which made cotton easier to spin faster and easier than doing it by hand. Soon, Cotton got a nickname; "White Gold" due to the huge profits it brought to the cotton owners.

Slavery didn't just influence politics or the economy, it also influenced on what states entered the union as the US was still growing in size as well as power. The US Government wanted to have a "perfect" balance of states in the union, and that is because which ever side has the most states would get to interpret slavery. The north wanted to get rid of it, but the south (benefiting financially from it) wanted it to be legal.

It all started when the one time colony of Massachusetts became the state of Maine in 1820 (as a free state, meaning no slavery in the state).

Though, politicians at the time also agreed and passed one precursor to abolishing slavery which is called "The Missouri Compromise" in 1820 meaning no state above the southern border of Missouri is to be a slave state, a year later Missouri was admitted into the Union as a slave state.

These laws passed was only plugging a hole in a dyke, and that hole would grow ever bigger. By the 1830s, more Americans were moving into the unorganized territories out in the west, including Texas. Mexico (which owned Texas at the time) allowed immigration from the US, than banned it when the US population outnumbered Mexicans which led to uprisings and open hostilities between Americans and Mexicans in Texas, though Americans would eventually win over Mexico in 1836, the US didn't annex it and admitted Texas as a state until 1845. But when Texas was finally a US state, this caused America's problems with Mexico to boil over, and eventually we have the "Mexican-American War", this 2-year long conflict would see the USA gain more territory out in the west (which included new Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and California). This worried the north as they believed that the south would expand into the new territory and bring their slavery practices along with them.

When California became a state in 1850, congress also passed the controversial "Fugitive Slave Act" in the same year, this act would allow southern slave owners to go anywhere in the US (even the free states) to apprehend their African Slaves and bring them back, and the poor slaves wouldn't have a trial.

### Railroad Competition

It wasn't just slavery which gripped America in the mid 19th century. Both the north and the south were also in competition in the railroad industry. By the mid 19th century, the North (as it embraced industrialization more then the south did) had the majority of railroads, still the biggest prize was yet to be won; a railroad track that spanned from east to west, and both sides competed against each other for that "trans-continental" railroad. After the Mexican-American War, the south drew up plans to create a trans-continental railroad through what would be the states of New Mexico and Arizona, but the track would have to go through mountains which were still in Mexico. In 1852, Southern diplomat named "James Gadsden" went to Mexico to negotiate to take the land, and he did so for around $10 Million. But fate would make this purchase redundant.

### The Next President

By the mid 19th Century, it seems that the north and the south would inevitably separate. But, there was a man who is determined to keep the "United" in the United States. A Illinoisan Cabin Boy turned lawyer named "Abraham Lincoln. In the late 1850s, he decides to run for the American Presidency. His aim was to keep the nation "United", but at the same time try to prevent a Civil War from erupting. The 1860 election was extremely grueling for Lincoln, and the previously "clean-shaven" Presidential candidate had to grow a beard to hide his previous identity, throughout his time campaigning, he would receive death threats in the mail. In DC, Lincoln would also make speeches in front of congress, one of his lines included this.

Yeah, and this was during a time when politicians in DC would even bring guns into the halls of Congress. Talk about anti-trust.

Though, Lincoln would try to prevent conflict, but one would erupt, in the territory of Kansas.

### Bleeding Kansas

Pro-Slavery activists from Missouri would storm into the Kansas territory and burn several towns in the territory (which included the town of Lawrence), this began a series of conflicts on the border of Kansas and Missouri. This event would be known as "Bleeding Kansas".

One religious zealot wanted a piece of the action, his name was "John Brown". Passionately religious and a staunch anti-slavery activist went to Kansas to try to stop the pro-slavery military groups in Kansas. In an act of what would be considered terrorism, he and his men would use broadswords, and they would kill as many as 5 pro-slavery activists. The south casted him as a terrorist, but Kansas natives call him a folk hero. His newfound title would be put to the test.

On October 16, 1859, John Brown and his team of abolitionists raided a placed which is called "Harpers Ferry" this raid to go on for 3 days as John Brown's abolitionists and a US military force (led by Robert E. Lee) fought, but lee's forces would eventually defeat the abolitionists. Brown would later be tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged on December 2 of the same year.

### The fuse is lit

Lincoln would eventually win the Presidency (despite his name not being on the ballot in several southern states), and this would be the straw that would break the Camel's back for the south. In 1860, South Carolina would be the first to seceded from the US, and as Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Texas also seceded, they formed the Confederate States of America (or CSA) with North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee joining as well. They drew up their own constitution and even elected Jefferson Davis (former secretary of war, a representative, and a senator of Mississippi) as the Confederate President.

By this time, the balance of power in DC was largely in favor of the Union as the Free States outnumbered the Slave States, especially after the admission of California and Oregon, and the reason why the southern states decided to secede from the Union (along with the victory of Lincoln's campaign for the Presidency).

The long smoldering fuse would eventually be lit on April 12, 1861 when southern rebels attacked Ft. Sumter (which is off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina), the Confederates successfully capture the fort (with only 1 death), this would begin the American Civil War.

That'll do it for this part. In the next part, we will talk about the first few battles of the early conflict, click here to continue. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.