The United States of America, in this contemporary era, has been considered as the 'land of milk and honey'. Citizens of other nations, especially from not so well off countries, try their luck to get a hold of that 'American Dream'. Fortunate or unfortunately, America will never be in a circumstance where this country is in after a historical turbulence that happened during the last years of the nineteenth (19th) century: the American Civil War.

War Between the States or American Civil War

The War Between the States and several other names (Northerners called it the War of Rebellion and for Southerners the War Between the States) but it is simply well-known as the Civil War. This historical battle was mainly the war between eleven (11) Southern slave states (Confederacy or the Confederate States of America) against the United States (Union). Led by Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy declared a withdrawal form the United States chiefly because of slavery issues. The president-elect then was Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and he was a staunch advocate against slavery. The Southern states declared its secession from the Union, even before Lincoln took office, and the United States considered their move as rebellion.

American Civil War: 1861-1865

Hostilities began on 12th of April, 1861 when the Confederates assaulted a Union military installation at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Lincoln, in respond to the attack, called for volunteer army from each state. From then on, both sides raised armed forces. Historians declared American Civil War was the deadliest war in the history of America resulting to undetermined civilians casualties and numerous dead soldiers. The halt of the spread of slavery leading in the direction of its abolition led the conflict of the states.

Post Civil War results

Historians had discussed that there were no clear-cut indication whether the Union or the Confederacy had won the war. Nonetheless, it led to the end of the secession (rebellion) and eradication slavery (in all forms). Reconstruction of United States began in 1877. It involved drastic changing series of state and federal policies. Amendments to constitution, particularly to end slavery, had been materialized by giving equal treatment to all citizens regardless of their race. The submission of the Confederate armies in 1865 commenced the end of slavery in United States. All slaves were freed by Emancipation Proclamation. After the war, the divided states started to build a new nation. The Union was restored and strengthened the role of federal government. The racial, economic, political and social issues of the Civil War resolutely contoured the era of reconstruction that lasted to 1877. Such development brought transformations that led the United States to be superpower.

The American Civil War (1861-1865) may have been one of the historical events that left a significant dent that shaped the paradigm of the United States mind set. It defined the nation's maturity in efforts to make the nation to progress and be united. For this reason, United States of America has been an exemplar of development in social, political, economic aspects.

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