Free Custom «America’s Post-Civil War» Essay Paper

A turning point is that moment of change where one starts evaluating the ways he or she is following to change them for a better purpose. The American civil war that took place between the years 1861 to 1865 was fought in because of the election of a Republican President Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He was against the expansion of slavery in the United State. The eleven southern states advocated for the continuation of slavery while the other twenty-five supported the federal government on its abolishment. The Post civil war period is the time since the war ended to the present time. The war had great consequences for overall American societies. This paper will discuss the impact of the civil war on America mostly being the negative impact on the people and their lives; the turning points in America after the war and we will also discuss whether the course of things would have been different if the President at the time Abraham Lincoln would not have been assassinated (Richardson, 2007). One major turning point in the History of America that has been influential to the society is the death of Stonewall Jackson. His death was devastating, as it was believed that he would manage to stop the battle which most of the leaders had feared stopping. This led to a drawback, and the war continued for another one year. Another turning point was the re-election of Lincoln. This led to continuity in the fight against the vice and there was no turning back. It was beneficial to the future of America, as it eventually became slavery free after the long period of war (Noll, 2000).

 

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The re-election of President Lincoln after the war ended had a huge impact on the country's economy, politics, culture and current society. Lincoln being a conservative had it in him that things should have remained as they were in the olden days. He ensured that this was put in the lives of people of the United States. Politically there was a lot of democracy. The people were given a chance to live their lives to the fullest, and have a chance to make personal informed decisions. This was a democratic, federal kind of government, which led to enormous support from the people as they liked the idea of being included in the state issues and what they wanted was kept into consideration.

Economically, there was the pushing for the empowerment of people in whatever position they were. Legal businesses were encouraged, as it was before the starting of slavery. This led to the growth of economy of the States. Business was conducted between other countries expanding their economy and creating good relations with other countries and among themselves. Personal believes of the people had no room as they had a religion chosen for them, and rules set for them and had decisions made for them according to how the government thought things are supposed to be.

The doctrines of Lincoln that he taught the people in those olden days, still affect people of the current modern society. We find it in our society when people fight for the rights of others and their own. Lincoln worked on so that every person’s desires were accommodated and they felt secure with his approach (Richardson, 2007). The capture of Atlanta, which was strategic in the location, in the south, led to more support for Lincoln leading to his re-election. This pushed for a democratic government in the south, economic independence, equality in the people as each was allowed to exercise his or her culture and beliefs and it has been continued in the current society and influenced greatly on how people behave and conduct their daily duties.

Lincoln’s assassination had a negative impact on the people and relation between the governments. He was the father and pioneer to very many positive things in the society. When he died, there was no one to continue the works he had started. He believed in things remaining as they were, as development in great measures leads to more advantages than disadvantages. He did not encourage the getting of factories and development of machinery. If he had not been assassinated, the development of the United State would have slowed down as he did not encourage and accept changes (Richardson, 2007). Industrialization had a major impact on the average working American because it led to creation of jobs in large numbers as there were people needed to work in the factories. Urbanization led to over-population in the urban areas. Due to the limited space in towns and the low wages earned by people working there, it led to the average Americans living in shanties that were congested. This resulted in the spread of common communicable diseases and other negative impacts such as insecurity and lack of adequate amenities (Gray, 1981).

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After slavery, in its place came racism in the United States. Any non-white or immigrant was treated as inferior and this was spread all over and was found in all arms of the government. In the courts there was a lot of discrimination as the judges there were white, too. For an example, a non-white did not stand a chance to win a case. They were always proven guilty even when the evidence presented showed otherwise. The punishments given to them were hard, and this was hard to deal with. It led to the enmity among them, eventually resulting in division among the native and the immigrants (Feagin, 2010).