1.3 - World History Notes 05

Elaborate Notes

The American Civil War (1861-1865) is often referred to by historians as the “central crisis” in American history. As articulated by historian James M. McPherson in his seminal work Battle Cry of Freedom (1988), the war was a defining moment that tested the very principles upon which the United States was founded, ultimately reshaping its society, politics, and national identity.

Underlying Causes: A Divided Nation

The roots of the conflict lay in the profound and growing divergence between the Northern and Southern states, which had evolved into two distinct socio-economic and cultural systems by the mid-19th century.

• Divergent Economic Systems:

  • The Industrial North: The Northern economy was characterized by a rapidly expanding industrial sector, centered on manufacturing, finance, and commerce. This “Market Revolution,” as termed by historians like Charles Sellers, fostered urbanization, a large immigrant workforce, and a dynamic capitalist ethos. Federal economic policies, such as the protectionist tariffs (e.g., the Tariff of 1828, derided by the South as the “Tariff of Abominations”), were designed to shield nascent Northern industries from foreign competition, particularly from Great Britain. The federal government’s investment in infrastructure, including canals and railroads, primarily benefited the North, integrating its markets and facilitating its industrial growth.
  • The Agrarian South: In stark contrast, the Southern economy remained overwhelmingly agrarian, dominated by a plantation system reliant on cash crops like cotton (“King Cotton”) and tobacco. These crops were labor-intensive, making the institution of slavery the bedrock of the Southern economy. The South’s economic model was expansive, requiring a constant supply of new land to cultivate as old plantations suffered from soil exhaustion. They viewed federal tariffs as a punitive tax that increased the cost of imported manufactured goods and threatened their export-based economy by inviting retaliatory tariffs from trade partners. The South felt it was contributing significantly to federal coffers through exports but receiving minimal federal investment in return, as most infrastructure projects were concentrated in the North.

• Socio-Cultural and Ideological Divide:

  • Northern Society: The North developed a more liberal, dynamic, and egalitarian (for white males) society. It became the hub of higher education with institutions like Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania (not Pittsburg as a major early university). This concentration of intellectual activity fostered major social reform movements, most notably abolitionism. The dominant ideology was that of “free labor,” which held that any hardworking individual could achieve economic independence, a prospect fundamentally at odds with a slave-based system.
  • Southern Society: Southern society was hierarchical, aristocratic, and conservative. Power was concentrated in the hands of a small, wealthy planter class. The social structure was rigid and resistant to change. Education lagged significantly behind the North. While the North embraced modernity and progress, the South idealized a pastoral, traditional way of life rooted in a code of honor and paternalism.

The Centrality of Slavery

While economic and cultural factors were significant, modern historical consensus, championed by scholars like Eric Foner, posits that the institution of slavery was the primary and inextricable cause of the war. All other sectional conflicts were either rooted in or exacerbated by the “peculiar institution.”

• Moral and Ideological Conflict:

  • For the North, slavery was increasingly viewed as a moral failing and a “nation’s shame,” a blatant contradiction of the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that “all men are created equal.” The Second Great Awakening, a religious revival in the early 19th century, fueled this moral outrage.
  • Abolitionist movements gained momentum. William Lloyd Garrison founded the radical anti-slavery newspaper ‘The Liberator’ in 1831 and the American Anti-Slavery Society, calling for the immediate and uncompensated emancipation of all slaves.
  • For the South, slavery was initially defended as a “necessary evil,” a view held by figures like Thomas Jefferson. However, by the 1830s, under pressure from abolitionists, Southern intellectuals like John C. Calhoun began to aggressively defend it as a “positive good,” arguing it was beneficial for both enslaved people (who they claimed were civilized and cared for) and white society.
  • The North’s condemnation was perceived by the South as an aggressive interference in their internal affairs and an attack on their way of life. They deeply resented being branded as “sinners” by Northern clergy and reformers.

