Nostalgia USA September 2016 Civil War Edition Civil War Annual Editon 2016 | Page 6

Medical ServicesonD-Day
The American Civil War, took place between the periods 1861 to 1865. A
war between the free northern states influenced by the abolitionist, and
the 11 agricultural southern states who where heavily reliant upon
slavery.
Some of the causes but not all that attributed to this war are:
- Political divide between the north and south: Cotton was produced in
the agrarian southern region. This was processed and converted in to
cotton in the mills and industries in the north. This formed the basis for
the divide in the economical and social positions of these regions as an
affluent, modern and industrialized north versus a traditional and less
flourishing south.
- Slavery: The south being an agrarian society depended on slaves to
work in their fields. This was ac ceptable to the society and by law. But
abolitionist of the north brought about political change in the outlook
of the people who now voiced their opinions against slavery. The South
voiced their opposition in the Congress and the Senate.
- State rights: Ban on slavery in the south by the central federal
government was not welcomed by the southerners. They felt a need for
the state government to have powers to over-ride a law which the state
felt unsuitable even if it was passed by the federal government. The
urge to form a different nation started to emerge
- Election of 1860: John C Breckinridge was a nominee from the south
for the elections held in the year 1860. However, the results showed
that he was defeated by the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, and
Democrat candidate, Stephen Douglas, by a vast margin. This resulted in
the South loosing political influence and put in motion a movement of
States Right to reject centralize governance over the South. Remember,
it had only been 75 years since the signing of the Constitution. The
debate over which powers rightly belonged to the states and which to
the Federal Government became heated fueled by the divisive issue of
whether slavery would be allowed in the new territories forming as the
nation expanded westward.