an essay on the civil war

Home — Essay Samples — History — History of the United States — Civil War

Essays on Civil War

Civil war essay topic examples.

The American Civil War is a significant part of our nation's past, filled with fascinating stories, debates, and events. Whether you want to argue, compare, describe, persuade, or narrate, we have a wide range of essay topics that will take you on a journey through this pivotal period in American history. Join us as we delve into the heart of the conflict, examine key figures, analyze strategies, vividly depict battles, and explore the moral imperatives that shaped the course of the Civil War. These essay topics will guide you on your historical voyage, offering insights into the complexities and enduring legacies of this era.

Argumentative Essays

Argumentative Civil War essays require you to analyze and present arguments related to this historical conflict. Here are some topic examples:

• 1. Argue whether the Civil War was primarily about slavery or states' rights.
• 2. Analyze the role of key political figures, such as Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis, in shaping the outcome of the Civil War.

Example Introduction Paragraph for an Argumentative Civil War Essay: The American Civil War stands as a monumental chapter in our nation's history, marked by conflicting ideologies and profound repercussions. In this essay, I will argue that at its core, the Civil War was a struggle over the institution of slavery and its implications for the United States.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for an Argumentative Civil War Essay: In conclusion, the argument for the centrality of slavery in the Civil War underscores its deep-rooted impact on our nation's evolution. As we reflect on this defining period, we are challenged to confront the enduring legacy of this conflict and its implications for our society today.

Compare and Contrast Essays

Compare and contrast Civil War essays involve examining the differences and similarities between various aspects of the conflict. Consider these topics:

• 1. Compare and contrast the strategies and leadership styles of Union and Confederate military commanders.
• 2. Analyze the impact of the Civil War on the lives of soldiers and civilians in the North and the South.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Compare and Contrast Civil War Essay: The American Civil War featured diverse military strategies and leadership styles, alongside varying experiences for those directly affected. In this essay, I will delve into the differences and similarities between Union and Confederate military commanders and the profound effects of the war on individuals on both sides of the conflict.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Compare and Contrast Civil War Essay: In conclusion, the comparison and contrast of military leaders and civilian experiences during the Civil War provide a multifaceted view of this historic event. As we examine these aspects, we gain a deeper appreciation for the complexities of this period in American history.

Descriptive Essays

Descriptive Civil War essays enable you to vividly depict events, battles, or notable figures from the era. Here are some topic ideas:

• 1. Describe the Battle of Gettysburg, emphasizing its pivotal role in the outcome of the war.
• 2. Paint a detailed portrait of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on his leadership qualities and the challenges he faced during the Civil War.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Descriptive Civil War Essay: The American Civil War witnessed significant battles and iconic figures that have left an indelible mark on our history. In this essay, I will immerse you in the vivid details of the Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the conflict, and provide a descriptive portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the leader who steered the nation through this tumultuous period.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Descriptive Civil War Essay: In conclusion, the descriptive exploration of the Battle of Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln's leadership underscores the indomitable spirit of a nation in crisis. As we reflect on these historical aspects, we gain insight into the resilience and determination that defined this era.

Persuasive Essays

Persuasive Civil War essays involve convincing your audience of a particular perspective or interpretation of the conflict. Consider these persuasive topics:

• 1. Persuade your readers that the Emancipation Proclamation was a turning point in the Civil War and a moral imperative.
• 2. Argue for or against the notion that the Reconstruction era effectively addressed the issues arising from the Civil War.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Persuasive Civil War Essay: The Emancipation Proclamation and the Reconstruction era represent critical chapters in the aftermath of the Civil War. In this persuasive essay, I will present the argument that the Emancipation Proclamation not only altered the course of the war but also marked a moral imperative in the struggle for freedom.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Persuasive Civil War Essay: In conclusion, the persuasive argument for the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation challenges us to acknowledge the moral dimensions of the Civil War. As we examine this transformative period, we are urged to consider the enduring impact of this historic document on the journey toward equality.

Narrative Essays

Narrative Civil War essays allow you to tell a compelling story from the perspective of a historical figure or a fictional character during the Civil War era. Explore these narrative essay topics:

• 1. Narrate a day in the life of a Civil War soldier, conveying the challenges and emotions they faced on the battlefield.
• 2. Imagine yourself as a journalist covering the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and recount your experiences and emotions during that historic event.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Narrative Civil War Essay: The American Civil War was a time of upheaval and turmoil, experienced firsthand by soldiers and civilians alike. In this narrative essay, I will transport you to the battlefield and the tumultuous events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, offering a personal perspective on these historical moments.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Narrative Civil War Essay: In conclusion, the narrative accounts of a Civil War soldier's life and a journalist's experiences during the Lincoln assassination bring history to life in a profoundly human way. As we immerse ourselves in these narratives, we gain a deeper appreciation for the individuals who lived through these tumultuous times and the resilience they displayed.

The Economic and Political Causes of The Civil War in The United States

Harriet tubmans greatest achievement, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

Advantages of The South in The Civil War

The 1861 to 1865 civil war between the northern and southern states of america, the civil war between the northern and southern states of america, the issues of state rights in the civil war, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

The Civil War in America

The civil war – a sectional fight between north and south, civil war reconstruction, reconstruction's disappointment after the civil war, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

African Americans During The Civil War

An analysis of the reason for participating in the american civil war, the factors of civil war according to oates, the battle in gettysburg during the american civil war, in fact, the problem of slavery in america was not the cause of the civil war, how elite's efforts to maintain their social status has influenced the civil war, the north won the deadliest american civil war, civil war causes: westward expansion, compromise failure & south’s fear, the role of women spies in the civil war, was reconstruction a success or failure, historical memory and historical narrative in spain, free compare and contrast the two poetry sets portraying war, a research of harriet tubman – a heronie in the struggle against slavery, world war i as a turning factor in african history, the role of systemic oppression in shaping civil wars, plot summary and review of liberty's fire, the story of first lieutenant thomas jonathan jackson, the civil war and what it meant for arkansas, cotton and the civil war, an alternative side of the civil war in cold mountain by charles frazier.

April 12, 1861 - April 26, 1865

United States

Confederate States of America, United States

Battle of Antietam, Fort Pillow Massacre, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack, Battle of Monocacy

Abraham Lincoln, who served as the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln's leadership and steadfast commitment to preserving the Union were instrumental in guiding the Northern states to victory. General Robert E. Lee, who served as the commander of the Confederate Army. Lee's military prowess and strategic genius earned him respect even among his adversaries. Clara Barton, known as the "Angel of the Battlefield," made a lasting impact as a nurse and humanitarian during the war. She later founded the American Red Cross, which continues to provide humanitarian assistance worldwide.

The American Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865, was a defining moment in the history of the United States. It emerged from a complex set of circumstances and prerequisites that spanned several decades. One of the primary prerequisites was the issue of slavery. The institution of slavery had long been a divisive issue between the Northern and Southern states. The expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories, such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, heightened tensions and fueled regional conflicts. Economic differences also played a significant role. The Northern states had undergone rapid industrialization, while the Southern states relied heavily on agriculture, particularly cotton production. This led to differing priorities and conflicting interests between the two regions. Political factors, such as debates over states' rights and the balance of power between the federal government and the states, further exacerbated the tensions. The election of Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860, who opposed the expansion of slavery, intensified the divide and prompted several Southern states to secede from the Union. The historical context of the American Civil War was characterized by deep-rooted divisions over slavery, economic disparities, and political conflicts. These factors ultimately culminated in a devastating conflict that reshaped the nation's history and had long-lasting consequences for both the United States and the institution of slavery.

One of the most significant effects was the abolition of slavery. The Civil War served as a catalyst for the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared slaves in Confederate territories to be free. Ultimately, the war led to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865, officially abolishing slavery nationwide. The Civil War also had far-reaching political consequences. It solidified the power of the federal government over the states and established the supremacy of the United States as a single, indivisible nation. The conflict clarified the relationship between the federal and state governments, paving the way for the expansion of federal authority in subsequent years. Moreover, the war's aftermath brought about significant social and cultural changes. Reconstruction efforts aimed to rebuild and integrate the Southern states into the Union, but the process was marked by challenges, resistance, and the rise of racial segregation. These struggles set the stage for the civil rights movement in the following century. Economically, the war transformed the United States into a more industrialized nation. The demand for supplies and weaponry during the war accelerated industrialization in the North. Additionally, the emancipation of slaves created a labor force that contributed to the country's economic growth.

In the Union states, there was a prevailing sentiment that the war was necessary to preserve the Union and end the institution of slavery. Many Northerners supported the cause, viewing it as a fight for justice and the preservation of the nation's democratic ideals. Abolitionists and those who opposed the expansion of slavery were particularly vocal in their support of the Union cause. In the Confederate states, public opinion leaned towards defending their perceived rights to self-governance and the institution of slavery. The idea of states' rights and the defense of Southern traditions resonated strongly among many Southerners. They believed in the necessity of secession to protect their way of life and preserve their economic system. Public opinion within individual communities could also vary. Families were often divided, with some members fighting for the Union and others for the Confederacy. People in border states, such as Kentucky and Missouri, experienced particularly complex and nuanced views due to their proximity to both sides. Over time, public opinion on the Civil War has evolved. The war's causes and consequences have been reevaluated and interpreted through different lenses, leading to ongoing discussions and debates. Today, the Civil War is widely recognized as a pivotal moment in American history, with public opinion encompassing a range of perspectives that continue to shape our understanding of the conflict.

Films: "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Glory" (1989), "Lincoln" (2012). Literature: "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane, "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier, "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara.

The topic of the American Civil War holds immense importance for academic exploration and essay writing due to its significant impact on American history and society. This conflict, fought between the Northern and Southern states from 1861 to 1865, centered on fundamental issues like slavery, states' rights, and the preservation of the Union. Studying the American Civil War allows us to delve into the complexities of the nation's past and comprehend the deep-rooted divisions that led to this brutal conflict. It provides a platform to analyze the moral, political, and socioeconomic factors that shaped the war's outcomes and repercussions. Furthermore, exploring the Civil War fosters a deeper understanding of the struggle for civil rights and the long-lasting consequences that continue to shape the United States today. By examining primary sources, historical narratives, and varying perspectives, essays on the American Civil War can shed light on pivotal events, influential figures, military strategies, and the experiences of individuals affected by the war. It offers an opportunity to critically analyze the causes, motivations, and legacies of this watershed moment in American history, ultimately contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the nation's past and its ongoing pursuit of equality and justice.

1. Foner, E. (2010). The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. W. W. Norton & Company. 2. McPherson, J. M. (1988). Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press. 3. McPherson, J. M. (2003). Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam. Oxford University Press. 4. McPherson, J. M. (2007). This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War. Oxford University Press. 5. Miller, R. J. (2003). Lincoln and His World: The Civil War Era. University of Nebraska Press. 6. Oakes, J. (2012). Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865. W. W. Norton & Company. 7. Potter, D. M. (1990). The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861. Harper Perennial. 8. Robertson, J. I. (2002). Civil War: America Becomes One Nation. DK Publishing. 9. Symonds, C. L. (2001). The American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg. HarperCollins. 10. Ward, G. C. (1990). The Civil War: An Illustrated History. Alfred A. Knopf.

Relevant topics

• Great Depression
• Civil Rights Movement
• Manifest Destiny
• Pearl Harbor
• Industrial Revolution
• American Revolution
• Westward Expansion
• Imperialism

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 20, 2023 | Original: October 15, 2009

The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War Between the States, as the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin.

Causes of the Civil War

In the mid-19th century, while the United States was experiencing an era of tremendous growth, a fundamental economic difference existed between the country’s northern and southern regions.

In the North, manufacturing and industry was well established, and agriculture was mostly limited to small-scale farms, while the South’s economy was based on a system of large-scale farming that depended on the labor of Black enslaved people to grow certain crops, especially cotton and tobacco.

Growing abolitionist sentiment in the North after the 1830s and northern opposition to slavery’s extension into the new western territories led many southerners to fear that the existence of slavery in America —and thus the backbone of their economy—was in danger.

Did you know? Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jackson earned his famous nickname, "Stonewall," from his steadfast defensive efforts in the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas). At Chancellorsville, Jackson was shot by one of his own men, who mistook him for Union cavalry. His arm was amputated, and he died from pneumonia eight days later.

In 1854, the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act , which essentially opened all new territories to slavery by asserting the rule of popular sovereignty over congressional edict. Pro- and anti-slavery forces struggled violently in “ Bleeding Kansas ,” while opposition to the act in the North led to the formation of the Republican Party , a new political entity based on the principle of opposing slavery’s extension into the western territories. After the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case (1857) confirmed the legality of slavery in the territories, the abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry in 1859 convinced more and more southerners that their northern neighbors were bent on the destruction of the “peculiar institution” that sustained them. Abraham Lincoln ’s election in November 1860 was the final straw, and within three months seven southern states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas—had seceded from the United States.

