The Civil War was a brutal American conflict dating back to 1861 – 1865 that revolved around slavery and freedom. The shots of Fort Sumter, a small South Carolina Island, marked the beginning of the Civil War. The bloodiest conflict in American history was inevitable because the differences in human rights and living standards between the North and the South were too critical to remain unresolved.
The Civil War became the reason for horrific bloodshed on American soil. When the two sides fought, more than 620000 of 2.4 million soldiers sacrificed their lives (History, 2021). Historically, the conflict started when South Carolina seceded from the states and was followed by six other states, which as a result, formed the Confederate States of America (Cummings, 2017). It was the political response from the South against the election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery’s expansion into other US regions and supported abolitionist sentiment. Thus, the ultimate extinction of slavery or its growth became the war goal for each warring party.
Evaluating the necessity of the Civil War for the US starts by considering its causes. The main trigger of misunderstanding between the states was economic gaps between the states rather than purely a problem of slavery and freedom. The southern states relied heavily on slavery as the only source of their income was agriculture (History, 2021). Consequently, the enslaved people were responsible for crops such as tobacco and cotton while working on large-scale farms. In contrast, the Northern regions enjoyed the benefits of manufacturing and industry, thus, avoiding exploiting African Americans for their purposes. From South to North, the area alternated from village to city and from farm to factory (Parish, 2021). Men in the South looked at growing North exploiting their opportunities with admiration and envy. Terminating the boiling conflicts between the states was impossible as long as neither wanted to surrender regarding the entrenched economic inequality.
While the North and the South tried to compromise the opposing views, many enslaved people struggled. The only way to escape slavery was the Underground Road, where approximately 40000 enslaved people ran (Cummings, 2017). However, those who remained in the South regions rebelled to seize their freedom. For example, 250 cases of slave insurrections were recorded. This injustice faced by the enslaved people brought the “inevitability thesis” proposed by early historiography based on the traditional theory of the increasing institution of slavery (Eldridge, 2021). Its primary claim is that the Civil war was the expected outcome of the occurring conflicts. Thus, “the war could not have been avoided, and nothing could have prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths that would occur” (Eldridge, 2021, p. 56). It hints at the idea that the Civil War was mandatory in demolishing slavery.
However, the question of a peaceful solution to the problem remains vital because the Confederates could accept abolitionism and free the enslaved people without bloodshed. Nevertheless, the probability of such an outcome of events was too low since each side was aware of the risks and losses. For example, the southern part recognized the economic benefits of slavery, meaning that losing such an institution without battle would cause a dramatic economic crisis (Eldridge, 2021). Moreover, the Confederates were alarmed about the rapid growth and industrialization with the new prevailing ideals and concepts since their culture was rooted in American farms, simplicity, and self-sufficiency. The question concerning the risk of extinction of fundamental dogmas because of burgeoning cities and proliferating factories could never allow the Confederates to compromise without a fight.
Eventually, on April 9, the South, under Lee’s command, surrendered after the final attempt at resistance (History, 2021). Union, or the northern states, won the Civil War and marked the beginning of the Reconstruction era with the transformation of the states and legislative measures regarding freedom. The consequences of the Civil War justify that the conflict was inevitable because it should have resolved the urgent problems. Indeed, the enslaved people were not granted full citizenship rights in one moment since this historical phenomenon took longer.
If the US had avoided the Civil war for other decades, then the economic inequality in the area would have flourished, and the country would not have taken the leading role in the international scene. In such a case, “the evil, injustice, and degradation of the Northern capitalist society” would have been contrasted with the “harmony and stability of the slave-holding South” (Parish, 2020, p. 13). Moreover, the conflict became an eye-opening experience for the world, affecting the policy of racial and national equality in the countries. Thus, eliminating the problems that withheld America’s development influenced the Civil War’s emergence.
To conclude, the Civil War was necessary for the country’s economic and racial revolution. The conflict around freedom and human rights would not be eliminated even if one of the warring parties surrendered as it touched the country’s critical issues of human rights, agriculture and manufacturing, and economic equilibrium. The civil war preserved the integrity of the state, preventing the possibility of losing the southern areas despite millions of deaths.
References
Cummings, Judy. (2017). The Civil War: The struggle that divided America. Nomad Press. Web.
Eldridge, B. M. (2021). The ever-evolving historiography of the American Civil War. Graduate Review, 1(1), 7. 54–61. Web.
History. (2021). Civil War. Web.
Parish, P. J. (2020). The American Civil War. Routledge. Web.