The American Revolution was the building blocks of the rise to the United States. With years under Britain’s rule and unfair tax laws, Americans began to rebel in order to obtain the rights of their country and be free of Parliament’s control. The Revolution was ongoing even after the Declaration of Independence was signed, however, another dilemma began to slowly rise. The Civil War began almost 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. With slavery being a monumental issue between the Union and the South, six states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States. When the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, the battles began. Although the Civil War occurred almost a century after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it was an inevitable consequence of the American Revolution. After the American Revolution, Americans noticed if they could be freed from Britain’s control, what reasons were holding them from holding African American’s under their control. Being freed from the Parliament was the beginning of the idea to free slaves, and although it took long, the once idea of freeing slaves, became a working goal.
The Seven Years War, later renamed The Great War for Empire, created major debt to the nation. The interest alone took 60 percent of the nation’s budget and had to raise taxes immensely. With the war leaving Britain broke, they continued to find new ways to get the money they lost back. The Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, though creating profit for Britain, were the beginning reasons for Americans wanting to be freed from British control. The Sugar Act raised constitutional objections because taxes were supposed to originate with the people, and this tax was sprung onto Americans. As John Adams put it, “this act degraded every American below the rank of an Englishman.” When the Stamp Act was in affect, it taxed every printed item. It was a sneaky and expensive way to earn the money back that was lost in the previous war. Benjamin Franklin proposed to have American in Parliament when making these decisions since it affect them so much, but was denied the proposition. Britain continued passing new acts, which benefitted Britain and continued digging Americans into a deeper hole. Eventually, with every plan that was passed, Americans became angered and began seeking reform.
Many Americans tried to help make America’s situation better, but Britain continued to shoot them down. Joseph Warren, a radical Whig, believed the Stamp Act was an excuse to rise a rebellion from Americans in order for Britain to use it’s military and reassure it’s power over America. This, along with several other letters and publications, rose awareness for the movement and added more fuel to the fire for a rebellion. William Pitt asked Parliament if they would respect the Continental Congress as a lawful body but was once again denied, and eventually it became an illegal group. Months later, the Second Continental Congress became was formed. A battle rose in Boston, also known as the Boston Massacre because of the 1,000 casualties, which forced out the Patriot militia.
The propaganda during the rebellion continued and swayed many Americans sentiments into two different opinions for the nations future. Half stood by the King and the other half wanted to seek independence from Britain. A once Patriot, John Dickinson eventually sided with Great Britain. Embarrassed of his previous supporter for switching his mind towards Britain, Thomas Paine then published Common Sense. In this publication, Paine sided with America needing to be an independent country. Paine’s Common Sense shook the nation into choosing to become independent, and on July 4, 1776, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century, a new America began to emerge, which also led to new issues. The Federalists implemented the Constitution and amended ten of the rights, which is known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution was used as a guideline for America as to how they were going to run the country. The Bill of Rights, which includes the freedom of speech and religion, was a safety net for fundamental personal rights . However, the question as to if blacks were considered American began to rise. This question divided the country in half; with one side believing blacks had inalienable rights and the other believing they were a form of property. African Americans, along with white abolitionists, believed slavery was unconstitutional. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist stated, “I only ask you to look at the American Constitution…and you will see with me that no man is guaranteed a right of property in man, under the provisions of that instrument.” In 1860, Douglass wrote in a pamphlet how the Constitution does not blatantly state that property also included a person, and if it did then it should be stated as so. The Constitution was not made for one to interpret how they felt it should be, rather a guideline that explicitly states the regulations for this country. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention Negroes are slaves. The Preamble starts off, “We the people, of these United States.” “We the people” is speaking to those people of the United States. It does not specifically state we the white people, or we the privileged class, by we the people. If slaveholders were going to interpret the Constitution in their own way, who’s to say that the people aforementioned does not include blacks?
In 1850, California was attempting to join the Union as a free state. This brought on more discussions on expanding slavery, and the disagreements on the matter continued to surface. John C. Calhoun reiterated that slaves were indeed property, and Congress did not have the power to regulate slavery. With the Fugitive Slave Act and Kansas-Nebraska Act, bringing more controversy to the field, it was disaster after disaster for the upcoming America. Soon after, settlers rushed into the Kansas Territory and it turned into a horrible massacre. Attacks were happening left and right between proslavery settlers and abolitionists and the miniature war that began in Kansas took about two hundred lives. The Bleeding Kansas incident and President James Buchanan adding more fuel to the raging fire that was America eventually created an even greater divide between the North and the South.
Abraham Lincoln won a position in Congress in 1846, and Southerners became worried because they knew that if he were to gain any sort of power in Congress, there would be a chance that he would take slavery away altogether. Lincoln eventually led on to win the election of 1860 for Presidency and the secessions began. In his inaugural address in 1861, Lincoln mentions that he is not looking to remove the slaves from their owners, he just does not want to continue bringing in new slaves. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana disagreed with everything Lincoln stood for and went on to secede from the Union and created a new nation, the Confederate States of America. A month after his inaugural address, Lincoln sent an unarmed ship to Fort Sumter and the Confederates took advantage and attacked and it was the beginning of the Civil War. The Civil War between the Union and the Confederates began, and after a year of fighting, it was known to the entire nation that it was going to be a long war. In September of 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, in which he stated that he would grant freedom to all slaves around the nation. The proclamation stated that if the Confederates were to come back to the Union, they were able to keep their slaves, however, not one complied. As the war continued on, it was not looking so well for the Union. With General Robert E. Lee’s continuous victories, the Union was slowly dying out. At the battle of Gettysburg, a total of 51,000 men from both sides were killed. Union commander George G. Meade eventually allowed the Confederates to escape due to all the bloodshed. However, the battle at Gettysburg was a turning point for the Union, and they began to see victories rise. In 1864, the Union swept Atlanta, and the Confederacy fell. The Union had won the war and eventually the states that seceded amended their constitutions, and slavery was almost over.
America was a brand new country, unknowing how to create the nation we live in today. With years of trial and error, and one battle after the other, the United States was able to come together as a nation. The Civil War was inevitable, with so many people with new ideas for their country, after the Revolution the battles due to differences of opinion were bound to happen. The American Revolution and the Civil War combined is the reason this country is running the way it is today.