Outbreak of the Civil War (1861)

Even as Lincoln took office in March 1861, Confederate forces threatened the federal-held Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. On April 12, after Lincoln ordered a fleet to resupply Sumter, Confederate artillery fired the first shots of the Civil War. Sumter’s commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered after less than two days of bombardment, leaving the fort in the hands of Confederate forces under Pierre G.T. Beauregard. Four more southern states—Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee—joined the Confederacy after Fort Sumter. Border slave states like Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland did not secede, but there was much Confederate sympathy among their citizens.

Though on the surface the Civil War may have seemed a lopsided conflict, with the 23 states of the Union enjoying an enormous advantage in population, manufacturing (including arms production) and railroad construction, the Confederates had a strong military tradition, along with some of the best soldiers and commanders in the nation. They also had a cause they believed in: preserving their long-held traditions and institutions, chief among these being slavery.

In the First Battle of Bull Run (known in the South as First Manassas) on July 21, 1861, 35,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson forced a greater number of Union forces (or Federals) to retreat towards Washington, D.C., dashing any hopes of a quick Union victory and leading Lincoln to call for 500,000 more recruits. In fact, both sides’ initial call for troops had to be widened after it became clear that the war would not be a limited or short conflict.

The Civil War in Virginia (1862)

George B. McClellan —who replaced the aging General Winfield Scott as supreme commander of the Union Army after the first months of the war—was beloved by his troops, but his reluctance to advance frustrated Lincoln. In the spring of 1862, McClellan finally led his Army of the Potomac up the peninsula between the York and James Rivers, capturing Yorktown on May 4. The combined forces of Robert E. Lee and Jackson successfully drove back McClellan’s army in the Seven Days’ Battles (June 25-July 1), and a cautious McClellan called for yet more reinforcements in order to move against Richmond. Lincoln refused, and instead withdrew the Army of the Potomac to Washington. By mid-1862, McClellan had been replaced as Union general-in-chief by Henry W. Halleck, though he remained in command of the Army of the Potomac.

Lee then moved his troops northwards and split his men, sending Jackson to meet Pope’s forces near Manassas, while Lee himself moved separately with the second half of the army. On August 29, Union troops led by John Pope struck Jackson’s forces in the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas). The next day, Lee hit the Federal left flank with a massive assault, driving Pope’s men back towards Washington. On the heels of his victory at Manassas, Lee began the first Confederate invasion of the North. Despite contradictory orders from Lincoln and Halleck, McClellan was able to reorganize his army and strike at Lee on September 14 in Maryland, driving the Confederates back to a defensive position along Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg.

On September 17, the Army of the Potomac hit Lee’s forces (reinforced by Jackson’s) in what became the war’s bloodiest single day of fighting. Total casualties at the Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg) numbered 12,410 of some 69,000 troops on the Union side, and 13,724 of around 52,000 for the Confederates. The Union victory at Antietam would prove decisive, as it halted the Confederate advance in Maryland and forced Lee to retreat into Virginia. Still, McClellan’s failure to pursue his advantage earned him the scorn of Lincoln and Halleck, who removed him from command in favor of Ambrose E. Burnside . Burnside’s assault on Lee’s troops near Fredericksburg on December 13 ended in heavy Union casualties and a Confederate victory; he was promptly replaced by Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker , and both armies settled into winter quarters across the Rappahannock River from each other.

After the Emancipation Proclamation (1863-4)

Lincoln had used the occasion of the Union victory at Antietam to issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , which freed all enslaved people in the rebellious states after January 1, 1863. He justified his decision as a wartime measure, and did not go so far as to free the enslaved people in the border states loyal to the Union. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation deprived the Confederacy of the bulk of its labor forces and put international public opinion strongly on the Union side. Some 186,000 Black Civil War soldiers would join the Union Army by the time the war ended in 1865, and 38,000 lost their lives.

In the spring of 1863, Hooker’s plans for a Union offensive were thwarted by a surprise attack by the bulk of Lee’s forces on May 1, whereupon Hooker pulled his men back to Chancellorsville. The Confederates gained a costly victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville , suffering 13,000 casualties (around 22 percent of their troops); the Union lost 17,000 men (15 percent). Lee launched another invasion of the North in June, attacking Union forces commanded by General George Meade on July 1 near Gettysburg, in southern Pennsylvania. Over three days of fierce fighting, the Confederates were unable to push through the Union center, and suffered casualties of close to 60 percent.

Meade failed to counterattack, however, and Lee’s remaining forces were able to escape into Virginia, ending the last Confederate invasion of the North. Also in July 1863, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant took Vicksburg (Mississippi) in the Siege of Vicksburg , a victory that would prove to be the turning point of the war in the western theater. After a Confederate victory at Chickamauga Creek, Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in September, Lincoln expanded Grant’s command, and he led a reinforced Federal army (including two corps from the Army of the Potomac) to victory in the Battle of Chattanooga in late November.

Toward a Union Victory (1864-65)

In March 1864, Lincoln put Grant in supreme command of the Union armies, replacing Halleck. Leaving William Tecumseh Sherman in control in the West, Grant headed to Washington, where he led the Army of the Potomac towards Lee’s troops in northern Virginia. Despite heavy Union casualties in the Battle of the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania (both May 1864), at Cold Harbor (early June) and the key rail center of Petersburg (June), Grant pursued a strategy of attrition, putting Petersburg under siege for the next nine months.

Sherman outmaneuvered Confederate forces to take Atlanta by September, after which he and some 60,000 Union troops began the famous “March to the Sea,” devastating Georgia on the way to capturing Savannah on December 21. Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, fell to Sherman’s men by mid-February, and Jefferson Davis belatedly handed over the supreme command to Lee, with the Confederate war effort on its last legs. Sherman pressed on through North Carolina, capturing Fayetteville, Bentonville, Goldsboro and Raleigh by mid-April.

Meanwhile, exhausted by the Union siege of Petersburg and Richmond, Lee’s forces made a last attempt at resistance, attacking and captured the Federal-controlled Fort Stedman on March 25. An immediate counterattack reversed the victory, however, and on the night of April 2-3 Lee’s forces evacuated Richmond. For most of the next week, Grant and Meade pursued the Confederates along the Appomattox River, finally exhausting their possibilities for escape. Grant accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9. On the eve of victory, the Union lost its great leader: The actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on April 14. Sherman received Johnston’s surrender at Durham Station, North Carolina on April 26, effectively ending the Civil War.

HISTORY Vault: The Secret History of the Civil War

The American Civil War is one of the most studied and dissected events in our history—but what you don't know may surprise you.

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

A Brief Overview of the American Civil War

The Civil War is the central event in America's historical consciousness. While the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 determined what kind of nation it would be. The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution: whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world.

Northern victory in the war preserved the United States as one nation and ended the institution of slavery that had divided the country from its beginning. But these achievements came at the cost of 625,000 lives--nearly as many American soldiers as died in all the other wars in which this country has fought combined. The American Civil War was the largest and most destructive conflict in the Western world between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the onset of World War I in 1914.

The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states. When Abraham Lincoln won election in 1860 as the first Republican president on a platform pledging to keep slavery out of the territories, seven slave states in the deep South seceded and formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. The incoming Lincoln administration and most of the Northern people refused to recognize the legitimacy of secession. They feared that it would discredit democracy and create a fatal precedent that would eventually fragment the no-longer United States into several small, squabbling countries.

The event that triggered war came at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay on April 12, 1861. Claiming this United States fort as their own, the Confederate army on that day opened fire on the federal garrison and forced it to lower the American flag in surrender. Lincoln called out the militia to suppress this "insurrection." Four more slave states seceded and joined the Confederacy. By the end of 1861 nearly a million armed men confronted each other along a line stretching 1200 miles from Virginia to Missouri. Several battles had already taken place--near Manassas Junction in Virginia, in the mountains of western Virginia where Union victories paved the way for creation of the new state of West Virginia, at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, and at Port Royal in South Carolina where the Union navy established a base for a blockade to shut off the Confederacy's access to the outside world.

But the real fighting began in 1862. Huge battles like Shiloh in Tennessee, Gaines' Mill , Second Manassas , and Fredericksburg in Virginia, and Antietam in Maryland foreshadowed even bigger campaigns and battles in subsequent years, from Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to Vicksburg on the Mississippi to Chickamauga and Atlanta in Georgia. By 1864 the original Northern goal of a limited war to restore the Union had given way to a new strategy of "total war" to destroy the Old South and its basic institution of slavery and to give the restored Union a "new birth of freedom," as President Lincoln put it in his address at Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery for Union soldiers killed in the battle there.

For three long years, from 1862 to 1865, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia staved off invasions and attacks by the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by a series of ineffective generals until Ulysses S. Grant came to Virginia from the Western theater to become general in chief of all Union armies in 1864. After bloody battles at places with names like The Wilderness , Spotsylvania , Cold Harbor , and Petersburg , Grant finally brought Lee to bay at Appomattox in April 1865. In the meantime Union armies and river fleets in the theater of war comprising the slave states west of the Appalachian Mountain chain won a long series of victories over Confederate armies commanded by hapless or unlucky Confederate generals. In 1864-1865 General William Tecumseh Sherman led his army deep into the Confederate heartland of Georgia and South Carolina, destroying their economic infrastructure while General George Thomas virtually destroyed the Confederacy's Army of Tennessee at the battle of Nashville . By the spring of 1865 all the principal Confederate armies surrendered, and when Union cavalry captured the fleeing Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Georgia on May 10, 1865, resistance collapsed and the war ended. The long, painful process of rebuilding a united nation free of slavery began.

Learn More:  This Day in the Civil War

Death by Fire

Silent Witness

Augmented Reality: Preserving Lost Stories

Related battles, explore the american civil war.

American Civil War - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

The American Civil War, waged from 1861 to 1865, was a seminal event in the United States’ history that stemmed from long-standing regional differences and disputes over slavery. Essays could delve into the political, economic, and social factors that led to the conflict, exploring the disputes between the North and the South regarding states’ rights, slavery, and economic policies. The discourse might extend to the significant battles, military strategies, and the leadership on both sides of the conflict. Discussions could also focus on the Emancipation Proclamation and its implications on the war and the broader struggle for civil rights. Moreover, essays could explore the reconstruction era that followed the war, examining the efforts to reunite the nation, address the legacies of slavery, and establish civil rights for freed slaves. The enduring impact of the American Civil War on the national identity, racial relations, and historical narrative could provide a captivating exploration of this pivotal period in American history. A vast selection of complimentary essay illustrations pertaining to American Civil War you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Nationalism in the Civil War

Introduction The Civil war of 1861-1865 is a central event in America's historical conscience. The war determined what kind of nation America would grow to be. The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution (1773-1776): whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would […]

Civil War was the Westward

Many historians argue that the catalyst for the civil war was the westward expansion of slavery. In 1845, after the United States annexed it the year before, Texas officially became a state- a slave state. The addition of a slave state allowed the Lone Star Republic into the Union. As a result of Texas becoming a state, the Mexican-American War broke out. After the war, the United States bought a massive amount of land from Mexico. The land later became […]

African Americans Made up

During the 1800's in America, African Americans made up most of the population. The Southern states were inundated with slaves. They labored in farms and on plantations. African Americans received cruel treament. They were brutally beaten and looked upon as being inhumane. The issue of equal rights for African Americans caused great disparities between the states. Our new country found itself at war with one another. This was a war of the North versus the South. The Civil War for […]

We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.