• The Political Dimension of Slavery: The Westward Expansion:

  • The core political struggle revolved around the extension of slavery into newly acquired western territories. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate was critical; each state had two senators, and maintaining an equal number of “free states” and “slave states” was paramount for the South to protect its interests via a legislative veto.
  • Missouri Compromise (1820): This was the first major crisis. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel.
  • Compromise of 1850: Following the Mexican-American War, this complex compromise admitted California as a free state, while allowing the territories of Utah and New Mexico to decide the issue by popular sovereignty. It also included a stringent new Fugitive Slave Act, which infuriated the North.
  • ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ (1852): Penned by Harriet Beecher Stowe, this novel vividly depicted the brutality of slavery. It became a colossal bestseller in the North and was banned in much of the South. It galvanized anti-slavery sentiment and, as Lincoln is apocryphally quoted as saying, was the book that “started this great war.”
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Introduced by Senator Stephen Douglas, this act repealed the Missouri Compromise line and applied the principle of “popular sovereignty” to Kansas and Nebraska. It led to a violent proxy war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas, an event known as “Bleeding Kansas,” demonstrating that the issue could not be settled peacefully.

The Final Path to War

• The Dred Scott Decision (1857): The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, delivered a landmark ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. The court declared that:

  1. African Americans (whether enslaved or free) were not and could never be citizens of the United States.
  2. As property, slaves were protected by the Fifth Amendment, and therefore Congress had no power to ban slavery in any federal territory. This decision nullified all previous compromises and was a resounding victory for the South, while the North saw it as proof of a “Slave Power” conspiracy controlling the federal government.

• The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858): In the Illinois senatorial race, Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) held a series of famous debates. While Lincoln lost the election, his articulate arguments against the expansion of slavery (“A house divided against itself cannot stand”) established him as a national figure.

• The Election of 1860 and Secession: The election of Abraham Lincoln, a candidate of the newly formed Republican Party which was founded on a platform of preventing the extension of slavery, was the final trigger. Though Lincoln assured the South he would not interfere with slavery where it already existed, Southern states viewed his victory as a direct threat to their entire socio-economic system. South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 1860, followed by ten other states. They formed the “Confederate States of America,” electing Jefferson Davis as their President and establishing their capital at Richmond, Virginia.

The War and Lincoln’s Objective

• For President Lincoln, the primary objective at the outset of the war was the preservation of the Union. He initially framed the conflict not as a war against slavery, but as a rebellion against the legitimate federal government.
• However, as the war progressed, the strategic and moral imperatives for emancipation became clear. The Emancipation Proclamation (issued 1862, effective Jan 1, 1863) declared slaves in the rebellious Confederate states to be free. It transformed the war into a revolutionary struggle for freedom and prevented potential European intervention on the side of the Confederacy.
• The Union’s superior industrial capacity, larger population, and naval blockade eventually wore down the Confederacy, whose forces, led by brilliant commanders like General Robert E. Lee, fought fiercely but were ultimately exhausted of men and resources.

Results of the War

• Failure to Solve the Problem of Racial Discrimination:

  • While the war ended slavery via the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), it did not resolve the deep-seated issue of racial inequality.
  • The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) granted citizenship and “equal protection of the laws” to all persons born in the U.S.
  • The Fifteenth Amendment (1870) prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
  • However, the era of Reconstruction (1865-1877) ultimately failed. Southern states implemented “Black Codes” and later “Jim Crow” laws to enforce segregation and disenfranchise African Americans through poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation by groups like the Ku Klux Klan. The promise of equality remained unfulfilled for another century, necessitating the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, led by figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• Political and Economic Transformation:

  • The war decisively established the supremacy of the federal government over the states, ending the debate on secession.
  • With the agrarian South’s political power broken, the pro-industry North dominated national policy, leading to a period of unprecedented industrial expansion known as the Gilded Age. America emerged as the world’s leading industrial power and a major exporter of manufactured goods.
  • This economic boom attracted massive waves of immigration from Europe, leading to the implementation of a quota system in the early 20th century to manage the influx.

• Rise of an Aggressive Foreign Policy:

  • The unified and powerful post-war United States began to assert itself on the world stage.
  • It invoked the Monroe Doctrine to compel France to withdraw its forces from Mexico in 1867, where they had installed a puppet emperor during the Civil War.
  • In the Spanish-American War (1898), the U.S. supported Cuban rebels against Spain. Victory in this war marked America’s emergence as a colonial power, as it acquired territories including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico from Spain.

