Historical Event Position Paper

Obviously there are tons of events that happened from the pre-Columbian age to 1877
that has been ton of significant events that have pushed America to where we are today, but to
me one of the most important events was the Civil War. The Civil War was one of the most
deadliest times in American history because in no other war have we lost so many American
lives but it also pushed us to different events throughout American history that has changed
America for the better.
Tons of different events pushed the American Civil War into action but one of the most
notable events that we all know is when the Southern States started to secede from the nation.
The first state to leave the nation was South Carolina on December 20, 1860 and soon after that
ten other states would eventually leave the Union and they would all form the Confederate States
of America. After the Southern States seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate
States of America, the American Civil War started on April 12, 1861.
So lets talk politics. Right before the Civil War the Republican Party was created and
they havent even existed for a decade. The Republican Party was split in two during the Civil
War with one side who saw the war was a way to get rid of slavery once and for all with America
and the other side wanted to keep the union together while letting slavery be legal within the
country where it already was. The Democratic Party was also split. The Democrats wanted to
keep peace within America, even if that involved letting the Southern States leave and become
the Confederate States of America. The other side of the Democratic Party agreed with the
Republicans that they wanted to keep the Union as a whole, they just didnt agree with how
Abraham Lincoln viewed and handled the War. There were other forms of politics that were hit
with the Civil War besides the Political Party.
When it comes to the economy during the American Civil War, it did play a factor. When
you look at the Northern States, they were mainly industrial based which helped them a lot
during the war and it did give them a huge advantage. When you look at the Southern States,
they were mainly based of cash crops and agriculture which didnt really help them in the long
run. Up in the north, since the economy was mainly industrial based it helped them a lot in many
different ways. Since everything up there is industrial, the North had a great big rail network that
helped them out. The South also had a railroad system down there but it didnt cover as much
ground as what the Northern States did and thats because the Northern Railway was more
extensive. The North also had a lot more factories that helped supply the Union Army with what
they needed for the war and the South did not have the luxury which hurt the Confederate Army.
So when you look at the economic system during the Civil War, the North and the Union Army
had the upper hand because they hand the factories to make the weapons for them and they also
had food to supply for their army. They also had the railroads that helped shipped their supplies
and troops around and get them to where they need to be at a fast pace and also cheap as well.
Since the South economy was based on cash crops like cotton and tobacco this hurt them in the
long run of the war.
When it comes to the Civil War, it included hundreds and thousands of people across the
nation and some of these people played an important part in it, for example there were the
Presidents of the North and the South which were Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, there
were important generals like Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson and then
there were the people who worked with the underground railroad like Harriet Tubman and
Frederick Douglass.
When it comes to the Presidents of both the North and the South, both Abraham Lincoln
and Jefferson Davis played important parts during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson
Davis were the faces of their respected sides. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were both in
charge of their armies and pointing out who would run them. It took President Lincoln awhile to
find somebody who could help him run the army but eventually he ran into Ulysses S. Grant who
would help Abraham Lincoln run the Union Army like he wanted too. Jefferson Davis had great
military generals on his side of the line like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The only
difference between Davis and his generals and Abraham Lincoln and his generals is that
Jefferson Davis wanted his generals to run his army for him. Other people who played important
roles were Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Harriet Tubman before the Civil War spent
a good majority of her time running the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, she still
helped out the Underground Railroad but she also helped out the Union Army and the North by
becoming a nurse, a cook, and a spy. The Union wanted her help because she knew the land well
because she helped out with the railroad. Frederick Douglass also played a big part in the war
because he was a consultant for President Abraham Lincoln. Before the Civil War, Frederick
Douglass was well known for his public speaking. After the war began he started to work with
Abraham Lincoln and helped convinced him that slaves could help in the war and help bring
slavery to an end.
The Civil War a major event in American history that helped bring America to what it is
today. The Civil War eventually came to an end on May 26, 1865 and all the Southern States
came back to the Union. The Civil War was the start that people were starting to see everybody
as equal because it got rid of slavery within the country. It also started to push us towards the
Civil Rights Movement because we started giving African-American Men the right to vote and
some other freedoms but a good majority of people still treated them horribly. Even though the
Civil War was the deadliest moment in American history, I still believe that it did a lot for our
country and pushed us forward to a better day and age.
 Reflection
The American Civil War happened over 150 years ago. Some people think that it is just a
part of our history that should be left in the past and others think that the Civil War still hold
relevance in how we live our daily lives. The American Civil War was an important event in
American history and it still holds tons of relevance today. When people think of the Civil
Rights Movement here in America, some of the first things that come to mind are Martin Luther
King Jr. and Rosa Parks and what they did with the Civil Rights, but the fight for Civil Rights
was started long before that. The fight for Civil Rights was going on way before the American
Civil War but the Civil War pushed the Civil Rights Movement into gear. The reason why I say
that is because one of the huge outcomes at the end of the Civil War was the abolishment of
slavery within the United States. Obviously there were other things that came out of the Civil
War but freeing the slaves one the most notable. When the United States abolished slavery and
gave African-Americans the chance to live a free life was a huge step for America. It gave
African-Americans freedoms and lives that they thought that they would never live. It gave them
the right to be free, it gave them equal rights, and it also gave them the opportunity to vote in the
United States.
So why is the Civil War still relevant? The American Civil War gave freedoms to
African-Americans who lived in the United States. Even though it gave African-Americans
freedoms that they were glad that had, they didnt really get to practice them. Racism was a big
problem before the Civil War and it was still a big problem after the war. After the war, African-
Americans got tons of freedoms that the people of America already had but the difference was is
that there were tons of African-Americans that were scared to even use them. Racist groups
started to pop up around the country like the Ku Klux Klan and they were putting fear in the
African-American community. Even though a large portion of the community was scared to do
anything, there were people who were willing to stand up and fight for their cause and to be
treated as equals to everybody else. During the 1900s Martin Luther King Jr. and other big
names in the Civil Rights Movement started to pop up and fight for equal rights for everybody
throughout the United States. After the Civil Rights Movement, a lot of things have changed
throughout America. It ended segregation and gave equality to everyone. A lot of people think
that segregation and racism has gone away completely within our country, but it has never gone
away. It might have gotten better but racism has never left. There are still great big Civil Rights
Movements going on today when it comes to the blacks, Muslims, and even gender inequality.
Even though it is still here, we are still fighting for equal rights and freedoms for everybody and
that is why the Civil War is still relevant today.
Even though the Civil War ended over 150 years ago, the effects of it and its cause still
play an important role for me today. Even though there is still tons of racism within our country
and around the world, there are people who see everybody as equals and that is how I view the
world. I view everybody on our planet as an equal because no matter what and how you look at
it, we are all the same on the inside. It does matter what color you are or what religion you
believe in or what your sexual preference is, in the end we are all human and nothing is going to
change that. One thing that I think about though, is what if the Civil War never happened.
Would we be where we are today when it comes to freedom and equality or would we still be
thinking like how we did during the Civil War. Overall, I found this topic really interesting and
it kind of fun to think about how we got to where we are all today.
 Sources
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