The Civil War was the Deadliest

The Civil War was the deadliest and most brutal war ever fought. How did everything stir up between the states in the first place? Southerners had an Agricultural economy and mainly focused on the way they lived their lives to make profit for their well being; this included slaves for more hands to get more work done in less time. On the opposite side of things the northerners had an Industrial economy and wanted to abolish slavery. The north and […]

Many Causes of the Civil War

During the 1860s, the North and South of the United States had many disputes and conflicts. The South succeeded from the North, eventually leading to the civil war. The Civil War was the most destructive war ever fought in the western hemisphere and lasted from 1861 to 1865. The Civil War led to the end of the Confederacy and helped America to grow economically and socially as a nation. Today, America faces an issue with immigrants and their policies on […]

The Battle of Gettysburg Changed Everything

The Battle of Gettysburg changed everything for the Union. During the Civil War, America was fighting against each other, so there were two sides. The Confederates were mainly from the south and the Union was from the north. The concerning issue involved the North wanting slaves to be free while the south wanted to keep slaves. This conflict started the Civil War and up until the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederates were striving. The south was winning every battle, so […]

The Civil War was a War Fought

The Civil War was a war fought between the states. It was fought between the Union and the Confederate States of America. Civil War spies played a major part in how the Confederate (North) won the Civil War (History.com Editors). Spies let generals know when they should attack, where, and whether they should withdraw or not (Mark). The armies of America had been tracked by spies during the Civil War. The spies gathered information on them and in return would […]

The Civil War is Perhaps

The civil war is perhaps the most studied time period in American history. Though the war was only four years, it would alter the course of history and change American culture forever. Among the changes caused by the war, the most prominent were the social and economic changes and the largest being slavery. The country was divided in many ways and all contributed to the start of the war. Most people would say that the war was solely dependent on […]

One of the most Important Events

The Civil War is one of the most important events in the history of the United States of America. It had many important repercussions which went on to have a deep and long lasting impact on the nation. After four years of a cruel battle, from 1861-1865, between a divided nation of the North and South, more than 600,000 people were killed. These lives, however, were not given in vain. Had it not been for the American Civil War where […]

Role of Technology in the American Civil War

The American Civil War is the first real modern war in America. Most of the technology and weaponry used in the Civil War can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution era. The Industrial Revolution was a time of profound transformation that resulted in new manufacturing processes. It was a time of profound transformation that resulted in new manufacturing processes. By the mid-19th century, mass production industries have been developed mainly in the North, which led them to control a […]

The Civil War Ended

The Civil War ended up being a turning point for many women. Women were required to remain at home to cook, clean and take care of their families, while their spouses went to the front line. Even though, women were prohibited from battling in the war, regardless they had critical roles to satisfy. Various women went up against the roles of medical caretakers, spies, promoters of ladies' suffrage, a supporter of social equality, and so forth. But a few women […]

Abraham Lincoln Presidancy

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. At the early age of 7 he and his family moved to Southern Indiana. When he was nine years old his mother passed, and he had to work to help support his family. He had very limited formal schooling because he was working, though he had very little education, he loved to read books and would borrow books from his neighbors. At age 21, Lincoln and his family […]

The American Civil War

The American Civil War was a battle between the South and the North after a number of states in the south seceded after Lincoln's Presidency. The battle started off as states rights but as the battle went on and advanced the battle was fighting to end slavery. Nobody had any idea that this battle would eventually turn into the deadliest battle in American history. This battle cost many people their lives on the battlefield and beyond. Also, it cost a […]

The Civil War is Considered

The Civil War is considered the bloodiest and deadliest wars in the history of the United States. It began in April 1861 when Confederates opened fire on the Union soldiers at Fort Sumter. The war would go on to last four more long years until May 1865. According to American Battlefield Trust, about 2% of the population, or estimated 620,000 men, were lost in the line of duty. As the battle began, there was a shortage of war time labor […]

Civil War and Abraham Lincoln

Thesis: To what extent did Abraham Lincoln’s election influence the outcomes of the Civil War? Introduction: Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States in November of 1860 before the start of the Civil War and continued as president during the War. He sought to unify the nation, to create a better country and to abolish slavery. Abraham Lincoln described the reality that you can’t avoid destiny so you must prepare yourself for it. “You cannot escape […]

The Civil War was Aged

The Civil war was aged on by many reasons on both sides and leaders from both ends in a disagreement with how the United States of America should be govern. With the leaders and war generals making big decisions and the people of the north and the south both raging their opinions with words and with guns. The war was all about the morality of having slaves, African Americans, work for little money and have no rights. And there were […]

Longstreet First Fought

James Longstreet was a government official, a U.S Army officer, and a famous lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals and known as "Lee's War Horse." James Longstreet was born on January 8, 1821, in Edgefield District, South Carolina to James and Mary Anne Dent Longstreet. He was the son of a prosperous farmer and mostly raised in Augusta, Georgia and Somerville, Alabama. While he was in […]

The Civil War is Central

The Civil war is central to the history of the United States of America and as part of the historical events that define the American experience, it is vastly represented in several historical movies . Indeed, while 1776-1783 revolution created the US, the Civil war of 1861-1865 is said to be the determinant of what kind of nation America would be in the world . By nature, cinematic historical representations of past events are common and loved by Americans and […]

Post Civil War: Economic Factors Shape Democracy in America

Life differed for everyone after the Civil War ended—farmers, Southerners, former slaves, and more—because America was rebuilding itself in more ways than one. Former slaves were set free upon the end of the war, and they believed that their years of unpaid labor gave them a claim to land and ""forty acres and a mule"" became their rallying cry. Whites were not willing to give their property to previous slaves, and the federal government chose not to redistribute land in […]

American Civil War wasn’t Inevitable

The Civil War was and is one of the most outstanding events in the history of the United States. It was a military conflict that occurred in the United States, between 1861 and 1865 (when Abraham Lincoln is elected president). Where the North States fought against the Confederate States of America, composed of the countries of the South, which were just conforming. The struggle took place because the States of the South wanted their independence, while those of the North […]

The Role of Women in the Civil War

The bloodiest conflict in history of North America was not between other countries, like one would might imagine, it was in fact the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the clash between the North and Southern states. The Northern states was committed to ending the practice of slavery. However, the Southern states wished to introduce slavery into the western territories. During this time of conflict over the issue of slavery, Abraham Lincoln won […]

Americans Think of African-Americans

When Americans think of African-Americans in the deep south before the Civil War, the first image that comes to mind is one of slavery. However, many African-Americans secured their freedom and lived in a state of semi-freedom even before slavery was abolished by war. Free blacks lived in all parts of the United States, but the majority lived amongst slavery in the south. Freed Blacks continued to be treated as less than a citizen than their white counterparts because the […]

America’s Role in the World after the Civil War

As the civil war came to an end Americas southern territory was in a horrible economic place it was, looted burned, and destroyed by the unions strength to defeat the confederacy. America saw this as a time to reconstruct morally, socially, and economically. During post-war northern Americas industries soared with the help of tariffs passed during war time. It helped corporations like steel and oil to grow and create better technology and mechanics. The growth of industries in America made […]

Outbreak of the US Civil War

The mid-19th Century was not the happiest time in America. Slavery was still very much a thing in the South; the Mexican-American War had devastated the West, tribes of Native Americans were coming into conflict with the Army on the regular, while tensions between the North and South were at an all-time high. All these factors, as well as so many others, would eventually lead to the outbreak of the US Civil War, the bloodiest war in the history of […]

Civil War and Slavery

The U.S. Civil War began on April 12, 1861 in Fort Sumter, South Carolina. There were several events that led up to this battle. Three major causes of the U.S. Civil War include slavery, states’ rights, and the abolitionist movement. The future of slavery created a consuming issue that prompted the disturbance of the union. That question prompted withdrawal, and severance achieved a war in which the Northern and Western states and regions battled to safeguard the Union, and the […]

Civil War was not about Slavery

Some people that experienced the Civil War and some who did not experience it like to say that the Civil War was not about slavery, but instead about defending rights that states had. President Lincoln even tried to offer a deal to the southern states saying if they returned to the union they could keep their slaves, but they denied his offer. The Civil War was started when Fort Sumter was attacked by the confederates. In return to this, Lincoln had […]

Slavery is an Established Social Institution

Slavery is an established social institution in which God did not condemn, is what Thomas Dew believed, whereas Thomas Jefferson believed the opposite; he said that slavery was a moral evil. This was one of the reasons that had started the American Civil War. Although the slave trade was abolished in 1808, slavery on plantations was still practiced in about 15 southern states, from Texas to the Carolinas. With the south having the ideal weather conditions to support cotton plantations […]

Confederate Soldiers Vs. Union Soldiers: Disentangling Motivations on the Battlefield during the American Civil War

The tumultuous era of the American Civil War witnessed a clash of ideologies, with Confederate and Union soldiers donning uniforms that represented more than just military allegiance. The motivations that propelled these men to the battlefield were as diverse as the nation they fought for. As we delve into the intricacies of why Confederate and Union soldiers fought, we uncover a mosaic of personal, societal, and political factors that converged on the bloody fields of conflict. At the heart of […]

Compare and Contrast the American Revolution and the Civil War Essay: the Dual Pillars of American Freedom

In American history, the American Revolution and the Civil War are two major events with lasting effects. Two chapters, separated in time but linked in subject, depict the rise of a nascent nation battling for freedom, justice, and nationhood. While they share freedom as a purpose, their causes, settings, and legacies differ, creating a vibrant tapestry of contrasts. The Quest for Freedom Both the American Revolution and the Civil War fought for freedom. Liberty, as a rallying cry, links these […]

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a Turning Point in the Civil War

Wars Throughout History Throughout the ages of many, there have been many wars that have graced planet Earth. The Punic wars, a few hundred years before the birth of Christ, saw more than one million people deaths between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire over a hundred-year span. The French Wars on Religion during the mid-1500s saw more than two million people die for the sake of their religion. And the Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and France, […]

Related topic

Additional example essays.

• Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address
• Equality Between Men and Women
• Compare And Contrast In WW1 And WW2
• PTSD in Veterans
• Homeless Veterans
• Hitler's Rise to Power in History
• Causes of World War 1
• Causes and Effects of World War II
• Leadership and the Army Profession
• Why Abortion Should be Illegal
• Death Penalty Should be Abolished
• Logical Fallacies in Letter From Birmingham Jail

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

American history: The Civil War (1861-1865) Essay

Introduction, the civil war, northern versus southern interests, causes of the civil war, aftermath of the civil war.

Bibliography

American history is considered as the most inquisitive worldwide. Traditionally, American history started by a declaration of independence in the year 1776. This declaration was due to threats of British government towards American self-governed system. Declaration of independence led to war in 1775 that was to liberate Americans.

With help of France in providing military and financial support, the patriots won American Revolution. In 1789, war hero George Washington became the first president of federal government by virtue of constitution. With influence of European community, coping with scope of central government proved to be a challenging issue for American people.

In 1790s, creation of political parties was initiated and later fighting for the second independence in 1812. Consequently, this brought about expansion of US territory westwards. With this, the US managed to overcome modernizers who were solely interested in deepening its economy rather than helping American people in expanding their geography.

Heavy demand for cotton in southern states encouraged slavery of Africans even though it was illegal in northern states. In 1860, came the election of Abraham Lincoln as president and this triggered a crisis in slave states as he dejected the expansion of slave trade. Amongst the slave states, some of them seceded in forming the Confederate States of America in 1861. This brought about American Civil War, which was from 1861 to 1865. [1]

In the American history, Civil War is the most momentous event that ever happened in the US. This iconic event redefined the American nation, as it was a fight that aimed at preserving the Union, which was the United States of America. From inauguration of the Constitution, differing opinions existed on the role of federal government.

It was a belief of Federalists that in order to ensure the union does not collapse, there was need for the federal government to hold on to power. Anti-federalists on the other hand, were of the opinion that sovereignty of the new states were to remain within their countries. Anti-federalists believed that each state had the right to determine their own set of laws and it is not right to indict them in following mandates of the federal government. [2]

With the advent of the slavery, Northern states completely squared off against Southern states. The main reason for this being economic interests of north and south which were opposed to each other. In addition, Southerners largely depended on large-scale plantations of cotton, which was more labor intensive.

On the other hand, northerners were more of a manufacturing region who produced finished goods by making use of raw materials. Southern ingrained culture of the plantation era encouraged slavery because it gave them an inexpensive labor source. The compromise of each group was the fear that one could gain an unequal amount of power. For example, northerners feared that if more slave states existed, then they would garner an unequal power in the nation. [3]

Causes of the American Civil war, which claimed of over 618,000 casualties, are traceable back to early days in history of the US when tensions escalated. The main cause was difference in economic and social capabilities between the North and the South. The south mainly depended on cotton, which meant the urgent need for cheap labor most probably slaves, as they become one crop economy. On the other hand, northerners depended solely on industrial products.

This disparity, which existed between the two, was the major difference in their economies. The second cause was due to the infighting between those who favored states’ rights and those who favored federal rights. Emergence of these two camps that had differences in opinions ignited the war.

Third, the American Civil war was caused by in-fight between those who were proponents of slavery and those who were against slavery. Another cause of the American Civil war was the growth of the abolition movement. The fact that northerners were against slavery led to the increase of abolitionists who were against slaveholders. Lastly, when Abraham Lincoln was elected as president, it catalyzed the civil war, as southerners believed that he favored interests of the northerners because he was against slavery. [4]

Surrender of General Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865 marked an end to the confederacy era. However, this did not stop the war completely as some small battles continued to occur. This was later to end when the last general, Stand Watie, surrendered on June 23, 1865.

