A single cause for the Civil War cannot be fixated on a single issue, rather it is vital to understand that multiple variations in the North and South’s politics, society, and economy all culminated to a point where war was deemed necessary. In addition, these variations existed long before the years leading up to the Civil War - the geographical constraints presented to the colonists created the different identities of the North and South. Years later, the conjunction of these differences and the attempt to unify contrasting regions lead to the Civil War. In essence, the differences in culture, race, and gender between the North and South ultimately created the Confederate States of America who waged war against the United States. A society …show more content…
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 established the legalities of determining whether a territory should be a slave or free state, but in the decade prior to the Civil War, multiple events like the Dred Scott Decision and the annexation of California essentially nullified the compromise. This issue highlighted the difference in the South’s perception of government, and what the government should be able to govern. More explicitly, the South believed it was a state’s right to declare their status as a slave state, but the North thought otherwise. Overall, the south believed it was a violation of their rights for the government to intervene in their decision to expand or maintain slavery. Their argument held its validity as the 10th amendment of the Constitution states that, “the powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution... are reserved to the States… or to the people”. Despite this, the federal government, which was centralized in the North, still attempted to intervene, and as expected, this angered the South. In fact, in South Carolina’s Declaration of Secession, it was mentioned that the Constitution ordered the Federal Government to recognize that each state was equal and that they should have “separate control over its own institutions.” This highlights the South’s stricter and literal view of the Constitution while the North had a looser interpretation. Their concerns were …show more content…
In fact, women play a small role in the events leading to the Civil War and the result of the Civil War itself. There existed differences in a woman’s life when living in the North versus the South; such as, the opportunity to work in a factory. The South maintained its conservative culture which revolved around the dominance of the white man, and women had little role in society. Overall, opportunities presented itself in the North for women to integrate into society and be something besides being a staple to man. Regarding women in the civil war, their most substantial role consisted of being a spy; Harriet Tubman was the most famous Union spy. Although, female spies also existed in the Confederacy. Moreover, women had no say in any of the issues regarding the Civil War, and thus, they had no contribution to the war. Earlier in the century, women had an indirect role with the government through a concept referred to as Republican Motherhood, but in the mid-1800s, this concept was lost. In a broader sense, women throughout the whole United States was that they were largely disregarded; however, the South’s culture encouraged the mistreatment of women. Despite the constant oppression women faced in the North, they were still presented with ample opportunities to contribute to society. In conclusion, Southern leaders
The Civil War, fought mostly by men, is often referred to as the war of brother against brother. Although there were a few women who engaged in the battles alongside the men, the number was very small and their direct contribution to battle was probably not very significant. This is not to say that women were not important to the Civil War. Women were very influential in the national crisis and their contributions were arguably just as important as the male soldier’s on the battlefield. On both sides of the war, women employed their strength, intelligence, and compassion in the critical roles of abolitionists, civil right’s advocates, nurses and spies.
Many women made direct contributions to the American Civil War efforts as nurses, spies, government employees, factory workers, and members of aid societies. Women’s responsibilities during the Civil War increased enormously. Women also contributed to the war effort, collecting supplies for the troops and working as nurses, spies, and scouts. White Georgia women took an active and educated part in the movement to separate the South from the North. Some formed aid societies, which were groups that raised money and collected food, clothing, medicine, and other supplies for the troops or for wounded soldiers and their families.
American History - Final This paper will explore the challenges of “total war” for the North and South during the Civil War and what impact the war had on society. The Civil War also known as” the war between the states” began in the spring of 1861 when the Confederate army attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The war developed because of long standing issues people had with slavery and state’s rights. The Civil War was considered to be one of America’s most deadliest and first “true industrial war.”
However, on the other hand, I also strongly believe in the preservation of the Union. I do not think just because a state or region does not get their way they are somehow justified in secession. The Southern leaders had the same, and, as you pointed out in the second class, often greater, representation in the federal government. Their ultimate secession reason was fundamentally wrong and immoral, in my opinion. But secession can always be viewed that way: some see the justification as righteous and some as ridiculous.
