History

Compare and contrast the causes of the Civil War with the goals of Reconstruction. Was the era of Reconstruction successful?

ANSWER

American Civil War

In 1861, the United States was hit by its most catastrophes as the northern and southern states did not engage in any social, economical, and political activities. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 resulted into a number of southern states withdrawing and creating the Confederate States of America; other states joined them, which made it more robust. It is one of the most fatal and expensive warfare ever fought in American, where millions of soldiers and civilians were murdered, and much of the South destroyed. After approximately four years of fighting, the union was reinstated through arms, and reforming the union was as problematic as fighting the war. Also, assisting freedmen and forming state governments loyal to the merger was hard. The paper will thus compare and contrast the causes of the civil war and discuss whether the period of reconstruction was successfully achieved.

Compare and Contrast the Causes of the Civil War

It is clear that one major cause of the civil war was the election of Abraham Lincoln since the political affairs of the day were as chaotic as the anti-slavery movements. Lincoln headed the Republican Party, and Stephen Douglas was leveled as his greatest competitor. The nation’s division was evident on Election Day, where Lincoln championed the North, Breckenridge the South, and Bell the Border States (Kelly). On the other hand, Douglas headed only to Missouri and parts of New Jersey. The most shocking action happened when about a quarter of the country’s army surrendered in Texas, which set a stage for the deadliest war in American history. The growth of the abolition movement was another cause of the divide between the North and South Americans. Several abolitionists took less peaceful procedures to the fight against slavery. The famous novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” acted as an eye-opener to the reality of enslavement.

On the other hand, while Lincoln and slavery’s election were the primary causes of the war; different cultural and political differences between the South and the North also contributed to the war. In the mid 19th century, when the country experienced constant development, a tremendous economic difference prevailed between its southern and northern areas. In the North, developed and companies were recognized, and farming was frequently inadequate to small-scale farmers, while the South’s financial system was centered on a structure of great scale agricultural which relied on the labor of Black confined individuals to grow given crops more so tobacco and cotton. Increasing abolitionist reactions in the North after the 1830s and northern resistance to slavery’s expansion into the innovative western territories made numerous Southerners fear slavery in America.

Era of Reconstruction

Reconstruction only emerged successful in that it reinstated the United States as a unified country. By 1877, the entire past associate states had designed fresh amendments, embraced the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth adjustments, and promised to remain loyal to the government. The reconstruction also resolved the state’s rights vs. federalism conversation, a problem since the 1790s. However, reconstruction attempts were unsuccessful by several other perspectives. The radical republican policy was unable to safeguard previous slaves from white harassment and did not engender essential modifications to the South’s social fabric (Bradley). When President Hayes retracted the South’s federal troops in 1877, the preceding confederate leaders and slave holders nearly regained power. With the help of a conventional supreme court, the lately authoritarian white southern politicians approved voter education plus other anti-aggressive rules to overturn the freedoms which blacks had achieved during drastic reconstruction.

During the 1873 depression, northern electorates were less attracted in fighting for the restoration initiatives. Joblessness increased to approximately 16 percent, and money was insufficient. With the increase in financial difficulties, northerners had limited time to agonize about assisting past slaves or reconnecting southern states into the union. Also, the Republican Party’s holding to detested, stern fiscal regulations in reply to the despair allowed the Democratic Party to make enormous political advantages, thus increasing the end of restoration. Even though the resumption act enhanced the economic status in the long run, it formed more challenging times in both the South and north in the short-run (Randall & Donald, 2016). The resumption policy was republican driven, so democrats capitalized on its popularity to initiate firm support for their party. This led to popularity, which led into election success that allowed democrats to repossess the South thus closing the reconstruction attempts.

Conclusion

The civil war caused extreme loss to the United States of America, including the death of both military and civilians. The election of Republican Abraham Lincoln to the presidency contributed majorly to this war’s rise, and the reconstruction process did not meet its intended objectives.  Even the African American soldiers were still forced into segregated units, with only a few achieving top ranks. With a way of life sudden in age-old beliefs of white superiority and the agricultural market that relied on enslaved individuals’ labor, the southern states considered enslavement as significant to their daily survival.

Works Cited

Bradley, Mark L. The Army and Reconstruction, 1865-1877. Vol. 75. No. 18. Center of Military History, United States Army, 2015.

Kelly, Martin. “Understanding the 4 Main Issues That Led to the American Civil War.” 21 July 2020. Web. 02 Dec. 2020.

Randall, James Garfield, and David Donald. The civil war and reconstruction. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016.