Introduction
During a war or a conflict between countries, there is a set goal for why soldiers are sent to battlegrounds and commit to fighting until they get a victory. For instance, the objectives can be motivated by either ideological or material gains. Nations have fought before due to disputes over who owns which piece of land, while others focused on changing some ideologies existing in a particular era. This is no different from the American Revolution and Civil War. While there was territorial expansion after the American Revolution, the main goal was ideological, which is gaining liberation. This can as well be seen during the Civil War whereby Abraham Lincoln identifies ending slavery as the goal. Therefore, despite material gains, the main motive behind the two battles was more about non-material benefits.
Discussion
The American Revolution and Civil War are two battles in the history of the United States whose goals were mainly ideological and not material. One can see that America gains more land or expands its territories and sovereignty while abolishing an act against human rights as well (Stourzh 162). It becomes easier to understand why the war started by looking at what was demanded at the end of the conflicts. For instance, on the one hand, after the American Revolution, during negotiations in France, an American delegation found that the country supported their liberation but without territorial gains (Stourzh 165). This was in the hope of confining the new state to an area of the Appalachian Mountains. The Americans opened direct secret discussions, leaving the French people out. The then British Prime Minister, Lord Shelburne, was responsible and in charge of the talks (Stourzh 168). He saw an opportunity to make the United States a valuable economic partner. Due to this, the British allowed the United States to gain land in the east of the Mississippi River but Spain remained in control of Florida.
In addition to the independence and land gained, the U.S. acquired fishing rights off the Canadian coasts as well. Shelburne predicted highly profitable two-way trade between the two countries, one which was established and another that was rapidly growing (Van Sang 52). The blockade was lifted, and every British interference was removed. The American traders were permitted to trade with any country in the world (Van Sang 53). The British mainly abandoned their indigenous allies, who were not part of the treaty, and failed to recognize it until they were defeated militarily by the United States (Van Sang 54). Nevertheless, the British did sell them munitions and maintained forts in American territory until 1795 (Van Sang 58). It is clear that from this war, the people involved in this battle aimed for more land and independence, that is, both material and ideological gains.
On the other hand, after the American Civil War, the United States is said to have had ideological gain, which consisted of abolition of slavery as the main goal. The battle was fought between the Confederacy and Union (Allin 65). Historians claim that a dispute of whether or not slavery should be expanded to the west was the cause of this war (Allin 67). The latter was believed to end the concept in the United States. Years of political controversy over slavery were brought to a halt by the victory in the 1860 United States presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who did not support slavery’s expansion into the west (Allin 69). An initial seven southern slave states reacted to the victory by withdrawing from the nation and forming the Confederacy in 1861.
The Confederacy was opposed to the idea of abolishing slavery, an ideological goal of this war. Led by Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President, the Confederacy eventually gained control over half of the country. Four years of intense combat ensued, mostly in the south (Allin 78). During the time between 1861 and 1862, the Union made major permanent gains even though the conflict was inconclusive (Allin 79). Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation at the beginning of 1863, demanding that all slaves in states that were in rebellion to be freed and made the abolition of slavery the war’s objective (Allin 81). This shows that the main motive behind the battle was ideological.
Conclusion
It is clear that the main motive behind American Revolution and Civil War was more about ideological gains than material gains. On the one hand, in the American Revolution, the people involved in the battle aimed for more land and independence, that is, both material and ideological gains. On the other hand, in the Civil War, ending slavery was the goal of the war. During the first strife, the United States had not gained freedom from the British and mainly aimed for independence and territorial expansion, as seen in peace negotiations. It is stated that an American delegation when in Paris, discovered that France supported their liberation but without territorial gains. They then shifted their efforts to discussions with the British, which had better results. The country obtained all the land east of the Mississippi River, in addition to sovereignty. After the Civil War, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, in which he commanded that slaves be released. All this proves that the individuals responsible for the two wars were more concerned about ideologies than material gain.
Works Cited
Allin, Lawrence C. “The Civil War and the Period of Decline: 1861-1913.” America’s Maritime Legacy: A History of the US Merchant Marine and Shipbuilding Industry Since Colonial Times. Routledge, 2019, p. 65–110. Web.
Stourzh, Gerald. “The American Revolution, modern constitutionalism, and the protection of human rights.” Truth and Tragedy. Routledge, 2020, p. 162–176. Web.
Van Sang, Nguyen. “The Reconstruction of the British-American Relations: From the American Revolutionary War to the War of 1812.” UED Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Education, vol. 9, no.5, 2019, p. 50–58. Web.