Between 1803 and 1854, the United States achieved a vast expansion of territory through purchase, negotiation and conquest. But with this rapid growth in size of the American territory, the controversial question arose as to whether new territories should become free or slave states. More than a territorial crisis, the question of slavery had already been dividing American public opinion for years. and the rise to power of a supporter of abolition would be the trigger for war. In the first half of the 19th century, the United States expanded westward with the annexation of territories from a vast number of countries such as France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Mexico, among others.
In half a century, the territory of the United States tripled in size, and the government had yet to manage the administration of these new lands. But a problem that arose as a result of this expansion was the distribution of these lands with the northern states demanding new states to become free ones and southern states demanding them to become slave ones. You can already see where this is going. The question of slavery in the United States was becoming explosive and while the economy of the north was booming and industrializing at a rapid rate with more than 23 million people living there, The economy of the South was struggling to get by, relying heavily on slavery and farming, with a way smaller population of around 9 million people, of which 3.5 million were slaves, and thus, well, as you would expect, were very unlikely to fight. Both sides used the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as evidences to their claims.
The South pointed to the right, to property, and saw the Union as something they could leave whenever they wanted. while the North thought of it as one country ruled by a central government and pointed to the all-men-are-created-equal bit. These backbones of America's society were left a little bit too much to interpretation by the Founding Fathers, and many people were wondering what they really meant. Could Black people be citizens? Should slavery be abolished?
Cereal or milk first? More seriously, some tried to solve the issue pacifically, but it had often resulted in very controversial and outrageous compromises, like the one of 1850 which gave statehood to California, proposed these lands under the Missouri Compromise Line to decide their status by themselves and implemented the Fugitive Slave Law forcing any state, even those who had abolished slavery, to hand back slaves that had escaped. But tensions were still rising as Northerners didn't really want to actively participate in maintaining slavery a thing because, well, They kind of started realizing that it was immoral a little bit, and also due to the rise of a brand new party in the North, the Republican Party, founded in 1854 that was very, very much against slavery.
The atmosphere was so tense that politicians in Congress started carrying guns with them, and sometimes fights between representatives would even occur. That gives you a glimpse of the political atmosphere that reigned in America before the beginning of the Civil War. The election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 as the first Republican president in history, was the final trigger for succession. Even though Lincoln was pretty moderate and initially didn't plan to abolish slavery right away, seven slave states had declared their succession and joined to form the Confederacy under the presidency of Jefferson Davis before he even took office in March 1861, leaving Lincoln without many options. The war started in April 1861, when South Carolina attacked Fort Sumter after the government refused their demand to evacuate from the federal troops from the state.
When the fort capitulated, the government kinda said, screw it, and asked every state to send forces to recapture the fort. Four states refused to send forces against their neighbors and joined the Confederacy. Four other states, Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky, were slave states that were opposed to both succession and coercing the South. West Virginia then joined them as an additional border state after it separated from Virginia.
Soon, the South also started raising troops among the population. Surprisingly enough, the beginning of the war was kind of a struggle for the Union due to its relatively old and incompetent generals, while the South had brilliant ones such as Robert E. Lee. Immediately after the beginning of the war, the North implemented a naval blockade against the South to cut their supplies. The first major battle of the war, the First Battle of Bull Run, occurred on July 21, 1861. when the North attempted to take the southern capital, Richmond, and the battle was chaotic, to say the least.
Many soldiers had absolutely no experience in combat. The flags on each side were so similar that nobody knew who they were shooting at, and civilians from all around the country even came to Virginia to have a picnic while watching the battle. With heavy casualties on both sides, the Confederacy eventually pushed back Northern forces, and things kept getting worse for the North for a while. Nevertheless, A northern general named Ulysses S. Grant started making a name for himself with key military victories in the West.
By February of 1862, the Union Army had achieved victories in central Kentucky and Tennessee. The Army planned to move south and capture an important Confederate east-west railway hub in northern Mississippi. With heavy casualties of over 23,000 people on both sides, the Union won this battle. However, on the other side of the Atlantic, tensions started to rise with the United Kingdom because of what's known today as the Trent Affair. On November 8, 1861, Confederate diplomats were found by the United States on a British ship, almost escalating into a war between the two countries.
