Civil War Dbq

The Civil War is a central event in America's historical background. Though the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 determined how the nation would pursue its future. The war resolved two questions left unresolved by the Revolution: whether the United States was to be a confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government, and whether this nation would have the agreement that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, or would the nation continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world. The Civil War consisted of many different battles that impacted both the north and south, such as the Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Antietam,

Antietam was recorded as the bloodiest battle in the history of the Civil War. This was the first battle to be fought on northern soil. It started when Robert E. Lee, the southern general, was invading the north for the first time, in search of a victory. His opposer, Union General Mcclellan, had a soldier who had found the battle map and caused a major turn in the battle. The following quotes are the perception that historians believe the North had felt before and after this battle, “At no time since the war commenced did the cause of the Union look more dark and despairing than one week ago, on September 21, 1862, but after Antietam, “at no time since the first gun was fired have the hopes of the nation seemed in such a fair way of realization as they do today.” The Confederacy, on the other hand, was disheartened, and the Confederate secretary of war reported that Davis was “very low down after the battle of Sharpsburg.” (history.com). Lincoln had a very good way of keeping a good mindset for the north. He didn’t want to free all the slaves, because he had no jurisdiction over the south, but he wanted to prevent further slavery from occurring. This hard-fought battle, which drove Lee’s forces from Maryland, gave Lincoln the “victory” that he needed before delivering the Emancipation Proclamation. This battle truly helped the north, and shaped America into the country it is