Civil War Turning Point Essay

The American Civil war was from April 12, 1861 - May 26, 1865. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, also known as the North and the South. The cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing it. This was widely believed that it would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Decades of political slavery caused a major turning point because of the victory in the 1860 U.S. presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery’s expansion into the western territories. The Civil war was a contest marked by ferocity and frequency of battle. Over four years 237 named battles were fought, and many

States and local communities offered higher and higher cash bounces for white volunteers. In July 1863 there was a draft riot in New York City involving Irish Immigrants who signed up as citizens for the vote of the city's democratic political machine. Of the 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, which means only 50,663 had their service conscripted. On both sides, the draft laws were not popular. In the north, about 12,000 men evaded conscription, many fled to

There were many reasons for this including; not as many food supplies in cities, the failure of the southern railroads, loss of control of the main rivers, and many more reasons. In one of the first big battles in July 1861, a march by Union troops under the command of Major General Irvan Mcdowell on the Confederate forces. At first, the Union had the upper hand, nearly pushing confederate forces holding a defensive position. At first, Lee didn’t intend to surrender but planned to regroup at Appomattox station, where supplies were waiting, and then continue the war. Grant chased Lee and got ahead so when Lee’s army reached the village, they were surrounded. Lee decided that the fight was now hopeless, and surrendered his army on April 9, 1865. On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, who was a confederate sympathizer. Lincoln died early the next morning and his vice president Andrew Johnson was unharmed. On May 4, 1865, all remaining Confederate forces in Alabama, Louisiana, East of the Mississippi River, and Mississippi under Lieutenant General Richard Taylor surrendered. The confederate President, Jefferson Davis, was captured in Irwinsville, Georgia on May 10,