The Civil War was the culmination of nearly 40 years of tensions between the North and the South and the Reconstruction period helped build the states backup from war. It started when the southern states didn't want the North controlling them, so many southern states decided to break away and form their own country called the Confederacy. The North, however, wanted to stay as one united country; and so a war began. The Civil War, and the major events leading up to the war, lasted from 1860 to 1865. There were many events that led to the Civil war, but the election of Abraham Lincoln was one of the leading factors to the start of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was from the northern part of the country and wanted to put an end to slavery. …show more content…
When the Civil War finally began, most of the nation’s wealth was situated in the the North. The industrialization of the North would give Northerners an advantage in producing guns, bullets, and other materials needed for warfare. One of the most important gun inventions was the Gatling gun. It is the ancestor of the modern machine gun, it was the most successful of several rapid-fire guns that were born before the war. Richard Gatling invented the gun in the hopes that a weapon so catastrophic in its damage would convince men to stop waging war. Unfortunately, its efficiency in killing only made war more deadly. ‘It saw only limited use in the Civil war” (Doc 3). The production of guns, bullets,and other materials were crucial in the war, but the how quickly the materials got to the North and South was very important. The Northern railway system was way more effective to the existing railways in the South. “The Civil War was the first war to use railroads, encouraged by President Lincoln — himself a former railroad lawyer — who understood how vital they were for moving men and supplies. The trains allowed generals to move their soldiers, supplies and armaments to where they were most needed.” (Doc 5). These inventions were crucial to the Civil War and some are still used in today’s everyday