Abraham Lincoln’s vision of reconstructing the nation did not bear much fruit as it failed to become a reality because of his assassination on April 14, 1865. The Radical Republicans imposed military rule on the southerners dealing with them harshly until Rutherford B. Hayes ended it in 1876. In the American history, Civil War is a watershed event and most importantly an event that officially ended slavery. [5]

In conclusion, the Civil War was an important event in history of the American people. Moreover, its iconic stature is very vital, as the proponents who were against slavery became victors because their wish of anti-slavery was satisfied. In addition, it helped in liberating the people who had different opinions and gave them reasons to live for better ideals. [6]

Foner, Eric. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery . New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.

Kelly Martin. “ Overview of the American Civil War-Secession. ” About. Web.

Kelly Martin. “Top Five Causes of the Civil War: Leading up to Secession and the Civil War.” About. Web.

The History Channel. “ American Civil War. ” History. Web.

• Eric Foner, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010), 74.
• Eric Foner, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010), 74
• The History Channel, “American Civil War,” History.com.
• Martin Kelly, “Top Five Causes of the Civil War: Leading up to Secession and the Civil War,” About.com.
• Martin Kelly, “Overview of the American Civil War-Secession,” About.com .
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, October 25). American history: The Civil War (1861-1865). https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-the-civil-war-1861-1865/

"American history: The Civil War (1861-1865)." IvyPanda , 25 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-the-civil-war-1861-1865/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'American history: The Civil War (1861-1865)'. 25 October.

IvyPanda . 2018. "American history: The Civil War (1861-1865)." October 25, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-the-civil-war-1861-1865/.

1. IvyPanda . "American history: The Civil War (1861-1865)." October 25, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-the-civil-war-1861-1865/.

IvyPanda . "American history: The Civil War (1861-1865)." October 25, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-the-civil-war-1861-1865/.

• The American Civil War: Key Points
• North Carolina's Role in the Civil War
• Abraham Lincoln's Obituaries in 1865 and 2015
• Why Confederate and Union Soldiers Fought?
• The United States Civil War
• The Most Disastrous Civil Conflict in American History
• Letters From the Civil War
• A Brave Black Regiment: History of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Experiences of the U.S. Civil War, an introduction

Left: Joel Emmons Whitney, Sioux woman and child at the prison camp at Fort Snelling, carte-de-visite, c. 1862–63, 10.1 x 6.2 cm ( Minnesota Historical Society ); right: Charles R. Rees, Unidentified woman (possibly Mrs. James Shields), in mourning dress and brooch showing Confederate soldier and holding young boy wearing kepi, c. 1861–65, hand-painted ambrotype in papier-mâché case with mother-of-pearl and hand painting, 8.0 x 6.9 cm ( Library of Congress )

Two family portraits from the Civil War era (1861–65) show a seated woman with a young child, gazing straight into the camera. The woman on the left, draped with a blanket and carrying her child on her back, is identified only as a “Sioux Squaw” and her child as a “Pappoose,” racist labels used by whites in that era that dehumanize Indigenous people. This portrait was taken by photographer Joel Emmons Whitney, who wanted to profit from the sale of pictures of the Santee Sioux people after the Dakota War of 1862 . This woman and child were living at a concentration camp at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, where more than 1,600 Sioux non-combatants were forced to remain over the winter of 1862–63. In the spring of 1863, the U.S. Congress voted to repeal all treaties with the Dakotas and confiscate their lands, forcing them to move to a reservation . [1]

The image on the right shows a white woman in mourning dress, with a brooch featuring the photograph of a Confederate soldier (presumably her husband and her child’s father) pinned to her dress. Her child wears a kepi , which may have belonged to the deceased soldier. This photograph was taken in a Richmond, Virginia studio, and its hand-colored accents and ornate case suggest the sitter’s wealth. 

The format of these photographs draws a contrast between the two families: the carte-de-visite of the Sioux woman and child was intended to be reproduced many times and sold inexpensively as a curiosity to whites interested in seeing people involved with the Dakota War, while the unique ambrotype of the Confederate widow and her child had a closing case designed for private viewing; protected with a latching cover, it was small enough to tuck into a breast pocket. 

Both of these families were profoundly affected by the Civil War. They remind us that the Civil War occurred over a vast country and involved a diverse population, so that capturing “the experience of the Civil War” is an impossible task: there were as many experiences as there were people who lived through it. Soldiers fought in deserts, swamps, mountain passes, orchards, and city streets. Families lived in refugee camps, farm houses, wagons, tepis (tepees), and splendid mansions. Workers made cartridges, built bridges, raised money, sawed off limbs, drove mules, and guarded prisons. 

The experiences of the Civil War in art

These myriad experiences can be difficult to access through the visual and material record of the war—the images and objects that represented everyday life in wartime. The visual record is slanted heavily toward certain groups and areas: northerners produced many more prints and photographs than southerners, for example, because the South was surrounded by a blockade that limited access to the supplies necessary for image-making. Location and wealth were also factors: although photographs were easier to obtain than ever before, not everyone could go to a studio to sit for their portrait, let alone pay for a painting. Like the Sioux family above, they may have appeared in images but often did not control the terms on which they were depicted. We have also lost a great deal of the war’s visual and material culture to time: we can see only what earlier generations decided to preserve, and their ideas of whose art was important enough to save may have differed from our own.

Left: Moore Bro’s. Photographic Gallery, Unidentified U.S. sailor in uniform in front of painted backdrop showing walkway and trees, c. 1861–65, albumen print on card ( Library of Congress ); right: Israel & Co., First Lieutenant Patrick Boyce of Co. F, 8th Regular Army Infantry Regiment in uniform with sword, c. 1861–65 ( Library of Congress )

Photographs provide the largest source of visual evidence about the people who lived through the Civil War, including untold numbers of portraits of soldiers. Although a few daguerreotypes were taken during the Mexican-American War , the Civil War was the first major conflict in the United States that took place after photography—which had been invented only 35 years earlier—became widely available, and enlisted men rushed to have their photographs taken in uniform. Scornful of their opponents’ abilities, both U.S. and Confederate soldiers believed that the war would be over in a few months, and they did not want to miss their chance to show they had been willing to do their duty.

The cartes-de-visite above, both taken during the war, show how recruits put the medium to use. The sailor had his photograph taken in a studio wearing his uniform, but in front of a generic painted backdrop that mimics a garden-like setting and reminiscent of the background often seen in painted portraits of the previous century. The backdrop hardly evokes life at sea, but in the scramble to take pictures before men set off for war, it provided for a suitably respectable portrait setting. The photograph at right shows U.S. Army Lieutenant Patrick Boyce in his officer’s uniform (including tasseled epaulets and sword) standing in front of a blank backdrop; on the back of the card, Boyce scrawled “Votre Amie” (“your friend”) and his signature as a token for a friend or sweetheart. Each of these men took advantage of the opportunity to have a photographic portrait made in uniform, representing his military prowess and social standing.

Unidentified Black U.S. soldier, c. 1861–65, hand-colored tintype with cover glass in black thermoplastic case with brass hinges and red velvet liner ( Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture )

For Black soldiers, sitting for a photographic portrait was not just a record of their bravery in volunteering to serve, but also a claim to citizenship, which was constantly called into question. In 1857, the Supreme Court had ruled that Black people were not citizens of the United States , and so when Black men enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Civil War they were signing up to fight for a nation that did not recognize them as citizens, hoping that their military service would lead not only to the destruction of slavery but to the recognition of Black citizenship.

Stamped brass uniform button with American eagle, c. 1861–65 ( Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture )

The Black soldier pictured above holds a pistol across his chest, his belt buckle proclaims his status as a “US” soldier (the image is reversed, so to the viewer it reads “SU”). The photograph was hand-colored (adding pink to the soldier’s cheeks and gold to his buttons and belt buckle) and encased in a frame with numerous symbols of U.S. citizenship and national belonging: an eagle perches above his head, with American flags and bayonets flanking him on each side. Below him is a cannon and a stylized ribbon with the Latin motto found on the Great Seal of the United States, E Pluribus Unum (“out of many, one”). A simplified version of the Great Seal was also reproduced on the uniform buttons of U.S. soldiers, one of which is pictured here: a bald eagle with its wings spread behind a shield, grasping an olive branch in one set of talons and arrows in the other. Frederick Douglass , who worked to recruit soldiers for Black regiments, understood the power and symbolism of the army uniform in changing minds, stated, “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S.; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.” [2]

Winslow Homer, Reconnaissance in force by General Gorman before Yorktown , 1862, graphite with brush and gray wash on cream wove paper, 21 x 33.7 cm ( Museum of Fine Arts, Boston )

Photography was far from the only way of capturing the experience of war. In the 1860s, newspapers could not yet reproduce photographs (the process to do so was not created until 1880), so “special artists” were sent to travel with armies to sketch the action. These artists mailed their drawings to newspaper offices so engravers could interpret them for mass distribution. In the drawing above, the hole where engravers tacked this piece of paper to the wall as a guide for copying is still visible near the top of Winslow Homer’s sketch of a scene of officers and enlisted men discussing strategy outside a farmhouse near Yorktown, later printed as part of a larger page of scenes illustrating the war. [3]

“Glorious News!!!!” in “A Few Scenes in the Life of A ‘SOJER’ in the Mass 44th,” 1863, graphite on paper, 10.5 x 20.5 cm ( Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History )

Some soldier-artists captured their experiences in drawings, completed while in camp or years afterward when recalling the scenes of battle. They used what materials were available to them: ink, watercolors, or even a pencil nub on a lined journal page. One unknown artist, a soldier in the 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry stationed in New Bern, North Carolina, drew a series of cartoons in his diary contrasting the northern press’s breathless coverage of the war with the far less romantic reality. In “Glorious News!!!! Destruction of a very Important Bridge in North Carolina!!” the artist showed a wooden plank over a creek being broken by a soldier throwing a rock at it, satirizing the scene with the overblown headline “The REBELS in DESPAIR!!!! Jeff Davis says All is now LOST!!!!!!!!!!” The simple set of panels reveals the humor and playfulness of an ordinary soldier, who wrote that he had to end his sketchbook because he ran out of paper. [4]

Bandolier bag, likely Delaware, wool, glass beads, cotton, fringe c. 1860 (The American Civil War Museum, photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Material culture can also tell us about the experience of the Civil War. This bandolier bag, which high-ranking Indigenous men would have worn across their bodies during ceremonies or in battle to carry ammunition, is made of tiny glass beads arranged in abstract floral patterns. This type of decoration is common to bags made in the Prairie Style , which flourished in the mid-19th century in Oklahoma, where many Indigenous groups, including Delawares and Cherokees, came into contact with each other after the United States forcibly removed them from their homes in the east in the 1830s. A female Indigenous artist likely made this bag, which was worn into battle by its owner, likely a Delaware soldier who was fighting as part of the U.S.-allied Indian Home Guard . After the owner’s death at the Battle of Honey Springs in Oklahoma, Confederate soldiers looted it from the owner’s body as a trophy and gave it to Confederate President Jefferson Davis as a gift.

The Battle of Honey Springs—despite the death of this bag’s owner—was an important victory for U.S. forces in their quest to gain control of Indian Territory . Indigenous tribes, nations, and bands fought for both the United States and the Confederacy in the Civil War, hoping their alliances would preserve their sovereignty. The bag’s creation in Oklahoma and its journey to the capital of the Confederacy hint at the complex story of the Civil War, where the future of westward expansion , cultural transformation, and the survival of people and nations were at stake. 

The essays in this section grapple with these complex experiences of the war—both on and off the battlefield—through art. 

The first essay, “ The work of war ,” focuses on images depicting the everyday life of the soldiers and civilians who labored for the military during the U.S. Civil War.   

The second essay, “ Homes and families ,” examines how the “home front” was not easy to distinguish from the battlefront during the conflict, as women’s roles transformed with the advent of war.

The third essay, “ Refugees, prisoners, and displacement ,” looks beyond the battlefield and the home front to the people who moved across and outside those spaces, either by choice or by force.

[1] See more on The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 from the Minnesota Historical Society.

[2] Frederick Douglass, “Should the Negro Enlist in the Union Army?,” speech delivered July 6, 1863, at National Hall, Philadelphia, PA, published in Douglass’ Monthly , August 1863.

[3] Frank H. Goodyear III and Dana E. Byrd, Winslow Homer and the Camera: Photography and the Art of Painting (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018), pp. 10–11.

[4] A Few Scenes in the life of A “SOJER” in the Mass 44th , 1863, graphite on paper, 10.5 x 20.5 cm (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History).

Additional resources

American Indian Removal: What Does It Mean to Remove a People? from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 from the Minnesota Historical Society

The Battle of Honey Springs from the Oklahoma Historical Society

Civil War Soldier Stories from the Library of Congress

The Civil War and American Art from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Amy Athey McDonald, “ As embedded artist with the Union army, Winslow Homer captured life at the front of the Civil War ,” Yale News , April 20, 2015.

