Essay Sample about The Civil War

The Civil War began in the early 1860, this war was started because of tensions about slavery and every state’s rights. The northern and southern parts of the United States were on opposing views about the idea of slavery. The northern states wanted to abolish slavery, while the southern states wanted to keep slavery in existence. A major reason for these different opposing views was because of the different agriculture in each of these sections of the United States. In the north the agriculture was mostly industries, in which there was not a lot of farmlands, while in the south there were huge planation’s and farms. Therefore, the south wanted free labor to keep their businesses going. Many of the southern states began to join the Confederacy, which was an alliance of the states that declared their secession from the United States of America. A major reason as to why the Civil War broke out, was because Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States, and he was opposed to slavery. In 1861 the first battle, The Battle of Bull Run. The Battle of Gettysburg was a major fight during this Civil War. This is because it was the bloodiest battle the United States had every been a part of it was also very significant to the turning point of the Civil War. During this battle the Confederates made a large stride in their fight because of Pickett’s Charge. There were many battles after this, in which the Union and Confederates fought. Finally in 1865, the Union won the Civil War and thus abolished slavery. The Civil War ended because Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate arm to Ulysses S. Grant. 

The Civil War was a long four-year war, in which the southern and northern states fought over slavery and the southern states wanted to seek their independence from the United States. The Confederates, or southern states, fought against the Union to try and gain their independence and “rights” to have slavery. The South wanted slaves to aid them in their large plantations, but the northern states did not agree with this and wanted to abolish slavery overall. This is when the Civil War broke out, and after many battles even very bloody ones, the United States won the Civil War. This is because the Confederates surrender to the Union. Thus, slavery was abolished. 

A primary source from the book Voices of Freedom that I find most interesting is called, “Letter by the Mother of a Black Soldier.” This was written in the early 1860s. This primary source disuses what the African American soldiers went through during the Civil War. The African American soldiers were seen and treated as less than the white soldiers in many ways. A few ways in which they were treated less was that they were segregated, paid less, and were treated as fugitives rather than soldiers. This letter was written by a mother of an African American solider, that she wrote to Abraham Lincoln.  In this letter she discusses her background, she begs President Lincoln to stop the capturing and selling of slaves, and she begs President Lincoln for the African American soldiers to be treated better as they fight for the country. Overall, I truly liked reading this primary source. This is because often times the voices of African Americans are not heard, since they were treated as less than human. Also, it amazes me that this mother wrote a letter to the President of the United States. This woman was strong, brave, and fought for her sons and African American solider. In conclusion, African Americans were treated very poorly, and I enjoy reading and seeing how the African Americans were finally reading their voices and their fight for their freedom.