What were the important events in the American Civil War?

From April 186 1 to April 1865, the war between the south and the north of the United States was also called the American civil war. The bourgeoisie led the Northern War, and the fighting forces were workers, peasants and blacks. In the south, only plantation slave owners insisted on the war. The purpose of their war was to expand slavery to the whole country, while the purpose of the North was to defeat the South and restore national unity.

prologue

/kloc-In the mid-9th century, the contradiction between the free labor system in the north and the slavery system in the south became irreconcilable, and slavery in the south became the main obstacle to the social and economic development in the United States. In the struggle for land in the west, the struggle between the north and the south is particularly fierce. /kloc-In the process of the expansion of American territory to the west in the first half of the 9th century, new states were established in the west. Every time a new state is established, there is a struggle to allow or prohibit slavery. The northern bourgeoisie and peasants advocated that NSW banned slavery and demanded that NSW be determined as a free state. Slave owners in the south tried to expand slavery to the west and advocated defining NSW as a state that allowed slavery. Slave owners used their dominant position in Congress and government to win one after another, which aroused the indignation of the broad masses of people in the north. 1854, the North Peace Party was founded. In the same year, the southern slave owners tried to spread slavery to Kansas by force, so an armed struggle broke out in Kansas between western farmers and immigrants from free States against the southern slave owners, which lasted until 1856, and started the civil war. 1857, slave owners used Scott's trial to try to extend slavery to all the territories of the United States. This led to the uprising in john brown.

First stage

1860, * * * and Republican A. Lincoln were elected president, and the Democratic Party was defeated, which became the signal that the southern slave owners left the union and launched a rebellion. South Carolina, the southern slave-holding state, was the first to secede from the Union, followed by Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. 186 1 February, 2000, announced the establishment of the "Southern Alliance" and set up another government with J. Davis as president. 1861April 12, the rebels began shelling the federal fort Sumter in South Carolina, and fell on June 14. On April 15, Lincoln government issued a crusade order, and the civil war broke out. Soon, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy.

At the beginning of the war, the strength of the north greatly surpassed that of the south, with a population of 22.34 million and a population of 965.438 million+in the south, of which more than 3.8 million were slaves. The industry in the north is developed, the railway network extends in all directions, and food is abundant. There is almost no industry and few railways in the south. But the south is fully prepared militarily, with better equipped and trained troops. In addition, on the eve of the civil war, President Buchanan (the agent of slave owners) tried to transport a lot of weapons and money to the south. In the first stage of the civil war, the north suffered a series of military failures. In Manakas in July of 186 1 2008 and Peninsula Battle in summer of 1862, the northern army suffered heavy losses. Although the northern army achieved a series of brilliant achievements in the western front and seized several important strategic strongholds from the southern army, these achievements were offset by the fiasco in the eastern front. In the case of many military failures in the north, * * * and the radicals in the party and the abolitionists in society put forward the idea of liberating slaves and arming blacks. Lincoln also realized the necessity of liberating slaves.

stage Ⅱ

1On September 23rd, 862, Lincoln released the preliminary The Emancipation Proclamation. It was announced that if the southern rebels did not lay down their arms before 1863 65438+ 10 1, the slaves in the rebel states would be free from that day on. After the news spread to the south. Thousands of slaves fled to the north. The British working class also launched a movement to support the North, forcing the British government to give up its original intervention plan. Lincoln government also carried out a series of revolutionary measures and policies: 1862- 1863 carried out the policy of arming blacks, and thousands of blacks signed up to join the northern army, mainly fugitive slaves from the south; 1The Homestead Law promulgated in May, 862 stipulates that all adults loyal to the Federation can acquire 160 acres of land in the west by paying the registration fee of 10, and they can become the owners of this land after five years of cultivation. The Lincoln administration severely suppressed counter-revolutionaries and purged agents in the south-central part of the army. 1893 implemented the conscription law to replace the conscription system, thus strengthening the troops in the north. At the same time, Lincoln adjusted the leadership of the army, carried out unified command, and appointed Grant, an American with outstanding military talents, as the commander-in-chief of the whole army.

1863, the north turned for the better militarily. In July of the same year 1, Gettysburg won a great victory and became a turning point in the Civil War. The initiative on the battlefield was transferred to the Union Army. 1864, the supreme commander of the north adopted a new strategic policy: launching a powerful offensive on the east and west lines at the same time. On the eastern front, the main goal is to consume the enemy; The western front went deep into the enemy's hinterland with strong forces, cutting off the links between the northeast and southwest of SAARC.

1864 In September, the northern army led by General W.T. Sherman captured Atlanta in one fell swoop, and two months later began the famous "March to the sea", which completely destroyed the enemy's various military facilities, dealt a heavy blow to the enemy's economic strength and paralyzed the southern economy. On the eastern front, General Grant led the northern army to drive the enemy to Richmond, the capital of the rebel army. At the beginning of 1865, slaves fled one after another and the plantation economy was on the verge of collapse. The sea blockade imposed by the northern navy almost cut off the trade between the south and Europe. At the same time, there were opposition voices in the south, and many small farmers joined the ranks of "federalists" and engaged in anti-war activities. There are more and more deserters in the south. Food and daily necessities are scarce. On April 9 1865, R.E. Lee's troops were trapped in the encirclement of the North Army and forced to surrender to Grant. The civil war is over. The United States is reunified.