Lisa Tendrich Frank, Household War: How Americans Lived and Fought the Civil War (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2020).

James G. Mendez, A Great Sacrifice: Northern Black Soldiers, Their Families, and the Experience of Civil War (New York: Fordham University Press, 2019).

Megan Kate Nelson, Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2012).

Amy Murrell Taylor, Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2018).

Cite this page

Your donations help make art history free and accessible to everyone!

engagingtimes.com

learn how to write exciting essays with us

20 Interesting Topics & Writing Tips for Your Civil War Essay

Are you a student specializing in the history field? Well, there is no doubt you will have to write several essays revolving around civil war, politics, and history in general. Now, imagine you have a civil war essay topic you need to research and bring forth a meaningful context in the form of an essay. How will you start? What elements will you include in the paper? And how will you determine the best topic? Well, keep reading as we will share some of the best civil war essay prompts, perfect tips, and the overall approach you should take when writing such an essay.

The essay on Civil War: what are the pro tips?

While all essays may have a similar approach, there is a slight distinction in presenting ideas and facts, the language you use, and such elements. So, in the case of a civil war essay, you can use the tips below to bring out an incredible and admirable paper.

• Cite the right sources correctly

Of course, when writing a civil war essay, you will use different resources available in books or online platforms. This isn’t your information, so ensure you cite it appropriately. Also, don’t use any source; ensure you can determine the source is credible and correct since some sources can have false information about historic events.

• Write the best civil war essay introduction

The introduction part plays a significant role in your entire paper. It is the first section where the reader will interact with your paper. So, so don’t want to create a boring scenario in the introduction section. In this case, use a hook, then background information, and finally a thesis statement.

• Start with a civil war essay outline

An outline will give a roadmap to each section of your essay. Be sure to start with an outline to ensure you don’t forget relevant information in each section of the paper.

• Check the civil war essay example in advance

You don’t want to get stuck in the middle of writing your essay. When in doubt, be sure to clear all the doubts by checking other sample essays on the same topic to get a clue of what to write and how to put down your points.

• The civil war essay conclusion matters

How you end your essay on civil war has a higher significance to your whole paper. You will have to revisit the thesis statement, summarize the main points in the paragraphs, present the analysis from your research, and what people can learn from the whole matter.

• Always understand the instructions

You can have great points, ideas, and a well-structured civil war essay. However, if you miss any of the guidelines, you will get a low grade when you should have scored higher. So, avoid this by understanding the basic instructions carefully!

Civil War project topics: best topics to consider

As far as an essay on civil war is concerned, the topic you choose has a crucial role in the outlook of your essay. Below are some of the topic ideas you can consider.

Best Civil War essay topics

• What happened after the American Civil War?
• Why did the reconstruction fail after the civil war?
• What are the main causes of the Civil War?
• Describe strategies used in the American Civil War.
• Politically, what happened after Sri Lanka Civil War?
• Describe the 1991 Sierra Leone Civil war

American Civil War essay topics

• How did the civil war impact America today?
• Describe the Fort Pillow Massacre happening
• Industrialization in America after the civil war
• Did the U.S.A progress after unleashing a conflict that led to civil war?
• Analyze economic differences between Northern and southern states
• How does the American government perceive the civil war legacy?
• Analyze civil war and slavery in America

Essay topics on the Civil War

• What was the role of John Brown during the onset of the civil war?
• Describe the role of Fort Sumter in the civil war
• Analyze the early periods of the American civil war
• Based on historical events, how can we prevent civil war?
• Why did the American civil war last longer?
• Compare the American civil war and American Revolution
• What is the effect of the civil war on women’s efforts in America?

Essay writing is an art, and the best approach is to understand the topic and the subject as a whole before you start writing.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ATTENTION: Our order fulfillment center is temporarily shutdown and unable to take orders. As a result, the Y24SAVE50 promotion is cancelled.

On The Site

Photo by Sox524 on Wikimedia Commons

Lessons from the Civil War for America’s Fractured Present: Part Two

January 28, 2020 | yalepress | American History , Law , Military History , Political Science

Timothy William Waters —

Why Remembering the Civil War Matters: Talking about Belonging in America

How we remember the Civil War matters for thinking about our increasingly fragile union today—how we talk about identity, belonging, and leaving. The war seems to offer an obvious moral model. But that solution dissolves when we remember that how the war ended isn’t how it began—that the Union first fought to preserve itself, not free slaves. And because that Union was a slaveholding power, fighting to preserve itself “as it was” was a more ambiguous proposition than the now-remembered “war against slavery.”

Today, it’s common to conflate the South’s slaving and its secession, calling it treason. But the moral value of treason is different: slavery is an evil absolute; treason is a relational act. Treason can be committed only by someone who belongs to a community and is meaningful only if the thing betrayed has worth. We know the moral value of opposing slavery—but what is the value of union?

You won’t find the answer at the Lincoln Memorial. Lincoln’s second inaugural address, condemning slavery on the cusp of the Union’s victory, is carved on its walls. His first, defending both slavery and union, isn’t. It’s a deceptive entanglement, because union requires its own justification. Lincoln’s defense of union for its own sake should remind us of the twin challenges any political community faces: not to treat dis-identity as treason, and not to substitute the existence of the state for its justification. After all, secession wasn’t only a slaveholder’s strategy: before the war, prominent abolitionists proposed secession of free states from slaveholding America. Today we honor them—no one is taking their statues down!—while condemning those who actually seceded not only as immoral slaveholders, but as traitors, not to the Union as it was, but to what we imagine it had been.

If we are indeed to inform present politics with the past, let us remember that past’s full complexity: that in the hour before Fort Sumter was shelled, Fort Sumter was there to be shelled; that the one thing Lincoln did not offer a slavery-maddened South was exit; and that a slaveholding Union went to war to preserve itself, and only along the way did its war become the moral crusade we remember.

We know what we should do if we encountered slavery or its moral equivalent today—and for some, the stakes in our present politics are that high. But if it really came to it, what would be the right response to secession in 2020? We might oppose a new immoral regime. But if the separatists’ reason—their “treason”—were the desire for separation itself, I see no grounds for opposing it. There is no value in union in and of itself.

Because remember, the Declaration of Independence advances two theories—oppression, but also consent of the governed. It seems to me that if a sizable group—a people—no longer wishes to share our political community—no longer wishes to be an “us”—then we have to let them go. As long as they don’t propose to do something immoral, we have no cause to compel their staying. (Or they ours—after all, if things get bad enough, it might be you who wants to leave, not “them.”) That’s the lesson of our Revolution, a lesson our Civil War—precisely because it conflated a moral crusade with the preservation of a state—has hidden.

So what lesson for our present politics, whether we stay together or split apart?

Humility, I should think. We must act upon our convictions. But we should do so in the knowledge that we may be in error—after all, the South is there to remind us that even those who are wrong feel wronged. Unless we truly face the modern equivalent of slavery, the better angels of our nature would instead give those wishing to leave reason to stay, drawing them back with shared values, not guns or walls. And if that does not work, letting those with whom we cannot agree or who will not compromise leave is a possible, moral response. You cannot betray that to which you no longer belong, and so we must be free to ask ourselves, and each other, if we still do.

It’s no coincidence that talk of division has arisen at the same time as calls for closing borders: both are about who belongs. Those invoking American greatness too often traffic in exclusivist notions about who constitutes that greatness; but those on the other end of our political divide exhibit their own exclusions, scorning the sanity and moral fitness of those who see, and voted for, a different future for this, our still-shared country.

Talking about belonging can be a good thing—though not, I think, the way too often done now, forgoing the hard work of justification and denying the moral value of others’ consent. The language of treason feeds an easier but darker narrative: it makes disunity cause for fighting, rather than a claim we must answer.

It’s the answer that matters. It’s risky to start talking about division, because taking it seriously makes it more serious. But a necessary risk: we can’t have a conversation about belonging—who we are, what we require of each other, what we are prepared to give—if we close the borders to ourselves.

You can find Part One of this two-part series here .

Timothy William Waters  is professor of law and associate director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy at Indiana University. Author of numerous scholarly articles and op-eds on international law and politics, he also edited  The Miloševic Trial: An Autopsy .

Further Reading:

Recent Posts

• A Forest of Words: A Conversation with Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng
• The Naseby Cup: A Numismatic and Historical Treasure at Yale
• How U.S. Policy in Yemen Went Tragically Wrong
• Where Life Is, Hope Can Survive
• A New Audience for the World’s First Author
• Space Day Reading List 2024

Sign up for updates on new releases and special offers

Newsletter signup, shipping location.

Our website offers shipping to the United States and Canada only. For customers in other countries:

Mexico and South America: Contact TriLiteral to place your order. All Others: Visit our Yale University Press London website to place your order.

Shipping Updated

Learn more about Schreiben lernen, 2nd Edition, available now. 

Presentations made painless

• Get Premium

105 Civil War Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

The Civil War was a defining moment in American history, shaping the nation we know today. With its profound impact on politics, society, and the economy, it remains a fascinating subject for academic research and essay writing. If you're looking for inspiration for your next Civil War essay, we've compiled a list of 105 topic ideas and examples to get you started.

• The Causes of the American Civil War: Analyzing the underlying factors that led to the conflict.
• Abraham Lincoln's Role in the Civil War: Assessing Lincoln's leadership and decision-making during the war.
• The Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation: Examining the significance of Lincoln's proclamation on slavery.
• The Role of Women in the Civil War: Exploring the contributions and challenges faced by women during the war.
• African Americans in the Civil War: Evaluating the experiences of African American soldiers and their impact on the war effort.
• The Battle of Gettysburg: Analyzing the significance and consequences of this pivotal battle.
• The Military Strategies of the Civil War: Comparing and contrasting the strategies employed by the Union and Confederate armies.
• The Role of Technology in the Civil War: Investigating the impact of new technologies, such as railroads and telegraphs, on the war.
• The Role of Foreign Powers in the Civil War: Examining the involvement of European powers and their influence on the conflict.
• The Economic Consequences of the Civil War: Assessing the long-term economic effects of the war on the United States.
• The Role of Religion in the Civil War: Exploring the influence of religious beliefs and institutions on the conflict.
• Espionage and Intelligence in the Civil War: Investigating the use of spies and intelligence-gathering during the war.
• The Impact of Photography on the Civil War: Analyzing the role of photography in shaping public perception of the war.
• The Home Front during the Civil War: Examining the experiences and challenges faced by civilians during the war.
• The Battle of Antietam: Assessing the significance of this bloody battle and its impact on the war.
• The Role of Guerrilla Warfare in the Civil War: Exploring the tactics employed by irregular forces during the conflict.
• The Role of Native Americans in the Civil War: Investigating the participation and experiences of Native American tribes during the war.
• The Role of Religion in the Confederate States: Analyzing the influence of religion on the Confederate cause.
• The Impact of Disease on the Civil War: Examining the role of diseases, such as dysentery and smallpox, in the war's outcome.
• The Battle of Bull Run: Assessing the significance of the first major battle of the Civil War.
• The Aftermath of the Civil War: Analyzing the political, social, and economic consequences of the war's end.
• The Role of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination in Shaping Reconstruction: Exploring how Lincoln's assassination affected the post-war period.
• The Role of Slavery in the Southern Economy: Investigating the economic dependence on slavery in the Confederate states.
• The Impact of Sherman's March to the Sea: Assessing the consequences of General Sherman's devastating campaign.
• The Confederate Constitution: Analyzing the similarities and differences between the Confederate and United States constitutions.
• The Role of Women as Spies during the Civil War: Investigating the contributions of female spies to the war effort.
• The Role of Border States in the Civil War: Exploring the challenges faced by states that remained loyal to the Union but allowed slavery.
• The Battle of Vicksburg: Assessing the significance of this Union victory in the Western Theater.
• The Political Leadership of Jefferson Davis: Analyzing Davis's presidency and its impact on the Confederate cause.
• The Role of Railroads in the Civil War: Investigating the importance of rail transportation for both the Union and Confederate armies.
• The Impact of the Civil War on Native American Tribes: Examining the consequences of the war for Native American lands and tribes.
• The Battle of Shiloh: Assessing the significance of this bloody battle in Tennessee.
• The Role of Civil War Prisons: Analyzing the conditions and treatment of prisoners on both sides of the conflict.
• The Role of Politics in the Union Army: Investigating the influence of politics on military appointments and operations.
• The Impact of the Civil War on American Literature: Examining how the war shaped the literary works of the time.
• The Battle of Chancellorsville: Assessing the significance of this Confederate victory and the death of General Stonewall Jackson.
• The Confederate Navy: Analyzing the role and effectiveness of the Confederate Navy in the war.
• The Role of Women as Nurses during the Civil War: Investigating the contributions and challenges faced by women in the nursing profession.
• The Impact of Draft Riots during the Civil War: Examining the social unrest and violence caused by the draft.
• The Battle of Fredericksburg: Assessing the significance of this Union defeat and its impact on the war.
• The Reconstruction Era: Analyzing the challenges and successes of the Reconstruction period after the war.
• The Role of Foreign Diplomacy during the Civil War: Investigating the attempts by both the Union and Confederacy to gain international support.
• The Impact of the Civil War on Native American Identity: Examining how the war affected Native American cultural and social traditions.
• The Battle of Chickamauga: Assessing the significance of this Confederate victory in Georgia.
• The Role of Medical Advancements during the Civil War: Analyzing the impact of new medical techniques and knowledge on the war's outcome.
• The Impact of the Civil War on Westward Expansion: Investigating how the war influenced the settlement of the Western frontier.
• The Battle of Cold Harbor: Assessing the significance of this Union defeat in Virginia.
• The Role of African American Women during the Civil War: Exploring the contributions and experiences of African American women in the war effort.
• The Impact of the Civil War on Native American Treaties: Examining how the war affected Native American land rights and treaties.
• The Battle of Stones River: Assessing the significance of this Union victory in Tennessee.
• The Role of Propaganda during the Civil War: Analyzing the use of propaganda and media manipulation by both sides of the conflict.
• The Impact of the Civil War on Immigration: Investigating how the war influenced immigration patterns and attitudes toward immigrants.
• The Battle of Fort Donelson: Assessing the significance of this Union victory in Tennessee.
• The Role of the Telegraph in the Civil War: Analyzing the impact of telegraph communication on military operations and command.
• The Impact of the Civil War on the U.S. Constitution: Examining how the war shaped constitutional interpretation and amendments.
• The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Assessing the significance of this Confederate victory in Virginia.
• The Role of African American Soldiers in the Civil War: Investigating the experiences and contributions of black soldiers in the Union Army.
• The Impact of Civil War Monuments and Memorials: Analyzing the controversy surrounding Confederate monuments and their place in public memory.
• The Battle of Fort Sumter: Assessing the significance of the first shots fired in the Civil War.
• The Role of Military Prisons during the Civil War: Investigating the conditions and treatment of prisoners in camps such as Andersonville and Elmira.
• The Impact of Civil War Photography on Public Opinion: Examining how photographs of the war influenced public perception and support.
• The Role of Propaganda during the Civil War: Analy

