America as a nation has an entertaining and rich history in the manner the country is an economic and military power house. The main focus of this paper is to look at historical events that contributed to the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. The chronology of these events began all the way in the 17th century when the European began migrating from their countries of origin and settling in the Americas. The reason behind their migration was the political instability in Europe resulting from the religious ideological differences.
The idea of master, servants and slaves all began in the 17th century when numerous migrants were not allowed to owe land in the areas where they settled. This period is commonly referred to as the colonial period. It stretches all the way into mid 18th century when Americans gained independence from the Britain. In the same period, America tobacco planters were witnessing a boom. Because of the boom, tobacco owners found it necessary to make use of servants and slaves to work in their farms. Many of the slaves came from the African descent and they were made to sign contracts. Once they finish their serve, they would be freed to work for themselves. These were the early black servants in the North and some worked for their masters a life time. However, according to the English common law, slavery was not a recognized. Therefore those who worked were not legal slaves. After serving their contracts, some freed slaves including Africans decided to begin purchasing slaves to work for them.
In 1661 after the collapse of the tobacco boom some masters decided to be more race sensitive and made laws that did not favor the blacks or the Africans. They used few English servants and more African slaves and the population of African slaves increased. Since African slavery was seen to be very profitable in the farms, policy makers in the north decided to make it legal. These entire scramble for wealth was taking place in Chesapeake. When the puritans came to settle in America, they created colonies that were based on strong spiritual and ethical goals. They created a society that shaped the moral dimension of American history which still exists until today.
Between 1660 and 1750 a British Empire in America was created. They grew to be a commercial power house where several of the produce was exported in other continents including Africa and Europe and America. They also gained much of control of America such that it had numerous colonies in the region. By 1750 during the imperial crisis Britain had gained 13 colonies in North America alone. This was majorly characterized by the imperial slave economy. Slaves were uprooted from Africa and traded across the Atlantic. Even after the independence of America, the slave trade continued to form part of legal and economic policies in the southern confederation of America.
The American Revolution sent shockwaves into the monarchical order of Europe. It was a way in which Europe got enlightened. Europe had only experienced a political society in which power was only concentrated at the top. However there was an introduction of a new force by North America. This force was not friendly to the political system in Europe as power came from below; which means from the people. It was an unlikely thing for America’s first president, George Washington to finish his duly constituted term and retire to his farm. This had never been the case in Europe since the monarchical leaders stayed on the throne until they passed away.
The new force meant that there was no room for military dictatorship and social anarchy. There was a new generation of patriotic leaders who cared more about the people they represented in state legislature than they cared about themselves. They deliberated on bills based on how the bills will affect their constituents. All these were uncharacteristic in Europe since the ordinary people were a disregarded group. The leaders would do things focusing on their self interest. It was in the constitutional to vote leaders into office, both local and national leaders. This meant that the people had the power to choose whom they wanted as their leader.
Most of these new ideas that began during the American Revolution were unbelievable among both the leaders and the people in Europe. This also included the freedom that the American society gave to various groups in Christianity to worship without interference; unlike back in Europe, most of the religious immigrants had been persecuted because of their stand in the church.
The period of antebellum in America was characterized by slavery in the southern part of the country. The south was predominantly agricultural and most farmers depended on slaves to cultivate their huge plantations. On the other hand, the northern part of the country was predominantly industrial. Slavery was not allowed in the northern section therefore most workers were free laborers. This difference in labor ideology resulted into a growing tension that erupted as the Civil War. In the agricultural south, planters were regarded by the number of slaves they had who worked in their plantations. It was common that for one to have a large number of slaves, then his plantation was very large.
The agricultural plantations in the south were focused on the owners’ residences. This is where all the necessary business was conducted. Planters owned huge tracks of land and they used the services of their slaves to cultivate and conduct all agricultural business. A good number of the slave holders used to keep a limit of 10 slaves. The slaves were mostly expected to do domestic works and a few other works in the farms. It is only the huge planters who held more than 20 slaves for their farming activities.
In the early 18th century, the planters used to focus on production of tobacco since this produce was highly marketable at that moment. However, due to the changing nature of the markets, they had to shift their focus to mixed crop production. The diversity of the market was not the only reason why this change was necessary. The soil was also getting exhausted as a result of too much cultivation of one type of crop.
