The American Civil War Was One of the Greatest Events - Essay Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction The American civil war was one of the greatest events in the history of US. It began in 1861 and ended in 1865 leaving a lot of casualties. The war was fought between the North and the South or what was referred as the confederacy consisting of seven states. Though the war was very extensive and deadly, its cause has never been fully established. Some people attribute it to slavery while others argue that it was necessitated by the economic differences between the North and the South, political factors especially the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and a series of government policies at the time. Whatever the cause of one of the fiercest wars in American history, it is worth noting that the event is a good example of interconnection between economics, politics and race. The North was very different from the south in terms of the economy and this in turn affected the politics of the day with the central question being the place of slavery in the economy. Slavery on the other hand, was a strong indicator of racism in America as it was a sign of white supremacy which the Southern whites fought hard to keep. These slaves were very vital to the prosperity of the Southern economy and affected the politics of the day as it gave the slave owners the right to control politics (Egnal, 2009). These large plantation owners required slaves to tend to their cotton plantations thus were against abolition of slavery whereas the North most dependent on industries had no need for slaves thus advocated abolition. The aim of this paper is to show how politics, economics and race are interconnected. To achieve this, the paper will discuss one historical event where these issues are interconnected: the civil war. More so, it will discuss the causes of the war to show that it was a result of politics, economics and racism manifested in slavery. The American civil war took place in 1861 up to 1865 and thereafter a period of reconstruction began in the south after its defeat by the North. America had experienced a period of economic growth especially in the North owing to growth of industries, mining, commerce, transport and an increasing urban population (Noll, 2008). The North had a very high population due to high birth rate and influx of European immigrants from Germany and Britain. It is this high population that led to election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 even without support from the south. As such, the north sought labor for its manufacturing sector and it was in form of free labor. This was due to the capitalistic economy and republican ideals which favored liberal policies as opposed to slavery. The north advocated for rapid economic modernization which entailed imposition of tariffs, internal improvements at the expense of government and introduction of a national bank (Engle, 2001). The north also had iron and coal deposits as well as enough water for moving the economy thus were favored by the tariffs. On the other hand, the south did not have minerals and as such relied on agricultural production to drive the economy especially cotton plantations. The cotton produced would be sent to the north for manufacturing as there were no industries in the south. Owing to this fact, the south was against introduction of a national bank and internal improvement at federal expense as it only favored the north (Egnal, 2009). There were few plantation owners and few small farmers in the south thus the plantation owners controlled the economy of the south. Due to the expansive plantations owned by the whites, extensive labor was needed and this was sourced from slavery. Slaves were brought in from Africa and these were considered inferior than whites hence prevalence of racism. The southern economy was dependent on slave labor hence the quest for secession to avoid the outcome of the abolitionist movement that was cropping up in the north. The civil war thus was prompted by the differences in the economies of the two regions and the outcome was also influenced by economic factors. Politics also played a great role in the civil war. America though a union was divided into two regions with very different political ideologies owing to the differences in their economies. America was expanding at the time and the states conquered the territory as slave states. At least that was the case when the north and the south were united on the slave issue but now the north was more industrialized and liberal thus wanted emancipation of slaves while the south remained predominantly agricultural thus dependent on slaves (Alexander & Rucker, 2010). Due to the growing influence of the abolitionist movement and the desire to hold on to power by the republicans in the north the politicians gave in to their demands. The south on the other hand, was very critical of the republicans as they valued democratic ideals. They were against use of government funds to fund debts as it only benefited the northerners and were also against abolition of slavery. As such a compromise was reached in that the new states to be acquired had to be divided into Free states and slave states. Foreigners were also opposed to expansion of slavery in the west thus supported the north in their quest to abolish slavery. The south retaliated by demanding secession but the north was determined to keep the union united hence the breakout of the civil war. So far we have seen the interaction between politics and economics but the two categories are intertwined with racism. During the war itself race came in handy as the black Americans were engaged in the war. The Africans were considered an inferior race with no value thus relegated to the role of slavery but the north was more sympathetic to their plight. Rothenberg (2004) sees race as being socially constructed as opposed to being biological. The difference in color and other aspects would not matter if the society viewed all individuals as the same. However, in the US the Europeans who colonized America viewed people of different color as different and inferior and regarded themselves as superior and on the basis of their superiority enjoy privileges not entitled to other races. America comprises of the Native Americans, whites, Hispanics, Latinos and African Americans. The north took advantage of their call for emancipation of slaves with Abraham Lincoln proclaiming emancipation when he got into power to woo the African Americans into their army. The north was thus very strong in the war and defeated the south with devastating effects. The southerners did not want to engage the blacks in the war thus its army was weak. All political ideals of the time were based on the slavery issue as some like Stephen Douglas fought for the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed citizens of territories to reject or accept slavery while Lincoln called for abolition of slavery and was against the Act (Engle, 2001).However, slaves were considered inferior and had no rights which the whites enjoyed. After the war came reconstruction in the south. Though emancipated the blacks were still in trouble as the whites used their political power to oppress them. They had no voting rights until later but still the Ku Klux Klan was used to frustrate their efforts for freedom. Due to their race, they were excluded in the economic and political sphere. Conclusion The American civil war in the 1860 is a perfect example of how race, economics and politics are interconnected. Due to their race the African Americans and other races are excluded in most of the economic and political activities. They are discriminated in all spheres of their lives and as such cannot participate effectively in the political life. During the civil war most blacks were slaves hence owned no property. They also had no voting rights thus were excluded politically. The differences in economic systems between the north and the south often led to differing political ideals which at last culminated into civil war. The north being industrialized was opposed to extension of slavery while the south being agricultural favored slavery and viewed people of color as inferior and without any rights despite the American constitution declaring equality of all people. Race thus affected the blacks economically and politically. References Alexander, L.M and Rucker, W.C (eds) (2010) Encyclopedia of African American History. California: ABC-CLIO Egnal, M. (2009). Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War. New York, NY: Hill & Wang. Engle, S. (2001). The American Civil War: The War in the West 1861-July 1863. Great Britain: Osprey. Noll, M.A (2008) God and Race in American Politics: A Short History. New Jersey: Princeton University Press Rothenberg, P.S (2004) Race, Class and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study. USA: Worth Publishers Read More