Symposium

Why did the Civil War Happen?

Can any of you remember when you were 14 or 15 years old, and you wanted to do something but your parents would not let you? Well, this was the exact same idea that sparked the civil war of the United States. Also, for those of who do not know what a civil war is; it is a country that is at war with itself.

There have been so many wars throughout the history of America. It would seem that every time there is a war else where that we are there for support and the help is need be. Other times we fight outside threats, but in one instance in time we were at war with ourselves. Well who is there when we are at war with ourselves? In this second part of our symposium, I will begin by enlightening you the audience on some back ground information and reasons why the Civil War began.

WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korean War, Desert Storm, and our main focus today, the Civil War all happened for a reason. No-one woke up one morning and just decided it would be fun to kill millions of people with the exception of one or two events in history.

First, here is some background information of the war. The Civil War, which began in 1861, was thought to be a quick and painless war, but it was not. It was long, bloody, and put great pain and hardships for both sides in America. The war consisted of two main groups. They were the North and the South. The North was called the Yankees, and the South was the Rebels. Leaders with knowledge and experience to battle in war cunningly governed each side. The North was led by Abraham Lincoln, while the south was being led by General Grant

Next, I will go further in to depth showing you the build up, the tension, and the explosion.

These were the times of slavery where an African-American man, woman, or child were not free. This is what I personally believe to be the most hypocritical point in American history. How could one group of people fight for their freedom, but yet force slavery upon another group of people? This is hypocritical. Colonists wanted independence and freedom from Britain, so they fought for it. And then they turn around to enslave Negros. The south wanted seperation from the north to control itself by itself. They were fighting for freedom, and also to fighting to take away freedom. This is the main reason for the war.

Because the North was abolishing slavery through the emancipation proclamation, the south wanted to govern itself in order to keep slavery. The south needed the escape the rules and regulations of the country set forth by Abraham Lincoln by succeeding itself from the rest of the land. The south could not survive with out the labor of the slaves to pick cotton. Cotton was the main industry for the south, and they could not afford to lose free labor. Slaves were put on Yankee armies increasing the armed soldiers for the north and giving them the advantage of the fight. The slaves that fought had nothing to lose at all. If they died, they died free, and if they lived the war would not have ended. As the North came closer to victory, the slaves in the South that were freed along the way were freed and most likely joined the fight. Not everyone in the North wanted slavery abolished. This was not the case. Even some northerners were outraged at the Emancipation Proclamation. This would indicate just because you were an African-American in the north and you were free, so to speak, it does not mean that you were accepted and treated fairly to equal in the eyes of everyone.

Finally, in closing, Racist and prejudice people should realize that African-Americans came over to America the same way they did .by boat. The land does not belong to Caucasions, nor does it belong to Negros because it always belonged to the Indians. Everyone in the Civil War was fighting for land that was not theirs.

For a final thought, think about it, the Civil War began and ended quite some time ago, but perhaps still today the war never ended, and we are still having a Civil War.

Michael Jean-Pierre

Tuesday-Thursday 8:00am

907 words