Because of the shift from tobacco planting to mixed crop planting, the farmers in the south who owned many slaves realized that they had extra slaves and no work for them. This meant that they had sale the extra slaves. The idea meant that slavery would expand to the northern part of the country. The north confederation was not ready for the expansion of slave trade. It had policies that condemned slavery in fact, just before the civil Abraham Lincoln was elected into presidency based on his stance as well as the republican stance on slavery.
Slavery was also witnessed in the fire fighting companies in the District of Columbia. The companies required volunteers to support with their operations. There were many companies and each received support from the federal government. The main reason why the companies were numerous and fire fighting was a viable business is because many of the building structures were made of wood. Every company exclusively relied on the power of volunteers to put out fires.
The slaves were on numerous occasions commanded to participate in the companies’ effort to put out fires. This included both freed slaves and the people who were still enslaved. Members of the black American community whether freed or enslaved were not allowed to be part of the high ranked officials and volunteers of the fire fighting companies. The idea of volunteering was a good one however there was need to start making fire fighting a profession. Basically, the firemen were involved in a lot of risky things and their lives were at stakes. The work they did was also very noble since it was aimed towards community service. There was therefore a need to begin appreciating the volunteer fire fighters.
Compared to the form of labor in the southern part of America, North America had policies of free labor. The restrictions on members of certain racial communities were minimal simply because of the fact they were the minority. The fire fighting industry also received a lot of support from other companies and government agencies. This was still by the time when fire fighting was still a voluntary work. The navy could provide assistance by volunteering its employees to participate in the fire fighting.
Slavery witnessed in the south was really not a bad thing; that is if it is viewed from a different perspective. The slaves in the south were considered to be freer than the free laborers of the north. They had the best working environment that does not enslave them as much as the working environment of free laborers does. The old aged people and children were really not expected to work at all. They experienced the comfort and yet they were getting paid in return. At least they could have free food and a place where they could lay their head without doing anything.
The civil war began in 1861 with 11 states in the southern confederation declared a cessation from the US. They intended to form a separate union between themselves called the confederate states of America. The 11 states did not support the idea of abolishing slavery and slave trade. They wanted to expand slavery to other states in the North but due to policy changes in the Northern states, expansion of slavery was not made possible. In the North, there 25 states that supported the union and the federal government lead by Abraham Lincoln. When Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the republican presidential candidate, his position on slavery was a little compromising and was not intended to make a complete abolition of slavery.
Hostility by the 11 southern states began in 1861. The confederate states attack the military in the North. The president responded by requesting volunteers to join the army and capture federal property. The southern states continued to make advancements in to the north. In 1862, their effort in Maryland became futile after they were defeated at the battle of Antietam. During this time the president, Abraham Lincoln made a goal of the war to completely end slavery. The second defeat came in 1863 at the battle of Gettysburg. In the same year, the union managed to weaken the confederate army further and divided the confederate into two by gaining full control of the Mississippi river. Since the union enjoyed large numbers, a victory was definite for them.
After the civil war, there was still a lot to be done in trying to bring the nation together. The nation was still divided into two: the North and the South. There were a lot of reconstruction amendments that had to take place that saw slavery coming to an end and the government redefining the rights of citizenship. This was then followed by the progressive era where there was a common call for social reforms and purification of the government. The progressive movement aimed at eliminating corruption in the government and ensuring there is equal rights for all citizens. During the same period was the second industrial revolution that saw several changes in the American labor force. Human beings were replaced by machines to increase effectiveness of the labor. There were also changes in technology, finance, production methods, transportation, communication and farming.
Reference list
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Fitzhugh, George. From The Blessings Of Slavery. 1857.
Hacker, David. U.S. Civil War Took Bigger Toll Than Previously Estimated, New Analysis Suggests. 21 September 2011.
Kelly, Charles. American Civilization 1607-1877. 21 April 2010.
Maier, Pauline, et al. Inventing America: A History Of The United States. New York: W. W Norton & Company, 2006.
Union Fire Company. the volunteer fire company of DC. Washington DC, 1839.
