The civil war

The question of slavery in the US remained the most disputed problem in the first half of the 19^th century. In 1820 Congress permitted slavery in the new state of Missouri and the Arkansas territory. But it was banned everywhere west and north of Missouri. When the question of slavery was raised again in connection with the new territories, the Congress forgot about its previous decision. Besides, in 1850 the Congress passed an unpopular Act which gave the southern slave owners the right to catch and return the slaves who had run away to the free states.. At this time Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote “Uncle Tom's Cabin” which was an anti-slavery novel. Many people demanded an abolition of slavery.

In the middle of the 19^th century only the area of Kansas and Nebraska in the center of the country remained inhabited by Indians. In 1854 Congress permitted the settlement of American citizens on this territory. Moreover, Congress allowed settlers of Kansas and Nebraska to solve the question of slavery within these territories themselves which was against the Missouri Compromise of 1820. So, there were bitter clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. The struggle in Kansas spread to other parts of the country. For example to Virginia, where in 1859 John Brown, tried to raise a revolt of black slaves. Though his attempt was crushed by the government and J. Brown was executed his example was never forgotten.

In 1854, during the period of struggle in Kansas the Republican Party was formed. It united the industrialists of the North, the free farmers and many town inhabitants who were against slavery. Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) became a leading figure in the party. In 1848 Lincoln was elected member of Congress. In 1858 during the election campaign the whole country followed his speeches against his opponent Senator Douglas who supported slavery. I'd like you to hear his famous quotations: “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Here is another part of his speech: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time”.

In 1860 the Republican party won the presidential elections, Abraham Lincoln became president. The South decided to live the American Union. In December 1860 South Carolina announced that it was leaving the Union. Soon it was joined by 10 more southern states. These 11 states proclaimed themselves an independent nation – the Confederate States of America with its own president, government and army (SC, Miss, Fl, Alab, Georgia, Lou, Tx, Virg, Ar, NC, Ten, Missouri, Kentucky). The American Civil War began (1861 – 1865). The Northern army had the support of the industrial north and the people who were against slavery.

Lincoln's main tasks were to keep the country together and to abolish slavery. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which granted freedom to all slaves.

The Southern army of the Confederates won some battles at the beginning of the war, but then the situation changed. In the summer of 1863 the commander of the Confederates General Lee moved North into Pennsylvania. After three day of fighting the Confederates were defeated at Gettysburg. The Northern army soon took control of the Mississippi valley and cut the confederacy in two. Another important figure in the Civil War was General Grant, who commanded another army of the North.

On April 2, 1865 Lee had to give up Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederacy. A week later, on April 9, 1865 General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, or just Appomattox, and shortly after all the other forces of the South surrendered. The Civil War was over. On April 14, 1865, during the celebrations in Washington, Abraham Lincoln was killed by the actor John Booth.

The civil war settled 2 most important issues. Firstly, it put an end to slavery, which was abolished by the 13^th amendment to the Constitution in 1865. It also decided that the USA was not a collection of different semi-independent states, but a single united nation.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1541