In order to understand the way, the history of the United States in the timeframe and after the Civil War, has represented the conflicts and inconsistencies between the principles and ideals in the Declaration of Independence and reality of life in America before the Civil War, it is essential to outline the brief history, reasons and the outcomes of this war and the major postulates of the Declaration of Independence
It is claimed by the experts that the founding document of political tradition in US is the Declaration of Independence. The major argumentation for this statement is that it represents the major ideas, which are critically important for formation of American nation. They are the following: all individuals are created equal and free in terms of possessing the same natural and inherent rights. It means that the major basis for the legitimate governments should be represented by the consent of the governed and the core purpose of the existence of such governments should be to secure the human rights within the nation.
The particular representation of this declaration in work (before the Civil War) was to issue the announcement to the global community regarding the thirteen American colonies’ unanimous decision about their separation form the rule of Great Britain. The revolutionary significance of the declaration in this case implied the political legitimacy’ new basis statement in terms of the US citizens’ sovereignty. The final appeal of Americans was directed not on the spirit evolvement or man-made decree – the major emphasis was put on the inherent possession of the equal right by all men. The background for these rights was the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” (heritage.org 1) That is why, it is possible to claim that the meaning and the importance of the Declaration is topical for all generations of U.S. nation.
It is claimed by the historians that the central event in the historical consciousness of US people was the Civil War. While the country of US was created by the Revolution of 1776-1783, the type of US nation was determined by the Civil war 1861-1865. This statement may be supported by the fact that the two major questions were resolved by the War, which was not previously addressed by the revolution. The first one was whether the US was to be represented in the form of the sovereign states’ confederation or as the united nation, led by the sovereign national government. The second question, which was addressed by the Civil War, was whether the nation, as it is implied by the declaration, where it is clearly stated that all human beings are created to have the equal liberty rights, would continue its existence as the largest slaveholding country in the global scales or not (McPherson 1).
It is possible to claim that the integrated political entity of the United States was confirmed by the Civil War, as it has provided the freedom to more than 500 thousands of enslaved Americans. In addition, centralized and more powerful federal government was established – as an outcome of the Civil War. Finally, this war has led to the emergence of the U.S as a powerful nation, which has furthermore evolved into the superpower in the 20th century.
Even while the equality has not been provided to the former slaves after they have gained the freedom, the immense constitutional changes have been initiated by the Civil War. These changes have re-defined the nature of American society and afterwards have created the start point for the national struggle for the equal human and civil rights for US citizens (nps.gov 1).
Works Cited
heritage.org. The Declaration of Independence. 1776 <http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/the-declaration-of-independence>
McPherson, J. A Brief Overview of the American Civil War: a defining time in our nation's history. 2014 <http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html?referrer=https://www.google.com.ua/>
nps.gov The Civil war: Consequences. 2015 <https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/consequences.htm>