Want to create a presentation now?

Instantly Create A Deck

Let PitchGrade do this for me

Hassle Free

We will create your text and designs for you. Sit back and relax while we do the work.

Explore More Content

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

© 2023 Pitchgrade

Civil War Essays

Why was reconstruction a failure 🔥 trending.

The end of the American Civil War became an era of optimism and harmony; according to Foner (2021), during Reconstruction, the northern and southern United…

Civil War Video Review

What are the main points of the video? The video outlines some of the main events in the American history that contributed to the rise…

Causes Of The Civil War

Introduction The American Civil War remains a fateful event in the history of the United States. Between 1841 and 1845, approximately three quarters of a…

How the Civil War Changed United States

The American civil war was fought between the Union (The United States) and the South(Confederacy), which comprised of states that seceded. The attack on April…

Was reconstruction a success or failure?

Immediately after the American Civil war ended in 1865, radical reconstruction began. The reconstruction era is the period between 1865 and 1877. Reconstruction originated almost…

Scott v. Sandford

Historical event The 1857 case of Dred Scott v Sandford was delivered by Roger Taney who was the then Chief Justice. According to the court’s…

Lincoln`s View on Slavery

The fight for freedom for the Negros has not been easy, especially in the New World (America). The United States had been the destination for…

Abraham Lincoln Descriptive Essay

Abraham Lincoln was born in the year 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents hailed from Virginia (USA.gov., 2017). Lincoln’s early life was characterized by…

Civil war cause and effect

The American Civil was one of the most important pages in the history of American nation. Civil war is the conflict which took place in…

Could have the American Civil War been avoided?

The debate over the American Civil War continues even today, and emotions are just as charged if one knows where to look. This complex situation…

The confederate monument debate

Introduction On August 12th neo-Nazis and white supremacy rallied in Virginia, Charlottesville to fight over the removal of conference monuments. This comprises Robert Lee statute…

Emancipation proclamation

The Emancipation was issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The emancipation was issued after the Union Victory in the battle of Antietam. The declaration of…

From first contact to the Civil war

The first group of slaves captured from Africa arrived in America in 1619 after being captured by the Dutch. This formed the genesis of the…

Jesse James and Bonnie & Clyde

Introduction An outlaw is a person or a group that is a habitual criminal and is excluded from the legal protection rights. Jesse James is…

Lincoln Movie

It is important to appreciate the fact that the Lincoln movie is considered as a masterpiece in its way. Steven Spielberg has been accredited as…

The move to abolish slavery

Abolition was the reform movement that sought to end the slave trade and emancipate the slaves. Slavery was an economic institution that benefited slave masters…

Abraham Lincoln as a war general

Abraham Lincoln was born on 12th February and died on 15th April 1865. He was well known as a lawyer and an American statesman who…

Importance of the American Civil War

The American Civil War is one of the most significant conflicts in the history of the modern world. This is especially considering that it ended…

North Carolina during the Civil War

Introduction While the 1776-1783 Revolution created the United States, the Civil War, which occurred from 1861-1865 determined the type of nation the United States would…

The articles of the confederation and the US constitution

The United States Constitution, drafted in Philadelphia in 1787 is an instrumental symbol of the country’s national identity and occupies a large portion of the…

Is it a good idea to write a college essay about American civil war?

It is a rather informative and broad topic for students interested in history. You may find good samples on this topic in our database.

How to use civil war essay samples to create my own paper?

In writing an essay, you may appeal to our templates as a database of ideas, facts, and references. In addition, you may use them to inspire writing or general development. Finally, we showcase our professionalism to potential clients.

Can I submit a suitable essay sample I've found as my work?

We do not advise presenting our samples as yours since other students could use the text in their papers.

Writing an American civil war research paper requires deep knowledge of American history and the causes of conflicts within the country’s borders. In our database, you may find an abundance of samples that reveal the turning point of American society and the struggle for equality for all citizens.

Challenges and Advice of American Civil War Essay Writing

The chief causes of the Civil War in the United States were slavery and the economic instability of that time. The war was between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy), where more than 13% of African Americans were enslaved. Abraham Lincoln was elected president due to his anti-slavery expansion rhetoric. The time is considered a period of nation formation.

In your civil war essays, you should be careful with all the historical events and figures. For instance, having to write about the end of the war, you are to mention all the reasons and consequences of the final battle, the surrender of Confederates, the abolishment of slavery, and the guarantee of civil rights. In any case, writing about historical events is time-consuming as it requires finding and investigating credible sources.

Civil War Essay Examples Come to the Rescue in Writing

Applying qualitative samples when writing essays about the civil war is a paramount need of every student. Dealing with plenty of dates and events may turn out to be a tedious task.

Revise High-Quality Essays Before Writing for Inspiration

The topic of war is rather broad as it covers a lot of battles, dates, and people. If you do not know how to arrange your thoughts or what fact to include in your civil war argumentative essay, you may revise our samples to grasp writing ideas for creating an informative and highly graded paper.

Emulate Formatting of Our Papers

Qualitative content is essential for any essay. However, students should not forget about correct structure and formatting. The solution to this challenge at a glance is presented in our templates. Each work type is written according to the requirements and standards of academic writing.

Professionalism of Our Authors Is Obvious

You may be sure that each civil war essay sample deserves boasting and high grades. All the writers are experienced and qualified in all subjects. In addition, they are always searching for current sources and facts to deliver supreme-quality, unique persuasive essays to our customers.

Our Service Creates Civil War Papers for Everyone

If students are assigned essays on the civil war, they may try writing using our samples. But if they lack time to meet deadlines, the best decision is to pay for a plagiarism-free paper of top-notch quality.

• American Imperialism
• American Revolution
• Columbian Exchange
• I Have a Dream
• Jim Crow Laws
• Manifest Destiny
• Native American
• Pearl Harbor

College & Research Libraries News  ( C&RL News ) is the official newsmagazine and publication of record of the Association of College & Research Libraries,  providing articles on the latest trends and practices affecting academic and research libraries.

C&RL News  became an online-only publication beginning with the January 2022 issue.

C&RL News  Reader Survey

Give us your feedback in the 2024  C&RL News   reader survey ! The survey asks a series of questions today to gather your thoughts on the contents and presentation of the magazine and should only take approximately 5-7 minutes to complete. Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and suggestions for  C&RL News , we greatly appreciate and value your input.

Susan Birkenseer is reference and instruction librarian at Saint Mary’s College of California, email: [email protected]

ALA JobLIST

Advertising Information

• Preparing great speeches: A 10-step approach (221311 views)
• The American Civil War: A collection of free online primary sources (203306 views)
• 2018 top trends in academic libraries: A review of the trends and issues affecting academic libraries in higher education (77781 views)

The American Civil War: A collection of free online primary sources

Susan Birkenseer

The American Civil War began in 1861, lasted until 1865, and was ruinous by any standard. Within months of President Lincoln’s inauguration, seven southern states began the secession from the Union and declared the Confederate States of America. This split in the fabric of the country began a bitter war, concluding in the death of more than 750,000 soldiers. When the South finally surrendered, the Confederacy collapsed, and slavery was abolished. To understand the conflict, take a look back at the primary documents that highlight decisions of generals, the everyday drudgery of soldiers, and the photographic images of battle.

Hundreds of websites offer insight into the American Civil War. This guide is not comprehensive, but it highlights a diverse collection of free websites of primary sources for the study of the war. These websites include digitized newspaper archives for both the Union and Confederate sides of the struggle, collections of letters and diaries, digitized photographs, maps, and official records and dispatches from the battlefields.

• Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841–1955). An important daily newspaper, the Eagle was unusual for its time since it covered national as well as regional news. The archive is searchable, can be browsed by date, and includes zooming capabilities to see the tiny text up close. The archive is maintained by the Brooklyn Public Library. Access: http://bklyn.newspapers.com/title_1890/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/ .
• Chronicling America. This site offers access to multiple newspapers from both the Confederate and Union states. Over 1,400 newspapers are in the archive, but not all of them are from the Civil War years. Examples of newspaper titles include: Memphis Appeal (1857–1886), Chattanooga Rebel (1862–1865), New York Sun (1859–1916), and New York Daily Tribune (1842–1866). Search across the newspapers for a range of contemporary stories from both sides of the war. From the Library of Congress. Access: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/#tab=tab_newspapers .

• Richmond Daily Dispatch (1860–1865). This paper was published from the Confederate capital and has a digitized and searchable online archive of 1,384 issues. The site is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Access: http://dlxs.richmond.edu/d/ddr/index.html .
• Secession-Era Editorials. This site from the Furman University history department in South Carolina contains transcribed editorials from contemporary newspapers, all from the 1850s. The specific issues discussed are the Nebraska Bill debates, the caning attack on Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks, John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, and the Dred Scott decision. These events all highlight the varied and inflexible opinions of their time from both sides of the conflict. Access: http://history.furman.edu/editorials/see.py .

Maps and photographs

• Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints. Approximately 7,000 portraits and battleground images are available. The collection is from the glass negatives of Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner, as well as from photographic collections that were purchased by the Library of Congress in 1943. Browse by broad subjects or search by keyword. Access: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/ .

• Pictures of the Civil War. The new era of photography brought the battles home during the American Civil War. The National Archives has organized the Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner photographs into broad categories for easy browsing. Access: http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/photos/index.html .

Diaries and letters

• Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Approximately 20,000 documents, which include correspondence with enclosures of newspaper clippings, drafts of speeches, notes, pamphlets, and other printed material by Lincoln, are available. Most of the material dates from the presidential years. Lincoln had a lively correspondence with many people in his day, so this is a rich resource. Each piece is scanned, with accompanying transcription. Searchable by keyword or just browse the collection. Access: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html .
• American Civil War Collection at the Electronic Text Center. This site has transcribed letters from the University of Virginia special collections with links to other collections (some links are only accessible by University of Virginia students). Access: http://etext.virginia.edu/civilwar/ .
• The Civil War Archive: Letters Home from the Civil War. A collection of letters from both Union and Confederate soldiers, organized by name and regiment. Access: http://www.civilwararchive.com/LETTERS/letters.htm .
• The Civil War Collection at Michigan State University. A huge online collection of scanned letters, newspaper articles, images, photographs, diaries, and much more, filled with the stories of Michigan soldiers. Access: http://civilwar.archives.msu.edu/ .
• The Civil War Collection at Penn State. Penn State has a rich digitized special collection. These include diaries, newspapers, and other ephemera. No transcriptions are available for the diaries, but the scanned pages are clean and easy to peruse. Access: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/digital/civilwar.html .
• Civil War Diaries and Letters. Browse a list of scanned diaries and letters from the University of Iowa Libraries, some of which currently have transcriptions, but not all. You can also browse by year to get the materials for a particular time. Access: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cwd/ .
• Civil War Diaries and Letters Collections. A collection of diaries and letters from Auburn University, covering both sides of the war; each item is scanned and transcribed. Access: http://diglib.auburn.edu/collections/civilwardiaries/ .

