Civil war

​Civil War

By Kathleen Oehler

​The American Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865, was a conflict between the Union (Northern states) and the Confederacy (eleven Southern states that seceded) over the fundamental issues of slavery and the power of the federal government. The Union victory preserved the United States as a single nation and led to the abolition of slavery nationwide. Causes Decades of simmering sectional tensions over economic differences, cultural values, and states' rights reached a boiling point over the issue of African American slavery. The industrial North and the agrarian South, heavily dependent on enslaved labor for crops like cotton, grew increasingly apart. The election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories, triggered the secession of Southern states, who feared their institution would be put on a path to extinction. The conflict formally began when Confederate forces bombarded the Union's Fort Sumter in April 1861. Key Events The war featured major battles and strategic campaigns that ultimately wore down the Confederacy, which had fewer resources and a smaller population than the Union. First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas): The first major battle in July 1861, which dispelled Northern hopes for a quick victory. Battle of Antietam: The bloodiest single day in American history (September 1862), after which Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, making the abolition of slavery a central war goal. Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg: Considered the war's major turning points in July 1863; the Union victory at Gettysburg ended Confederate invasions of the North, while the capture of Vicksburg gave the Union control of the entire Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy in two. Sherman's March to the Sea: Union General William T. Sherman's campaign through Georgia in late 1864, which employed "total war" tactics to destroy Southern infrastructure and morale. Outcome and Consequences The war effectively ended with Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. Preservation of the Union: The war confirmed that the United States was a single, indivisible nation, with federal law supreme over state law. Abolition of Slavery: The Union victory ensured the passage and ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865, which formally abolished slavery throughout the United States. Immense Human Cost: The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history, with estimates of total soldier deaths ranging from 700,000 to over 850,000, and millions more injured. Reconstruction Era: The war was followed by a complex and contentious period of Reconstruction to rebuild the South, reincorporate the former Confederate states, and address the rights of newly freed African Americans, leaving a lasting legacy of racial tensions and social division.