America
suffered its greatest losses in this conflict involving its own people.
While the North and South were bound by a common goal during the American
Revolution, the issue of slavery became increasingly divisive, culminating
in fracturing relations between the two regions.
Signs of trouble emerged as early as
1820, when the Missouri Compromise attempted to solve permanently the
issue of whether or not slavery would be allowed to expand into territories
newly acquired by the United States.
The election of an anti-slavery president,
Abraham Lincoln, in 1860, led South Carolina to set the precedent for
secession from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana
and Texas quickly followed South Carolina’s example, and the Confederate
States of America was formed.
Warfare broke out between the Union and
the Confederacy on 12 April 1861 when the Confederates fired upon Fort
Sumter. Over the next five years, Americans would fight Americans in some
of the most tragic battles of American history, including the Battle of
Antietam, which would be remembered as the bloodiest day of the war.
Over 600,000 individuals lost their lives
by the time the Confederates surrendered in 1865. Although slavery was
abolished and the Union was restored, the Civil War's legacy continues
to haunt the United States.
|
Civil
War @ HistoryChannel.com
- Purchase merchandise and read about the conflict between the states.
www.CivilWar.com
- Project provides a detailed and organized chronology with images,
information on the culture, historical remnants, and pertinent documents.
This
Week in the Civil War - Presents the events of the war in a digestible
weekly format.
America's
Civil War - The University of the South presents varied interpretations
of the war and features period schematics for some of the major engagements.
Making
of America - Cornell University offers access to the official war
records of the era.
Civil
War Resources on the Internet - Examines the conflict from Abolition
to Reconstruction.
US-CivilWar.com
- Resource offers recipes and cooking techniques of the soldiers, excerpts
from the Columbia encyclopedia, and overviews of the major battles and
key participants.
United
States Civil War Center - Offers a comprehensive and organized directory
of nearly six thousand links.
Civil
War Home Page - Locate photos, documents, and letters from the war,
in addition to information on reenactments and historical bed-and-breakfasts.
|
