The root causes of the Civil War

The main cause of the American Civil War was the intensifying conflict of interests between the North and the South. After the independence of the United States, especially in the process of territorial expansion, northern industrial and commercial capitalism and the southern plantation economy developed rapidly along different economic paths. However, the contradiction between the North and the South is becoming increasingly acute. The conflicts between the two sides were mainly manifested in the competition for newly expanded land in the west and the issue of the survival and abolition of slavery.

In addition to economic reasons, the two sides competed for western land because they hoped to increase their seats in Congress and thus influence the policies of the federal government. At the same time, southern slave owners adopted slavery, which occupied a large number of labor forces. The development of the northern capitalist economy requires a large amount of cheap "free" wage labor.

By the mid-19th century, the conflicts between the North and the South focused on the issue of the survival and abolition of black slavery. The conflicts continued to intensify, leading to the American Civil War. The American Civil War was the second bourgeois revolution in American history. It abolished black slavery and cleared obstacles for the further development of capitalism, allowing the U.S. economy to quickly catch up with and surpass capitalist countries such as Britain and France in the second half of the 19th century.

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The significance of the Civil War:

The Civil War destroyed slavery and was the second bourgeois revolution in American history, but it was better It solved the land problem of farmers, safeguarded national unity, cleared the way for the accelerated development of American capitalism, and laid the foundation for the United States to become one of the world's powerful countries.

The Industrial Revolution brought great military progress during the Civil War. Both sides used metal cartridges and breech-loading rifles to fight, used railroads and steamships to achieve rapid troop maneuvering and assembly, and used steam-armored battleships to fight. During the naval battle, mechanical repeating guns were put into actual combat for the first time. In particular, the North developed a production method for manufacturing standardized parts to assemble weapons, which greatly improved the efficiency of industrial production and promoted progress in American history.

The Civil War was the first large-scale war after the Industrial Revolution. During this period, standards for modern warfare such as tactics, strategic thinking, and battlefield medical care were established. The vast majority of the 3.5 million people who participated in the war were volunteers. The war resulted in the death of 750,000 soldiers and the disability of 400,000 soldiers. Relevant associations estimate that the number of casualties may be even higher, and an unknown number of civilians were also affected.

The Civil War left a deep impression on European observers at the time. Karl Marx said that the Civil War represented a great war unique in military history. The Civil War had great, world-historic, progressive and revolutionary significance.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Civil War