American Civil War:Causes of the War&Formation of National Government (Essay Sample)

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THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
The American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 remains a central event in America’s historical consciousness. The outcome of the war preserved America as a single nation and put an end to slavery that had created war and divisions in the country since its founding. The Civil War had the most significant impact on American society and its civil governance than any other event in history.
The Civil War erupted as a result of the uncompromising disagreements between the South (the slave states) and the North (the Free states or the Union) over the legitimacy of the central government to ban slavery in the regions that were yet to become states (Rees 4). In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, who had pledged to abolish slavery out of the regions, became the president on a Republican ticket. Seven slave states withdrew from the Union and together created the Confederate States of America. President Lincoln’s administration and many other Northern sympathizers did not recognize the secession and dreaded it would derail the call for democracy. Several other states joined the Confederacy, and the secession and a series of other events led to the war between the South and the North (Hummel 2).
The Civil War contributed immensely to America’s political and economic development. The defeat of the Confederacy created the path for the strengthening of the national government. American modern nation-making actions evolved in the context of the Civil War (Hummel 32). The creation of a stable national government was necessary to secure a united nation, and the North was highly committed to maintaining an intact government as envisioned in the Constitution. The end of the Civil War affirmed the federal government’s control over the states and put an end to the debate about state’s rights. The national government took up more significant roles as a result of industrialization and globalization. The American economy became an industrial one and the federal government was better placed in dealing with the transformation than the states (Capek 23).
The American Civil War brought an end to slavery in America. The South and North had different views on slavery. The South or the Confederacy depended mainly on slave labor for production in the cotton plantations and were much against the abolishment of slavery (Capek 8). In 1862, the American Congress passed two confiscation acts which allowed the Union forces to legitimately take slaves used by the Southerners during the rebellion and also declared slaves as free people (Capek 11). The presidential proclamation and constitutional amendments that abolished slavery played a crucial role in the nation-building process. A war that had begun to preserve the Union turned out to be a struggle for emancipation and one of the notable revolutions in the nineteenth century.
The American Civil War became a significant occurrence in world history because Lincoln’s victory proved that democracy was not a bad idea