Sectionalism and the Civil War

In the year 1861 the civil war began in the United States, the north and south declared war on each other over authority and the law to end slavery. Even though both northers and southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Southerners defend their own right to self-government and Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves. It was then when everything would change the future of our nation and the way they saw the world. The union party was led by Abraham Lincoln and the Confederacy was led by Jefferson Davis, it was not a regular war and it went onto costing the lives of 625,000 individuals during the entire war.

The American civil war had by far the greater impact on the American society and polity more than any other even in the entire history of the United States. It was one of the deathliest wars that would go on to take the lives of 2% of the population during that time. Comparing it to today’s numbers the lives lost to that war would reach 6 million, which is more than any other war fought by the Unite States of America. In the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland in September the casualties of American soldiers exceeded the amount of casualties the United States had in the 19th century combined. One must ask as to why did the confederate and the union fought each other with such ferocity during that time.

It all started at the end of the Mexican-American war which left an unanswered question for the people of the country on whether the new seceded land form Mexico would be pro slavery or against. It is here where a major turning point that would go onto changing the history of the nation forever developed. There were people in the congress from both sides that had different ideas as to how to deal with the territories won from Mexico. On one side there were the northerner congress men arguing that all the new territory should exclude any kind of slavery, while the southern congressmen argue that their slave property into any state or territory in the United States. Then California decides to join the union as a free state and the balance of free and slave states would begin to shift. Years later to try to maintain the peace and from keeping the south form seceding from the nation a set of compromises were passed in congress to calm everyone down and one of the main one was the Missouri compromise, but it was only a means to postpone the final showdown between the north and the south. The Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854 would be the final compromise that would be passed and the one that would fully separate the north and the south because it would allow them to decide for themselves using popular sovereignty whether be free or slave states.

All of those events would be deciding points for the civil war to happen because there was always a feeling of distrust between the pro-slave and anti-slave states after decades of division between both of them. By the time Abraham Lincoln became president, the nation was divided and it was a t the brink of war. Many people from both sides felt that their laws were just and as soon as the compromises were passed by congress, over time it seemed as if both sides started a race to see which one could claim more territory that would be part of their cause because it would be a way to show the majority rules, but it was not the case because all those compromises did were just to prevent the states to secede right away. It created many difference among the people while bring out the main issue and address it head on, which was the way the two sides viewed slavery.

The other issue that the compromises cause and the reason why I believe it to be part of a turning point is that it started to regulate the slavery across the western states over a 40 year period it laid groundwork for many events and allowing the new states to vote on their own as to whether to allow slavery or not. All of those new laws did not sit well with the south and it led to them to begin to seceded and to create their new government. Sectionalism started to become a thing across the nation composed of people that were loyal to their own part of the country. All of that led to more violent events and a lot of resentment on both sides that ended up spilling into politics and it caused political parties to break apart. All of this would lead to the South seceding from the Unites states and creating the confederate States igniting the war between the south and the north. Once Abraham Lincoln became president war became inevitable because he wanted to preserve a joint nation and to do it a war had to occur that it would change the course of history for the nation forever.

The civil war would go onto changing the course of the nation in the way that there were two distinct Americas before the war. The south being chivalric and slow –paced, the north being ambitious and always looking forward and all of the former slaves being free created a new America. More amendments were created, men were free individuals and everyone born in the United States became a citizen. Once the country was united again and became the land of opportunity because it paved the way for Americans to learn, live in ways that had been inconceivable in the previous years. A rapid economic growth began to happen and it opened the doors to immigrants all over the world and soon the nation began to develop more technologically advance. Two political parties were established and it became easier for people to vote and lastly it took a war between states to make us one nation and indivisible.

On one side there were the northerner congress men arguing that all the new territory should exclude any kind of slavery, while the southern congressmen argue that their slave property into any state or territory in the United States. Years later to try to maintain the peace and from keeping the south form seceding from the nation a set of compromises were passed in congress to calm everyone down and one of the main one was the Missouri compromise, but it was only a means to postpone the final showdown between the north and the south. Many people from both sides felt that their laws were just and as soon as the compromises were passed by congress, over time it seemed as if both sides started a race to see which one could claim more territory that would be part of their cause because it would be a way to show the majority rules, but it was not the case because all those compromises did were just to prevent the states to secede right away. All of this would lead to the South seceding from the Unites states and creating the confederate States igniting the war between the south and the north. Once Abraham Lincoln became president war became inevitable because he wanted to preserve a joint nation and to do it a war had to occur that it would change the course of history for the nation forever.

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