• The Civil War: Women and the Home-front. Duke University has put together this study guide relating to women’s role during the war. Use the tab labeled “Primary Sources Online,” which includes digitized diaries and letters, as well as outside links to other institutions’ collections. The online papers include a collection from Rose O’Neal Greenhow, a famed Confederate spy. Other letters include those written by African American slaves, describing their living conditions in the South. Access: http://guides.library.duke.edu/content.php?pid=41224&sid=303304 .
• First Person Narratives of the American South. Everyday people’s voices speak through their diaries, autobiographies, ex-slave accounts, and memoirs on this site, which is organized alphabetically or by subject. Access: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/index.html .
• Manuscripts of the American Civil War. This special collection from the University of Notre Dame’s Rare Books and Special Collections contains seven soldier’s diaries, which have been carefully scanned and transcribed. The soldiers represented are from both sides of the war. The diaries highlight their day-to-day experiences—from the mundane to the terrifying. Access: http://www.rarebooks.nd.edu/digital/civil_war/diaries_journals/ .
• Saint Mary’s College of California Special Collections. Saint Mary’s College has a small, select special collection containing letters from a private in the Fifth Vermont regiment, and a diary from a captain of the Sixteenth Michigan regiment. The collections are digitized and transcribed, and the site is well illustrated. Access: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/library/about-the-library/special-collections .
• South Carolina and the Civil War. The site brings together primary sources by eyewitnesses from the holdings of the University of South Carolina. Included on the site are diaries, sheet music, maps, letters, and photographs. The collections are scanned and viewable, but with little transcription or description. Access: http://library.sc.edu/digital/collections/civilwar.html .
• Valley of the Shadow. Thousands of documents are accessible that compare life in two towns during the war: one in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania. These documents include letters, diaries, maps, newspaper accounts, and other sources. Access: http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/ .
• Virginia Military Institute Archives. The Virginia Military Institute has a proud history of training its students to serve in the military service of the United States. The archives provide access to the full-text of more than 75 letters, diaries, manuscripts, and other ephemera of soldiers from both armies. Access: http://www.vmi.edu/Archives/Civil_War/Civil_War_Resources_Home/ .
• Wisconsin Goes to War: Our Civil War Experience. The University of Wisconsin is in the process of digitizing letters, diaries, poetry, and other writings from Wisconsin’s soldiers; approximately 630 pages to date, with an expected completion number to be more than 2,600 pages. Access: http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/WI/WIWar .

Dispatches and battles

• Antietam on the Web. This site looks at the crucial Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), highlighting generals and other officers, battle maps, and important background information. This site also includes the transcriptions of reports from the officers from both sides of the war, as well as excerpts from diaries and letters of some of the soldiers who survived. Access: http://antietam.aotw.org/index.php .
• Making of America: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies. The Making of America site is an excellent source of primary documents, and this one features the orders, reports, and correspondence from the Union and Confederate navies. The scanned pages of the 30-volume set from the Government Printing Office are annotated and arranged chronologically. The collection is searchable. This is an essential resource for any study of naval operations in the war. Access: http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/m/moawar/ofre.html .
• Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library. This site from Mississippi State University contains the first 31 volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant published by Southern Illinois University Press, and includes his military papers from the Civil War. Also included are photographs and prints from the life of Grant, including photographs from the war. The volumes are searchable as well as browsable. Access: http://digital.library.msstate.edu/cdm/usgrantcollection .
• The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This 70-volume work from the Making of America site at Cornell University contains the formal reports for both the Union and Confederate armies, including correspondence and orders. The scanned volumes are arranged chronologically and identified with a brief annotation. The volumes are searchable. This is an essential resource for anyone doing serious research on battles, regiments, and the progress of the war. Access: http://digital.library.cornell.edu/m/moawar/waro.html .

Slavery and abolitionism

• Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936–1938. Includes more than 2,300 first-person accounts, and more than 500 photographs. The narratives were collected in the 1930s by the Federal Writer’s Project and the Works Progress Administration, and put into a seventeen volume set. Access: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html .
• Frederick Douglass Papers. A former slave and devout abolitionist, Douglass’s papers were digitized by the Library of Congress. They are searchable, and also can be browsed by date, and then narrowed by type, such as speeches or correspondence. Access: http://www.loc.gov/collection/frederick-douglass-papers/about-this-collection/ .
• North American Slave Narratives. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has a special collection dedicated to slave narratives. Not every manuscript is a primary document, but many are. Included on the site are narratives of fugitive and former slaves in published form from before 1920. For scholars interested in further study, a bibliography of slave and former-slave narratives by William L. Andrews is also included. Access: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/index.html .
• Slavery and Abolition in the U.S.: Select Publications of the 1800s. Reflecting both sides of the slavery question, these publications from the 1800s include speeches, tracts, pamphlets, books, legal proceedings, religious sermons, and personal accounts. This collection from a cooperative project by Millersville University and Dickinson College includes more than 24,000 individual pages. Access: http://deila.dickinson.edu/slaveryandabolition/index.html .
• Slaves and the Courts 1740–1860. From the Library of Congress’s American Memory Project this site consists of trials and cases, arguments, proceedings, and other historical works of importance that relate to the prosecution and defense of slavery as an institution. The collection contains more than 100 pamphlets and books published between 1772 and 1889. Access: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sthtml/ .

Confederacy

• The Museum of the Confederacy. Various primary sources are accessible, including a collection of photographs, documents, and artifacts relating to Lee and Jackson, the “Roll of Honor and Battle Accounts” from Confederate soldiers, and a searchable database of their collections. Access: http://www.moc.org/collections-archives?mode=general .
• The Papers of Jefferson Davis. A selection of documents from the published papers of the same name that includes speeches, reports, and correspondence. The documents are organized by volume with brief annotations. Access: http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/documentslist.aspx .

Article Views (Last 12 Months)

Contact ACRL for article usage statistics from 2010-April 2017.

Article Views (By Year/Month)

© 2024 Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association

Print ISSN: 0099-0086 | Online ISSN: 2150-6698

ALA Privacy Policy

ISSN: 2150-6698

‘American Civil Wars’ Review: The Era of Continental Divides

M ore than 60,000 books have been published about the U.S. Civil War since 1865. Historians have spilled much ink over the nation’s deadliest conflict, one that led to the deaths of more than 600,000 soldiers. But only in recent decades have scholars begun to explore the Civil War’s international causes and consequences, challenging the notion that it was a predominantly domestic affair.

Alan Taylor, a professor at the University of Virginia, offers compelling new insights in “American Civil Wars: A Continental History, 1850-1873,” a fine addition to his series of narrative histories about the nation’s founding and development. The title alludes to Mr. Taylor’s transnational framing of a period when multiple military conflicts rocked the continent. The desire for land, resources, labor and power drove competition among actors seeking territorial control in the United States, Mexico, Canada and their borderlands in the mid-19th century.

“American Civil Wars” begins in 1850, when clashes over the future of slavery in the expanding U.S. threatened to tear the nation apart. While Southern slaveholders wanted to bring plantation slavery into the Western territories to help expand the owners’ wealth and to increase the distance between enslaved people and their freedom, many Northerners envisioned the West as a place where independent farmers could flourish. “Recognizing the high stakes involved,” Mr. Taylor writes, “northern and southern leaders clashed over what form of society—slave or free labor—should prevail in the West and thereby claim the American future.” As a result, he argues, “the West was the contested prize that sparked the Civil War.”

Episodes of violence shattered communities across the nation during the 1850s. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 led to lethal conflicts among pro-slavery, antislavery and Free Soil Party settlers in the two territories. John Brown’s deadly raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Va., in 1859, an effort to spark a rebellion among enslaved people, galvanized some abolitionists and infuriated slaveholders. By the end of the decade, the prospect of war loomed large.

But the U.S. was not the only nation dealing with internal crises during the 1850s. Mr. Taylor deftly connects America’s struggles with those of its neighbors, Mexico and Canada. There, proponents of liberalism “sought to perfect a new social order of equal individual rights” where citizens could “share in the power of their republics.” But a conservative elite in Mexico vigorously opposed liberal reforms, while resentment among Catholic and Protestant Canadians grew—resulting in civil unrest in both nations. American adventurers called filibusterers took advantage of Mexico’s political chaos by heading to its borderlands and claiming territory, sometimes to facilitate slavery’s expansion. In 1858 an influx of American prospectors flooded New Caledonia, in present-day British Columbia, prompting fears of annexation among Canadian officials.

Civil war broke out in Mexico that same year, when Liberals and Conservatives fought for control of the government. By March of 1861, Liberals had secured victory in the War of the Reform, and Benito Juárez was elected president. In the U.S., tensions over slavery reached a boiling point. After Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the presidential election, seven Southern states seceded from the union to form the Confederate States of America.

The formal commencement of hostilities between the U.S. and the Confederate States of America in April 1861 initiated a four-year civil war that led to the liberation of four million enslaved African-Americans, as well as economic disruption, property destruction and community upheaval as hundreds of thousands of people became refugees. From the north, Canadian leaders watched with a mix of apprehension and opportunism. Mr. Taylor notes that John A. Macdonald, a future prime minister of Canada, predicted in mid-1861 that “in consequence of the fratricidal war, Canada had every prospect of being the great nation of this continent.”

Mr. Taylor covers the first two years of the American Civil War in three gripping chapters. “Miseries” reveals how the Union and the Confederacy mobilized their populations for war and shaped international opinion through diplomatic efforts. “Revolutions” recounts the major military events of 1862 and highlights President Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. “West” explores the consequences of the Civil War on the frontier, drawing on some of the best scholarship on the subject in recent years. The Union army saw the region as “the ultimate prize,” Mr. Taylor contends, and “imposed its liberal vision for the American future” there via the seizure of Native American lands, environmental destruction and brutal attacks on indigenous people.

As the fighting in the U.S. continued, war also returned to Mexico. Napoleon III sought to establish a monarchy there with the support of Conservatives. He sent thousands of troops to Mexico that wreaked havoc in 1862 and 1863. Mr. Taylor argues that “American Republicans and Mexican Liberals” viewed the military campaigns of the Union, Confederacy and French armies as “intertwined and laden with global stakes: to vindicate republicanism and equal rights against an unholy alliance of slave-lords, aristocrats, and monarchists.” Mr. Taylor concludes: “The fate of republican government hung in the balance as the armies lurched forward.”

The Union army’s ultimate victory in 1865 secured the abolition of slavery, prevented the nation’s fragmentation and strengthened the federal government. According to Mr. Taylor, Confederate defeat also had transnational consequences. It spurred Napoleon III to begin removing his troops from Mexico and motivated Canada’s regional leaders to more energetically pursue political unification.

By the end of 1867, France had exited Mexico and Canada’s Parliament had passed the British North America Act, which joined three territories to create the Dominion of Canada. Mr. Taylor sees these historic moments as linked, arguing that “each of the three national consolidations fed on the other two, which shaped what leaders in each saw as feasible and essential.” Incomplete, however, were the “utopian promises of that century’s form of liberalism,” as all three nations wrestled with racial or ethnic inequality during subsequent decades.

Mr. Taylor’s transnational approach reveals the often unnoticed connections between America’s war over slavery’s future and the concurrent battles for individual rights in Mexico and Canada. To learn more about the multifaceted aftermath of these civil wars, we await Mr. Taylor’s next volume with great anticipation.

Ms. Bellows is a historian and the author of “The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions.”

Military History

Let’s Not Do Another Civil War if We Can Help It, OK?

Three new books show us why the United States should do everything it can to nip the possibility in the bud.

A portion of the border wall between the United States and Mexico in 2021. Credit... Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

Supported by

• Share full article

By Thomas E. Ricks

Thomas E. Ricks, the Book Review’s military history columnist, is the author of nine books. Most of them are about military affairs, but the next, scheduled to be published in June, is a mystery set on the Maine coast titled “Everyone Knows but You.”