Even after the release of the diplomats, European powers were still threatening to intervene. as they couldn't import cotton from the South due to the blockade anymore. Empowered by Southern victories, for the first time, Robert E. Lee gathered its forces and pushed into Northern territory, hoping to threaten Washington, D.C. The attack was well-prepared and very likely to succeed. Except that nope, the plans for the battle were found around a cigar by a soldier. Union soldiers found a copy of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's orders detailing the Confederates'plan for the Antietam Campaign in Maryland.
The Battle of Antietam occurred on September 17, 1862, and stays to this day the bloodiest day in the United States'military history, with a combined tally of 23,000 killed. The day ended in a draw, but halted Lee's plans to invade the North for the time being. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which abolished slavery in the Confederate States, thus changing the main purpose of this war.
From trying to avoid succession to fighting for the abolition of slavery, Lincoln had given a new meaning to the Civil War. More than a moral decision by Lincoln, it made the war more legitimate and made the intervention of France and the United Kingdom into the conflict against the Union almost impossible since they had already abolished slavery themselves and it would have made them look quite hypocritical. The war was at a turning point. In July 1863, Robert E. Lee attempted a new capture of Washington, D.C., in what would become the most famous battle of the war, the Battle of Gettysburg. Everybody kinda knew that the winner of this battle would most likely win the war.
Union casualties numbered around 23,000 people, while Confederate casualties numbered around 28,000. This battle resulted in a massive and decisive Northern victory. News from the West were even better as the Mississippi River just fell under Ulysses S. Grant's control after the siege of Vicksburg. The victories, a day apart, at Gettysburg and Vicksburg marked the turning point of the Civil War. They also ensured that European powers did not recognize the Confederacy as a sovereign nation, withholding much-needed support.
The ravages of war were still evident in Gettysburg more than four months later when on November 19, 1863, The soldiers'national cemetery was dedicated. During this ceremony that became another key event of American history, President Abraham Lincoln honored the fallen and redefined the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address. On that day, where he wasn't even the day's primary speech, that's true, another guy reportedly spoke two hours non-stop before Lincoln started speaking. It is Lincoln that went down in history, and kinda stole the spotlight to be honest.
describing in 271 words, the U.S. as a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. In 1864, Ulysses S. Grant, whom Lincoln appreciated very much at that point, mostly because, well, he was definitely the best general of the northern forces, even though a little bit too keen on whiskey, was appointed general-in-chief of the Union Army and ordered an attack on all fronts. Atlanta was sieged and then taken by General William Sherman, and in the East, the two greatest generals of the war, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, faced in a series of battles that killed or wounded more than 80,000 people in only a matter of weeks before settling near Richmond.
More than that, in the 1864 election, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected with an astonishing 91% in favor of the sitting president. With Southern generals refusing to surrender,... Sherman moved from Atlanta and took over Georgia and South Carolina, all of this while causing a massive mess with billions of dollars of damages burning railroads, farms, and freeing slaves.
In the East, with more and more pressure from the Union, General Lee fled from Grant's siege, and Southern forces burned to the ground the city of Richmond, the capital of the South. Lee surrendered a few weeks later, and other generals followed suit. The American Civil War was over.
In Congress, the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865. Unfortunately, Lincoln wouldn't be able to see the ratification of his amendment and greatest achievement, as he would be shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., and would pass away the next day. The amendment was ratified by the Rural Court. number of states on December 6, 1865. The Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was soon captured and the South came under military occupation. However, the hardest task was yet to come, reconstruction and reconciliation. Over 750,000 men died in this conflict, which means it stays to this day the deadliest in American history.
Black people would soon be given citizenship and the right to vote. Families were reunited and decades of suffering for millions of black people finally came to an end. Yet, the fighting has continued up to this day to end discrimination and in favor of equality.
Even today, the consequences of this war still have repercussions on the United States of America and the American society as a whole. Yet, just like Abraham Lincoln did in his time, we should strive for unity and progress. Little did Lincoln know that he would be remembered as a humble president who preserved the nation and fought for what was right.
He stays to this day one of the most consequential and beloved presidents in American history. Thanks for watching! If you liked this video, don't forget to leave a like and a comment.
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