The U.S. Civil War was more about State rights than the liberation of slaves - Essay Example

2). 1 To a large extent, The American Civil can be regarded as a war directed more towards State rights than the liberation of slaves. This is because the ensuing dispute between some states in the South and others in the North regarding taxation of cotton exports, as well as conflicts about the issue of slavery, precipitated the war. Although President Lincoln had tried to make both sides unite, they turned down a treaty called “The Pickwick Papers.” The Confederate states of the South included California, Florida, and Kansas while the Union States in North comprised of New York, Tennessee, Delaware, Alaska, and Oregon.

Based on this, therefore, the paper will provide concrete arguments as to why the American Civil War is considered as war for State rights. The main Objectives of the Union Army at the beginning of the war President Lincoln At the beginning of the war, the main objective that Abraham Lincoln had was to preserve the Union and prevent the Southern states from seceding. He had the goal of bringing the seceding states back to the union as soon as it could be possibly done. His adoption of the Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda” Plan reinforced his efforts to prevent the secession of states.

This plan agitated for a blockade of all ports in the south, as well as dividing of the Confederacy through controlling Mississippi. Lincoln was determined to see that the seceding states joined the Union since he saw the secession as a threat to his presidency. The secession of the states in the South marked the beginning of the civil war and this happened at a time when Lincoln assumed the office of the president. As such, his determination was to overcome the challenge posed by the secession (Burlingame 2011, p. 10).2 Union Generals2 At the onset of the Civil War in the United States, the army comprised of 16, 367 officers, 4 artillery regiments, and 198 line companies, 5 mounted regiments and infantry, comprising of 10 regiments.

The major objective of the Union Army Generals was to maintain the status quo by discouraging the secession of states. This portrays that the Union army believed that the Union had to be maintained so that the states no changes could be witnessed in the states. At the beginning of the war, the Union Generals strived to discriminate against and segregate the blacks. The Generals did not accept the commissioning of black officers in the army, with only one hundred of the blacks being commissioned at the start of the war (Barney 2011, p. 6).3 Union Soldiers/Wives/Citizens/Blacks At the beginning of the civil war, the Union Soldiers fought with the main objective of subduing the seceding states.

The war against the South aimed at blocking all the ports in the seceding states. Troops of Union Soldiers advanced towards the South with the main objective being capturing the Confederate states. At the start of the civil war, the objective of the blacks was to see an end to slavery. They had the determination to fight against the conditions of servitude, segregation and discrimination that they had faced over the years. African Americans joined the army with the hope that they would help their fellow blacks overcome the slave-like conditions that they had endured for many years (Cimballa & Miller, 2002).

3 The main Objectives of the Confederate Army at the beginning of the war. President Davis At the beginning of the Civil War,3 Jefferson Davis used to be the president of the Confederate