Essay --

Civil War Essay Before 1861, no one in the USA ever imagined that their country would be torn apart by a savage civil war that would cost over 620,000 lives and shake the foundations of our government to the roots. The American Civil War had many causes, famous battles, influential figures, and outcomes. As of the 1850s the Mason-Dixon Line separated the North from the South, even as Lincoln and the rest of the government tried to keep the country together. Their best efforts failed, and America was thrust into a bloody civil war. The Civil War really began, though, in peoples' minds, as the most important causes all began...with a debate. Slavery was one of the factors that played a key role in the causes of the Civil War. The Missouri Compromise was a debate began as to whether Maine and Missouri would enter the Union as free or slave states. To be fair to the rule of the Mason-Dixon Line, Maine was admitted as a free state, and Missouri, even though it was also in the north, would enter as a slave state. The Compromise of 1850 dealt with whether California, Utah, and New Mexico would be slave or free. California was admitted as a free state, but since it made the ratio of slave to free states unequal, " it also stated that the territories of New Mexico and Utah would determine for themselves whether to become slave or free states."(Wise) The Kansas-Nebraska Act decided that any territory that became a state would have the right to vote on whether it would be slave or free, which made Northerners angry because it changed the terms of the Missouri Compromise. The constant flux of the issue of slavery grew during the years leading up to the war, as the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1859, and the Kansas-Nebraska act con... ...t a few days after the end of the war, and Lee's surrender marked the end of the Civil War and slavery. Each of these outcomes had a significant effect over the years to come in American history. The American Civil war's causes, influential figures, bloody battles, and outcomes will and have left a mark on history forever. It shaped America's future and redefined the phrase "all men are created equal" as well as being a precursor for the Civil Rights Movement a century later. The Civil War made all people consider their Nation's stability and woke them up to the reality of civil war that would repeat in other countries again and again. America came out of it a battered and bruised yet stronger still country, and to this day it strives to maintain this caliber of honor and strength. It seems the saying,"no pain, no gain," has been made manifest in American history.