American Civil War in World History - Essay Example

American Civil War Thesis Statement: The American Civil War was a war of interest to many nations, with some hoping that the war would continue and devastate or at least tame the Americas political and economic power, while others hoped for the secession of the South. Nevertheless, there were other nations that hoped for a speedy resolution of the war and the formation of the American Union. Outline and Agenda The American Civil War was not only a war between and among the Americans, but also an internationally observed and strictly followed war. The Agenda of this research is to understand the American Civil War deeply, not only from the perspective of the Americans, but also from that of the international community. The focus is define different perspective of the war from these international observers, while also understanding their stance and vested interested in this war. In this respect, the outline of the research will constitute both the American and the international perspective on the American Civil War. Outline: Causes of the American Civil War Slavery and slave rights National Elections Cotton trade Territorial Crisis Rights of the states Course of American Civil War States realignment Beginning of the war Progress of the war End of the war International perspective of American Civil War Supporters of secession Supporters of Union Annotated Bibliography Bibliography Brauer, Kinley. Civil War Diplomacy (Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1990) http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Civil-War-Diplomacy.html (Accessed: May3, 2015). According to this source, diplomacy was an important part of the American Civil War. Both the Federal North and the confederacy South were involved in high level diplomacy with the international community, most especially with Europe. There was no doubt in the minds of both the North and the South that without the European support, secession of the South was just an illusion. According to this article by Kinley Brauer, while the armies were involved in confrontations on different battlefronts, the diplomatic wars were also accelerating. The North’s major interest was to first prevent the diplomatic recognition of the Confederacy, which would have automatically seen the secession of the South become unstoppable. The North also fought the diplomatic war to ensure that the South did not receive military supplies, or any other form of encouragement to secede from Europe. This source is very important in reacting the diplomatic-perspective understanding of the American Civil War, while also citing who were the international supporters of secession or union. Breckinridge, Robert Jefferson. The Civil War: Its Nature and End. No. 4. Published at the office of the Danville Review, 1861, 668-671. This source presents both the view of the federal north on the rebellion in the South, as well as the possibility of the international community intervening in the American Civil War. The source focuses on the strength and resilience of the North and the merit associated with its quest for union, as the basis of winning the American Civil War in the end. The perspective offered by this source is important for this research, since it gives a glimpse of the standings of the North against the South during the American Civil War, elaborating further why the North was to remain resilient throughout the course of the war. According to Breckinridge, Robert Jefferson, the North had to defy any international attempt to intervene in the American Civil War, citing the foreign intervention as the ultimate threat, as opposed to the South’s supremacy, to the North’s success. The relevance of this source is give a clear picture of the international interest in the American Civil War, while also showing the importance psychological side of the war. Handlin, William Wallace. American Politics, a Moral and Political Work, Treating of the Causes of the Civil War, the Nature of Government, and the Necessity for Reform: A Moral and Political Work, Treating of the Causes of the Civil War, the Nature of Government, and the Necessity for Reform. IT Hinton, 1864, 22-77. The book by William Handlin is relevant to this research, because it offers a purely political outlook f the American Civil War. While different sources related to the American Civil War have combined different angles to create a wholesome understanding of the war, this source purely focuses on the political philosophy that gave rise to the secession interest in the South, and the political strengths of the Federal North to overcome these rebellious political philosophies. Thus, the relevance of this book is based on its in-depth coverage f the political causes and advances of the American Civil War.Motley, John Lothrop. The causes of the American Civil War: a letter to the London Times. JG Gregory, 1861, Retrieved from http://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=puctAQAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=american+civil+war&ots=gmU0SQcFzp&sig=xq3Z7-_c0XLlKqhZM_1LtJ-miJw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=american%20civil%20war&f=false The book, The causes of the American Civil War: a letter to the London Times”, provides information about American civil war. This book benefits my research topic because it discusses in depth the main causes of American civil war. It shows how it started from 1861. However, this book does not provide information about how the war proceeded up to 1865 and factors that made it to prevail for four years. The author of this book is Motley, John Lothrop. This source provides me with a greater insight of the factors that led to American Civil war. This is because it was written during the period that this event was occurring hence the information provided in this book is original. Thorp, Daniel B. ‘New Zealand and the American Civil War.’ Pacific Historical Review, 2011. doi:10.1525/phr.2011.80.1.97. Daniel B. Thorp addresses the relationship between New Zealand and the United States in his article titled “New Zealand and the American Civil War.” According to Thorp, New Zealand and the United States had already maintained a steady relationship up to the time of the Civil War, so New Zealand was particularly interested in the outcome of the War. The references used for this article contribute to the idea that the author is presenting a sound perspective on the Civil War, especially in context of another international power’s view on the conflict. The New Zealand perspective was formulated by a more international understanding of the conflict rather than addressing the specific concerns within the conflict itself. This helps understand not only the origin of the information’s credibility, but also why the New Zealand perspective came to adopt such a specific stance. Wilson, Henry. History of the Antislavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth United-States Congresses, 1861-1865. Walker, Fuller,1865, 72. The book summarizes the history of the antislavery legislations that were undertaken by the U.S. Congress during the course of the three years of the American Civil War. The book is important as a reference in this research, because it gives a deeper analysis of slavery as one of the major factors contributing to the American Civil War. The book is also important since it gives a balanced outlook of the measures that were undertaken to end slavery, while also highlighting why such measures were a major bruise on the economic, social and political status of the South. The relevance of this source to the research is that it focuses on the issue of slavery in an in-depth manner, as the core of the North-South conflict that culminated into the American Civil War. Read More