The Cultural Perspective of the American Civil War - Essay Example

The Cultural Perspective of the American Civil War It has been widely reported that the South was the major contributing actor in the Civil War. Majority of history classes contend that the war was started and fuelled by the South, while it only ended when the South freed its slaves, leading to the restoration of liberty and freedom. However, Alexander Stevens, who was the Confederacy’s President, claimed that this classification was a great injustice and a violent assault on history. It has now been known that slavery was not a very important factor during the war, rather a question of the authority that was being tested. States from the South did not want the federal government to control issues like ownership of slaves. The war was not just a conflict between the opponents and advocates of slavery. It was a conflict between federative government supporters and national government supporters. The one theme that recurs with regard to pushing the US into a state of war is that of culture. For many years, the cultural identity of the North and South had drifted apart significantly, and this aspect led to the conflict. The culture and values that were prevalent in the South included slavery and, while this was not the primary basis of the Civil War, it contributed to the Northern economy’s setup and racism in the South (Weidenmier 878). Both these cultures led to the wide rift that caused the Civil War. The slavery culture had negative effects on various events that caused the Civil War. The Compromise of Missouri was occasioned by a disagreement over whether slavery should be allowed in the new state of Missouri, while the question on nullification involved the Southern states refusing to cede the power over slavery to the federal government. In addition, the 1850 compromise was meant to resolve the controversies of slavery that arose due to the Mexican conflict. All these events were rooted in the slavery question, and every conflict was a step that led to the Civil War. The system of plantation in South Carolina, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia expanded to Mississippi and Alabama, which needed more slaves. This southern life of plantation led to differences with the North that was by now heavily industrialized (Weidenmier 878). With each passing year, the need for slaves in the South led to an increasingly different culture from the North. The North underwent a period of technological advancements that stimulated export and subsequent revenue, allowing it to forge ahead of the South as the Northern culture incorporated office jobs, busy lifestyles, and factories (Weidenmier 879). The North saw an expansion of mass communication, education, literacy, and urbanization, while also being more progressive. This was in stark contrast to the South that was more traditional and rural oriented. The North had a more materialistic and coarse way of life, which led to its population being disdainful of the manner in which the Southern people lived, and viewing it as a sign that they were superior. While the North modernized, the South relied more on its traditional values, leading to the exacerbation of the ever-increasing differences between the two regions (Weidenmier 879). Due to the use of slaves in the South, its white population had no need to do manual labor, which left them with a lot of free time. They would entertain guests and take part in society enhancing activities. The minimal contact between the North and South states during this period led to an establishment of stereotypes about the way that those in the South lived (Bestor 34). In economic terms, those in the South preferred the simple and slow life, while the Northerners were more profit oriented. Due to these, both regions felt superior to the other. For this reason, it is no longer feasible to assume that only the South was responsible for the Civil War because the polar opposite nature of the two cultures pushed each other further apart until violence was the only way to solve the issues between them (Bestor 34). The Northern culture led to the materialization of a government with too much concentrated power, which ensured that the federal government was working for the ideals of the North during the war (Bestor 35). The government’s increasing power, as well as the control that the North exercised over majority of its departments, helped its cause, while also angering the South. Exaggeration of the differences between the two regions, such as the expansion of slavery by the South, led to an artificial crisis that precipitated an eventual needless conflict. It has been claimed that the North used the slavery issue in order to expand their enterprise to the South. Beliefs such as this led to exacerbation of the differences between the two regions. While the North commonly believed that, the South was inferior to them both economically and socially, the North came to the same conclusion. Since it was imperative to settle the argument regarding who was inferior to the other, war became imminent and unavoidable (Bestor 35). The South utilized and condoned slavery, while its economy was mainly supported through the exportation of raw goods. It was expected that families in the South would run the plantations and pass them on to their children, meaning that the states there remained agricultural and rural (Collier & Hoeffler 566). The commitment they had to education remained weak and the majority was illiterate. As times changed in the North, the South maintained their ways and the two regions became confident in the superiority of their lifestyles. For instance, free labor ensured the South had no need for technology in order to keep their economy running. The main difference came from the fact that the Southerners had thousands of acres, making them different from ordinary rich men. While they did not have higher living standards than Northerners did, they were of a different caliber and their work made it difficult for the two regions to relate. Northern men would relate daily in the factories or the offices, whereas the same was not possible in the South due to the fact they lived so far apart. The North and South had little in common towards the beginning of the Civil War, and this disconnect made them uncomfortable with one another (Collier & Hoeffler 567). As the cultures of both regions moved in completely different directions, they sought to prove their superiority through; stereotyping and dehumanizing each other. This cultural clash led to a simmering hatred for one another as their attitudes towards slavery and the differences in their socio-economic lives were incompatible. Conflicts over affairs of the government, especially the Missouri compromise and the nullification issue, only worked to push the country towards war. The American Civil War occurred because of the conflicts that resulted from the separate cultures. The polar nature of the Northern and Southern cultures led to discontent across the country, forcing the US into a war to resolve the differences. Works Cited Bestor, Arthur. "The American Civil War as a Cultural Crisis." The American Historical Review 69.2 (1994): 327-352. Print. Collier, Paul. & Hoeffler, Anke. "Greed and grievance in civil war." Oxford Economic Papers 56.4 (2004): 563-595. Print. Weidenmier, Marc. D. "Turning Points in the U. S. Civil War." Southern Economic Journal 68.4 (2002): 875-890. Print. Read More