The Civil War was a defining moment in the history of the United States. It is well known that many men served and died as soldiers, but women also played an important role in winning the war and supporting the men. Northern women as well as Southern women served our country as spies, nurses, and secret soldiers. As spies, some women went undercover to find new information to provide to the sergeants. As nurses, women would help to cure wounded soldiers and take care of them in the infirmaries located at the bases.
On the other hand, many question why women had the oppurtunites to be spies in this time period when they had many other general restrictions. However, women were well fit for the job being due to the fact that they could be trusted and were not threatening to others (soldiers) in war. It is also true that women would have to volunteer for the job while a very few percentage of spies were recruited by spymasters. Typically in the Civil War women spies were young, white, and umarried. They also tend to be more attractive, charming, and intelligent which are all the necessary charcteristics when gathering all of the information from soldiers.
According to history.com, “More then 400 women disguised themselves as men and fought in the Union and Confederate armies during the civil war” (“history.com staff”). The military strategies and women played a role in the Union’s victory over the Confederacy. The Union’s army just about doubled in size of the Confederate army, which gave the North a greater advantage over the South helping to utilized military strategies. The women helped the Union with everything they needed as well as worked as nurses. However women helped the Union a lot throughout the war, but military strategies played a greater role in the war outcome than women did.
How would you feel if you were let out of a cage just to be locked in another room? This feeling was felt by many of the blacks after they were freed in the 1850's. These blacks were mostly ex-slaves or their children. There were about 476,000 free African Americans at the time. A little less than half of these lived in the Northern part of America.
constitution that allows “to protect domestic producers from foreign competitors” (Hummel 15). The South in general did not like the idea of federal government denying state rights and South Carolina backed by John C. Calhoun nullified this tariff by calling it unconstitutional, oppressive, and unjust (Hummel 15). State rights go hand and hand with slavery and new territories into the Union at the time. Slavery increasingly divided the nation after the war of 1812. This made it very hard for states entering the union to decide to be either a free state or a slave state.
From the early years of America till the time of the Civil War, women were commonly considered to be weak and meek. Before the American Civil War, women were also considered to be very dependent on men. Men were the ones who made the money and worked for a living. Women were often in the home and taking care of their family and their house. It was very surprising when a woman would try to become more independent such as Harriet Tubman, who left her husband in order to help free the slaves.
Female Confederate Spies Ever since the establishment of the new world, women have held less power and privileges than men. As history progressed, the female role began to change. During the American Revolution, women supported the war by providing blankets and care for the hurt soldiers. In the Civil War, women took on new roles in the fight that were not as innocent as the jobs in the preceding events.
Women were viewed as the weaker sex. They were thought to be fragile and dependent. Gender roles were strictly divided with the woman placed firmly in the home, in charge of domestic tasks and childcare. However, when their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers joined the military during the Civil War, many women obtained new roles at home. Others decided to assist the war effort as nurses, spies and even soldiers.
However, this struggle of political power had a significant continuity as Southern states during the antebellum period advocated for states’ rights with the so-called ‘theory of nullification’ that was actually a primary cause of the Civil War. Consequently, the Reconstruction era showed what kind of political role the Southern states actually had during the post-war period, and a perfect piece of evidence is the landmark case of Texas v. White (1869), which argued that Texas had never seceded because there was no provision of the Constitution for a state to secede, giving the federal government a stronghold of power to keep the states under its
Some women focused on nursing wounded soldiers and smuggling information. Others directly fought or helped to free slaves. Whatever their goal, their social class had a large effect on the
Two fundamental questions normally surround the history of any war: whether the war was inevitable and if it was necessary. These same questions emerge any time during debates regarding the American Civil war. The most cited cause of the Civil war is the secession of certain southern states that formed the Confederate States of America in January 1861. Thomas Bonner writes "Civil War Historians and the "Needless War" Doctrine" arguing that Southern Carolina seceded in 1860, followed by six other states by January the following year. A deep analysis of the events leading to the war indicates that the Union and the Confederates had profound ideological, economic, political, and social differences.