The American Civil War of 1861-1865 is a key event in the history of the country in terms of arising their consciousness and is regarded as the Second American Revolution after the First Revolution of 1776-1783. The War largely determined the path that United States would take as it sought to answer two questions that were not defined by the first revolution. To this extent, the civil war made an attempt to ascertain whether the nation was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or one with a sovereign national government. Secondly,the war gave an answer as to whether America would continue to be the biggest slaveholding country in the world despite being born of a decree that all men are created with equal to liberty and freedom. In a number of ways,the American Civil War rose to the level of causing a revolution. It is for this reason that the civil war is touted as the second American Revolution.
The civil war can be said to have been a second American revolution for a variety of reasons. First, the war significantly tipped the scales of power balance between the North and South and accelerated the emergence of industrial capitalism in the period after the war. The abolition of slavery that occurred in the South during the time of the civil war was indeed revolutionary.
Similarly, persons who lived through the civil war viewed their struggle as revolutionary. The people from the North saw the feud between them and the South as a struggle to keep the union which conglomerated as a result of revolution against England. On the other hand, persons from the South also viewed their rebellion as a revolution against the dictatorial rule of the North. Both the Northerners as well as the Southerners perceived the civil war as the continued struggle of the fight for freedom that commenced in 1776.
In short,the American civil war stands out as one of the most important events in the history of the United States. It enabled the abolition of slavery, and acted as the turning point of a new political and economic order and the start of large industry and government. The war was certainly about the new birth of freedom.The Northern State was up against the Southern state owing to the diametric economic interests of the two states. The Southern part was mainly made up of small and large plantations that grow crops like cotton which were highly capital intensive. On the other hand, the North was a manufacturing center that made use of raw materials so as to create finished goods. While slavery had been proscribed in the North, it was not the case in the South due to the need of cheap labor in the plantations. As more states got annexed to the United States, there had to be compromises as to whether such states would be admitted as free or as slaves. Each of the groups was afraid of the attainment of unequal amount of power.
The president of the United States at the time of the civil war,Abraham Lincoln,possessed outstanding leadership qualities that enabled him to marshal the country successfully during the difficult time. Lincoln was able to listen to views from different perspectives especially from his cabinet members. He was able to forge an environment where Cabinet members could disagree without any fear of revenge. On the same breadth, Lincoln knew when to put a stop to a discussion and make a decision as to a matter. More so, Lincoln was able to learn on his job, admit his mistakes, learn from them and move on.In addition, Lincoln possessed the rare ability of sharing credit for any success that accrued to the administration. Indeed, he is on record as saying that the path to success and ambition was big enough for two. Further,Abraham Lincoln had an uncanny ability to communicate his vision and goals to his people in a simple way and awareness of needs of the citizens. A case in point is in his second inauguration speech after the end of the war and his subsequent reelection in which he targeted the unity of the country rather than thumping his achievements. Lincoln was also firm and determined and stood his ground when he deemed it fit. When the civil war was not going well for the North,Lincoln refused to agree to the advice by members of his political party who told him to compromise on the issue as there were little chances of winning the war. Abraham Lincoln was also a hands-on leader who was proactive and directly involved. When many soldiers died during the civil war,he was able to forge lasting connections with them, by making visits in the battle field as well as in the hospitals,an act that had a positive impact on the morale of the soldiers. More so,Lincoln also held various public receptions,shaking the hands of the public as well as speaking to them individually. Besides,Abraham Lincoln understood the importance of relaxation and recreation. He had a sense of humor and frequently told funny stories,went to the theatre and shared with his friends.
In addition,Lincoln demonstrated astute leadership qualities in his ability to control emotions. He would sit down and write a letter when he got angry with an individual and not send it to the individual. Later,he would follow on the individual by sending a gesture or a letter to indicate that he held no grudge with the individual. In the same way,he shared credit amongst other members whenever there was success,he shared blame for any failure. An illustration of this is when contracts relating to the civil war raised questions in which a member of his cabinet was adversely mentioned. Consequently, Lincoln stood up and unequivocally stated that his whole cabinet and he were to blame.Finally, Lincoln was well aware of his own weaknesses; primarily that of his propensity to give persons too many chances. He tackled this weakness as illustrated by his dismissal of George McCellan, the Commander in Chief of the Union Army after he failed to adhere to the laid down instructions. It is these qualities among others of Abraham Lincoln that make him one of the greatest presidents of the United States to ever grace the nation.
The relationship between the federal government and the sovereign states in the United States can be examined by having regard to checks placed on liberties and freedoms of the people. America takes pride in its liberties and freedoms of its people. The civil war was meant to preserve the Union which was the United States of America. Those in support of federalism were of the view that the federal government and the executive ought to maintain their power if at all they are to preserve the Union. On the converse, anti-federalists were of the view that states ought to retain most of their sovereignty. Neither the federal nor the state government can abolish the other. Among the issues central to the institution of Civil War was that of state sovereignty among them power to annul federal laws or dissolve the Union. When state and federal authority are in conflict, the federal law trumps the state government law. The federal government is charged with a number of powers by the Constitution among them minting currency, declaring war and enters into treaties. The conflagration that is the Civil War significantly changed the way Americans saw their own nation, and viewed it as no longer a group of autonomous states but as one indivisible nation.
Some of the pervasive American ideals include equality, liberty, rights, opportunity and democracy. The American Civil War had the effect of preserving these very ideals. By fighting for abolition of slavery and the consequent abolition, the war brought about equal protection of all people irrespective of race since most of the slaves were blacks. Similarly,the abolition of slavery ensured that the persons who would otherwise be subjected to slavery were at liberty tolive like other persons. Further, the same abolition of slavery as a result of the civil war helped change and expand on the American ideals of equality and rights.
Works Cited
Government Archives. The Constitution of the United States of America. Washington D.C.: Government Archives , n.d.
Graves, Spencer. Violence, Nonviolence, and the American Revolution. Discussion Paper. New York: Spencer Graves, 2005.
Kloppenberg, James T. "The Two Faces of American Freedom." Journal of American History 99.4 (2013).
Stagg, J C. "Among the Powers of the Earth: The American Revolution and the Making of a New World Empire." Journal of American History 90.4 (2013): 1229-1230.