• May 19, 2024

As we approach this November’s presidential election, “blood bath” is quickly becoming one of Donald Trump’s favorite new terms . If he does not take the White House, there will be a “blood bath” in the auto industry. President Biden’s immigration policies are causing a “blood bath” at the U.S. border with Mexico. In some corners, this imagery is understood as a threat: What will Trump supporters do if their favored candidate does not win? He has repeatedly suggested that violent unrest could follow his defeat. Would it be a reprise of the American Civil War?

If any contemporary historian can give us a clue, it might be Alan Taylor. In AMERICAN CIVIL WARS: A Continental History, 1850-1873 (Norton, 534 pp., $39.99), Taylor, a University of Virginia historian who has won the Pulitzer Prize twice, takes a broad look at the lead-up to and aftermath of the older conflict, including the way it transformed life in Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

Does this wide scope work? Yes and no. I don’t think this book makes us look at the Civil War in a new way, but Taylor is persuasive in his assertion that the American conflict shaped the entire continent. “The United States emerged from the war with a stronger federal government and greater military potential,” he concludes. “Intimidated by that enhanced power, Russians sold Alaska, the Spanish bolted from Santo Domingo and the French withdrew their forces from Mexico.”

“American Civil Wars” also dwells on how the signs of a coming Union victory encouraged the creation of the nation of Canada from a diverse collection of British-held provinces on the northern border of the United States. (Now that the United States is a global power, any civil conflict in America would ripple around the world. Think of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, when lingering divisions over the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal made the U.S. government look weak and distracted; now imagine that on steroids.)

Taylor is a formidable historian and masterly writer. He briskly disposes of some persistent myths about the Civil War. If the fighting really was about states’ rights, he asks, why did the Confederate constitution ban its states from ever abolishing slavery? On the subject of Confederate fears of race mixing, he states flatly that “after centuries of sexually exploiting enslaved women, Southern whites projected their behavior onto Blacks.”

As for anyone who believes that the current turbulence on the U.S.-Mexican border is an anomaly, they will be edified by Taylor’s account of how Texans attacked Mexico for offering freedom to runaway slaves. During the early 1850s, he notes, about 4,000 enslaved people made it across the Texas border to freedom. In response, some 111 Texas Rangers rode across the Rio Grande to “attack, loot and burn the fugitive haven at Piedras Negras.”

After the Civil War, the U.S. Army general Philip Sheridan helped Mexican revolutionaries access 30,000 modern rifles, stockpiling them within easy reach along the Rio Grande in Texas. American weapons manufacturers were eager to sell off their excess inventory, which, Taylor writes, had been “refined in the recent blood bath.”

The historian and retired U.S. Army officer Thomas Ty Smith picks up the story of trouble on the border in THE GARZA WAR IN SOUTH TEXAS: A Military History, 1890-1893 (University of Oklahoma Press, 172 pp., $29.95). Despite all the talk today of an “invasion” coming up from Mexico, his short study is a useful reminder that havoc often has flowed southward across the border. In the early 1890s, the Mexican government was again deeply frustrated with the failure of the American government to stop cross-border incursions by Mexican revolutionaries who enjoyed sanctuary in some parts of Texas.

“The Garza War in South Texas” makes clear that, if there were another violent fracture on this continent today, we’d be lucky to have only two sides to the conflict. Civilian leaders near the border were often at odds with U.S. Army personnel, who in turn, notes Smith, thought many U.S. marshals were overly sympathetic to the revolutionaries. Officials in two Texas border counties brought charges against an Army officer, accusing him of conducting warrantless searches and arresting innocent people in the hunt for rebels. Meanwhile, one of the local scouts employed by the Army was arrested as an insurrectionist.

All civil conflict is complex, but few civil wars were so agonizingly byzantine as the Russian civil war that erupted as World War I ended and the Bolsheviks rose to power. In A NASTY LITTLE WAR: The Western Intervention Into the Russian Civil War (Basic Books, 366 pp., $32), Anna Reid, a former Ukraine correspondent for The Economist and The Daily Telegraph, focuses on the efforts led by France, the United States and, most of all, the British to support anti-Bolshevik forces in that fight.

Despite the book’s title, it was not a small campaign. Some 180,000 soldiers from 16 Allied nations were sent to try to prevent a Red victory. The Americans were fresh-faced newcomers; the British troops, by contrast, were those unfit for duty on the Western Front, “mostly wounded, gassed or otherwise unhealthy,” writes Reid.

No one was happy to be there. Not only did the largely czarist White Army suffer multiple troop rebellions, one of the White units that was led by British officers rose up and killed their Western European commanders. French sailors aboard two ships off the Crimean Peninsula mutinied, pulled down the tricolor, ran up the Red flag and then went ashore to join a pro-Bolshevik demonstration. There was even a renegade German army operating in Estonia, which declined to cooperate with the Allied commanders to whom they had just surrendered in the previous war.

All this insubordination went on despite the extreme acts of violence some used to try to keep order. One of the White generals in Crimea was Yakov Slashchyov, “a psychopathic cocaine addict who rode about with a caged crow attached to his saddle.” On a single morning, he seems to have left the bodies of 200 soldiers “shot in the back of the head” on a train platform. By evening, more corpses had been strung up from the station’s lampposts.

What, if anything, does all this tell us about Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine? “Outsiders,” Reid notes, “often get Russia spectacularly wrong.” But there is another, less apparent lesson to be learned: “Putin will fail for the same reason that the Whites did: because he underestimates the desire for freedom of the non-Russian nations.” A good lesson, too, for anyone today who thinks they can impose their vision of America on others through violence and intimidation.

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

As book bans have surged in Florida, the novelist Lauren Groff has opened a bookstore called The Lynx, a hub for author readings, book club gatherings and workshops , where banned titles are prominently displayed.

Eighteen books were recognized as winners or finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, in the categories of history, memoir, poetry, general nonfiction, fiction and biography, which had two winners. Here’s a full list of the winners .

Montreal is a city as appealing for its beauty as for its shadows. Here, t he novelist Mona Awad recommends books  that are “both dreamy and uncompromising.”

The complicated, generous life  of Paul Auster, who died on April 30 , yielded a body of work of staggering scope and variety .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

Advertisement

Why every American needs to see ‘Civil War’ | Opinion

• Updated: May. 19, 2024, 8:20 a.m. |
• Published: May. 19, 2024, 8:20 a.m.
• South Jersey Times Guest Columnist

By Andrew J. Donnelly

Every American needs to see the current movie “Civil War.” It is very rare that a film sticks with you after seeing it in theaters. It is also very rare that a director, in this case Alex Garland, can portray this kind of story in a way that neither bends one way or the other in terms of politics. Garland, who also wrote the film, does this brilliantly by telling a dystopian narrative through the eyes of photojournalists played by Kirsten Dunst, along with Wagner Moura, Cailey Spaeney and Stephen McKinley.

It’s set in the near future, where the United States has erupted into a civil war between several seceding factions and a loyalist faction. The sitting U.S. president (Nick Offerman) is serving a third consecutive term, even though this is unconstitutional. He has ordered airstrikes on American citizens and has usurped all power into the executive branch.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

• Shop to Support Independent Journalism
• We Have Issues
• Investigations
• Ethics Policy
• Ad-Free Login

Ron Johnson demands action before Biden incites 'mayhem' with RNC convention protesters

David Edwards

Senior editor, david edwards has spent over a decade reporting on social justice, human rights and politics for raw story. he also writes crooks and liars. he has a background in enterprise resource planning and previously managed the network infrastructure for the north carolina department of correction..

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) complained over the weekend because the U.S. Secret Service has not put additional restrictions on protests at the Republican National Convention.

In a Sunday interview on News Nation, Johnson told host Chris Stirewalt that he had spoken with the Secret Service about the convention that will be held in his state this summer.

"This is the same security plan that was developed before the summer of 2020, before the BLM Antifa riots, okay?" Johnson said. "So the Secret Service, they use their criteria, they set this plan, and now the Director of the Secret Service is saying, well, they have the authority to set the plan, but they don't have the authority to change it, they put the protest zone a block away from the actual convention site."

ALSO READ: Home Depot's political committee just got jacked

"You know, there's no control over that park, there's no fences around it, so it's a gathering site for all kinds of potential mayhem," he continued. "So this is a very obvious concern, it ought to be corrected, and if the Secret Service doesn't, I mean, I'll just be baffled by why they wouldn't want to provide that additional protection now that it's a different time and place."

Johnson referenced "the riots of 2020" but was silent about Donald Trump's role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"You know, we see the inflamed situation, the division being caused and pushed by, for example, President Biden," the senator opined. "This is a serious security concern that could be addressed."

Watch the video below from News Nation or at the link .

Stories Chosen For You

Should trump be allowed to run for office, 'it wasn't done stylishly': giuliani gripes about being served az papers on his birthday.

Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's former attorney, complained over the weekend after he said Arizona served him with an indictment notice that was not "done stylishly."

During a Sunday live stream, Giuliani's co-host and girlfriend Maria Ryan recounted how the former New York mayor was served with papers from an Arizona indictment at his 80th birthday party Friday. Giuliani and 17 others are facing charges for an alleged fake elector scheme connected to the 2020 presidential election.

The New York Post described the scene as "chaos."

"Mayor Giuliani, I have to tell you, never runs from anything," Ryan insisted. "This man is an American hero. Look it, he was never even informed he was indicted. He kind of heard about it from friends."

ALSO READ: 8 ways Trump doesn't become president

"I've been tweeting them for a while," Giuliani said. "And I said, if there's any indication of how you operate since you can't find me and I have announced my location 10 days in a row, you must really screw up vote counting."

"And then I, I didn't know how to get the damn thing because I didn't know when I had to appear," he continued. "So one guy, he walked in between a couple of people who didn't know who he was. And he handed me a folded up, crumpling piece of paper."

"It was a crumpling piece of paper. It wasn't like done stylishly. And he handed it to me, and he said, this is from Arizona. Attorney General, you know."

Giuliani griped that the document he was served was not the entire indictment.

"I still don't have the indictment," he said. "Well, maybe it'll be like Trump . They won't tell him what he's charged with."

"You make an indictment to harass an American hero, and you don't even give them the indictment," Ryan agreed. "He gets convicted, God forbid, if that happens, they'll tell him what the crime was."

Watch the video below from Rudy Giuliani.

Trump’s 'thought disorder' will put his mental decline on display at debate: experts

Viewers watching Donald Trump take on President Joe Biden in a June debate could see firsthand his mental deterioration as he tries to navigate the proposed 90-minute time frame before what promises to be a huge television audience.

According to John Gartner, a psychologist and former assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Medical School who has been raising alarms over the former president's mental decline as evidenced by his " glitches " during campaign rallies , it will be hard for Trump to avoid a major slip-up while put in a setting where the back and forth jumps from topic to topic.

In an interview with The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin, Gartner said "stress" could play a major role when the former president is forced to react on the run.

ALSO READ: Trump vs. history: Former presidents typically implode on their comeback tours

“I don’t think he’s capable of sustaining 90 minutes of unstructured conversation at night under stress without slipping,” he explained before adding, "When he does, Biden should pounce on it and shine a light on Trump’s thought disorder in real time.”

According to Harry Segal, a senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University, Biden needs to keep in mind that the more he gets under Trump's skin, the better his chances will be that the former president will stumble.

“Biden needs to remember that the more Trump feels attacked, the more angry he gets," he stated before claiming, "...when Trump gets angry, his speech becomes tangential, disorganized and sometimes hard to follow."

You can read more here .

'That did not happen': CBS host busts J.D. Vance on Trump's jobs record

CBS host Margaret Brennan called out Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) after he claimed former President Donald Trump had brought manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. when he was president.

On Sunday's edition of Face the Nation , Brennan questioned Vance, a vice presidential contender, about how Trump's proposed tariffs would make American products more affordable.

"So how is the Trump-Vance idea here going to help make things more affordable for people if you're putting taxes on goods they're purchasing from overseas?" she asked.

"Well, I don't necessarily buy the premise there, Margaret," Vance replied. "If you apply tariffs, really what it is is you're saying that we're going to penalize you for using slave labor in China and importing that stuff in the United States."

ALSO READ: Democratic congressman commits massive stock law violation

"What you end up doing is you end up making more stuff in America, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, and in Michigan," he added.

"That did not happen in the Trump administration, though," Brennan said.

"Well, it actually did happen in the Trump administration, Margaret," Vance insisted. "Manufacturing jobs came back."

However, a fact check from the Biden-Harris campaign disputed Vance's claims.

"Thousands more manufacturing jobs have been added under President Biden than were added under Trump," the campaign said in a statement.

Watch the video below from CBS or at the link. .

Inside Donald Trump’s billion-dollar Big Oil heist

The last time oligarchs tried to take over america it led to civil war, the main reason biden can bait trump into a debate.

Copyright © 2024 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | Manage Preferences | Debug Logs For corrections contact [email protected] , for support contact [email protected] .