Prelims Pointers

• American Civil War Period: 1861-1865.
• Opposing Sides: The Union (Northern States) vs. The Confederacy (seceded Southern States).
• President of the Union: Abraham Lincoln.
• President of the Confederacy: Jefferson Davis.
• Commander of Confederate Army: General Robert E. Lee.
• Abolitionist Leader: William Lloyd Garrison.
• Abolitionist Journal: The Liberator (founded in 1831).
• Influential Novel: Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
• Slave Trade Ban: The international slave trade was banned by the U.S. Congress in 1808.
• Key Legislations and Compromises:
  1. Missouri Compromise (1820): Admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state; banned slavery north of the 36°30′ parallel.
  2. Compromise of 1850: Admitted California as a free state; introduced popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico territories.
  3. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Introduced by Stephen Douglas; allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery by popular sovereignty, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise. Led to “Bleeding Kansas.”
• Landmark Supreme Court Case: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).
• Chief Justice in Dred Scott case: Roger B. Taney.
• Key Judgment points of Dred Scott Case:
  • African Americans were not citizens and had no rights in federal court.
  • Slaves were private property protected by the Constitution.
  • Congress could not ban slavery in federal territories.
• Post-War Constitutional Amendments (Reconstruction Amendments):
  1. XIII (13th) Amendment: Abolished slavery.
  2. XIV (14th) Amendment: Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.
  3. XV (15th) Amendment: Granted voting rights regardless of race, color, or previous servitude.
• Post-War Foreign Policy Events:
  • Forced France to withdraw from Mexico (1867).
  • Spanish-American War (1898): U.S. defeated Spain and acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Mains Insights

Historiographical Debate on the Causes of the Civil War

The question of why the Civil War occurred is a central debate in American historiography. The analysis goes beyond a simple North-South divide.

1. The Economic Interpretation (Beardian School):

   • Thesis: Proposed by historians Charles and Mary Beard in The Rise of American Civilization (1927), this view posits the war as a “Second American Revolution.” It was an irrepressible economic conflict between the industrial-capitalist system of the North and the plantation-agrarian system of the South.
   • Analysis: According to this view, slavery was merely a feature of the agrarian economy. The core issues were clashes over tariffs (favoring Northern industry), federal support for infrastructure (benefiting the North), and control over the national economic policy. The war was the violent triumph of industrial capitalism over the landed aristocracy.
   • Critique: Later historians have criticized this view as overly deterministic and for downplaying the ideological and moral significance of slavery.

2. States’ Rights vs. Federal Power:

   • Thesis: This perspective, often advanced by Southern sympathizers, argues that the war was fought over the constitutional principle of states’ rights and the right of secession. The South seceded to protect itself from a tyrannical, centralizing federal government that threatened its autonomy and way of life.
   • Analysis: This argument frames the conflict as a defense of the original intent of the Founding Fathers regarding a limited federal government.
   • Critique: Modern historians, like James McPherson, argue that “states’ rights” was not a principle but a tool. Southern states were fervent federalists when it suited them (e.g., demanding federal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act) and championed states’ rights only to protect the institution of slavery. The one right they consistently sought to protect was the right to own human property.

3. Slavery as the Central Cause (Modern Consensus):

   • Thesis: The overwhelming modern consensus among historians is that slavery was the central, fundamental cause of the war. All other sectional antagonisms—economic, cultural, and political—were rooted in the issue of slavery.
   • Analysis: The conflict over western expansion was a conflict over the extension of slavery. The cultural divide was between a free-labor society and a slave-labor society. The economic friction was between an industrial economy that saw slavery as backward and an agrarian economy that depended on it. As Lincoln stated, “One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves… All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.”

The War’s Legacy: A Second Founding and an Unfinished Revolution

• Successes (A Second Founding): The Civil War and Reconstruction era can be seen as a “Second Founding” of the United States. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments fundamentally altered the Constitution, embedding principles of birthright citizenship and legal equality. It definitively settled the question of the Union’s perpetuity and forged a powerful, centralized nation-state.
• Failures (An Unfinished Revolution): The failure of Reconstruction to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans represented a profound betrayal of the war’s promise. The withdrawal of federal troops in 1877 allowed white supremacist regimes to return to power in the South, ushering in the Jim Crow era of segregation and disenfranchisement. The struggle for racial equality, therefore, became a long, arduous fight that continued for another century, demonstrating that while the war ended slavery, it did not end racism.
• Impact on Global Politics: The Union’s victory was a triumph for liberal democracy worldwide at a time when monarchical and aristocratic forces were still powerful in Europe. It also unleashed the full economic potential of the United States, transforming it from a regional entity into an industrial behemoth and, by the end of the century, a global power with imperial ambitions, as seen in the Spanish-American War. This rise fundamentally altered the global balance of power.