Talk:American Civil War
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Many of these questions arise frequently on the talk page concerning the American Civil War.
Q1: Should slavery be presented as the most important cause of the war? (Yes.)
A1: Yes. Slavery was the most important cause of the war. Wikipedia requires that we rely on the best officially documented research available, without any original research or undue weight to fringe theories.
After the war, some movements sought to advance Lost Cause interpretations, arguing that the Confederacy was not primarily fighting to defend slavery. While these have been popular in some quarters, the vast majority of historians do not support these interpretations, including best historians (McPherson, Nevins, Freehling and even the better Southern historians such as Potter). Ironically, during the crisis that led to the outbreak of war, Confederate politicians openly presented preservation of slavery as the central issue, in their own words. They mentioned fears for the future of slavery many times in their declarations of reasons for secession, political speeches and editorials. Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Stephens had the following to say: "You think slavery is right and should be extended; while we think slavery is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub." - From Abraham Lincoln's letter to Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens, Dec 22, 1860 "We at the South do think African slavery, as it exists with us, both morally and politically right. This opinion is founded upon the inferiority of the black race. You, however, and perhaps a majority of the North, think it wrong." - From Stephens' reply to Lincoln, Dec 30, 1860 It is true that Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis both downplayed the slavery issue after the war began. As historian James Ford Rhodes explained, Davis hoped to get support from Britain and France, where slavery was unpopular, and Lincoln needed to keep the loyalty of the border states, which were both pro-slavery and pro-Union. This is why in statements like the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, northern politicians argued they were only fighting to preserve the Union. Similarly, Lincoln's sole justification for the Emancipation Proclamation was military necessity. Holzer, Striner and Brewster note that Lincoln needed to portray the emancipation in a way that was acceptable to the border states and War Democrats. Q2: Were tariffs and states' rights similar in importance? (No.)
A2: No. The tariff issue and states' rights were factors, and there were others. These are all included in the article. However, no issue was as important as slavery.
The original secessionists were not very careful in separating states' rights from the slavery issue. They defended both states' rights (such as secession) and federal power (such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850), depending on which suited slavery with each controversy. South Carolina's declaration of reasons for secession is one example out of many. However, Lost Cause historians did subsequently portray the Confederacy as consistent defenders of states' rights. The tariff issue had been a much larger issue three decades before the war, and even then John Calhoun, who led South Carolina's attempt to nullify the Tariff of 1828, said that the tariff issue was related to slavery. In his March 6, 1860 speech at New Haven, Lincoln had said that the slavery issue was more important than the tariff or any other issue. Q3: Did Lincoln propose to immediately abolish slavery in the South when elected? (No.)
A3: No. Lincoln combined moral opposition to slavery (calling it "a monstrous injustice") with a moderate, gradual program of action. Lincoln, like most Republicans, believed that compromises of the Constitution (a three-fifths clause, a 20 year extension of the African slave trade and a fugitive slave clause) implied constitutional recognition of slavery where it existed. However, Lincoln would not compromise on preventing any expansion of slavery in the hope that this would put it "in the course of ultimate extinction." Q4: Did Lincoln believe in racial equality? (Mostly.)
A4: In the context of the 19th century, being seen as a "Black Republican" abolitionist would be politically damaging. Lincoln was inconsistent on the equality issue during the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, partly in order to deflect this charge. However, the things Lincoln said in favor of equality were many (including Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address and his Cooper Union speech), while the things he said against it were few, and those few were combined with a great deal of political pressure. While Lincoln and other northern politicians did not always advocate equality, this should not be given undue weight, especially as they wanted to give far more rights to black people than the Confederate politicians. At a July 10, 1858 Speech at Chicago Lincoln said, "I have always hated slavery, I think as much as any Abolitionist." Q5: Should the article refer to the states that allowed slavery as slave states? (Yes.)
A5: Yes, because their politicians referred to them as slave states, and because slavery related concerns were by far the major complaint mentioned by secessionists. After the outbreak of war, the slave states became divided between the Confederate states and the border states. Q6: Did some slave states fight for the North? (Yes.)
A6: Yes, the five border states. These states had less slavery and more support for the Union than the Confederate slave states. They opposed emancipation at first, but largely accepted the military need for it eventually. Kentucky and Missouri had more slavery than the rest, and had loyalties that were more divided than the rest. For example, Missouri's Governor Claiborne Jackson was a southern sympathizer, but was prevented from seceding by Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. Missouri saw some of the worst guerrilla fighting of the entire war because of its divisions over slavery. Q7: Should the title be American Civil War? (Yes.)
A7: Yes. The title "American Civil War" is used only because it is the most common international name for the war. It is used in order to be understood, regardless of whether it could be better. The title does ignore the South's point of view, and it ignores the fact that Central America and South America are also America, in a sense.
The other names should be mentioned, but not in this article. They are mentioned in Naming the American Civil War. The main article links to this. Q8: Did the South start the war? (Yes.)
A8: The South bombarded and seized Fort Sumter, a federal fort in South Carolina. Historians regard this as the incident in which the actual fighting began. |
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Semi-protected edit request on 29 April 2024
edit | This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. |
There is sneatance requiring a citation in one of the paragraph in Eastern theater. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:32, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
- I apologize I meant sentence. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:32, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
- Paragraphs in the Eastern theater sub heading. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:33, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
- Sixth paragraph under battles. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:34, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
- Paragraphs in the Eastern theater sub heading. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:33, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
Already done This sentence already has a citation needed template. If you have a citation that verifies this statement please reopen your request with the reference. Jamedeus (talk) 19:26, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 8 May 2024
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In Eastern theater a paragraph requires a source for a sentence about Pope's slavery learning to victory. 64.189.18.24 (talk) 01:41, 8 May 2024 (UTC)
Sentence has no citation so it should be removed as it cannot be verified.
editThat sentence can't be verified as there no sources to verify it. 64.189.18.24 (talk) 01:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)
- Which sentence? The solution is to provide a source, not to demand its removal. Acroterion (talk) 01:48, 8 May 2024 (UTC)
Numbers for accident/disease deaths
editWhy does the info box have numbers for “accident/disease deaths” for the Union but not for the Confeserates? 2600:1700:975E:E000:2DF2:F8BB:E311:8E6D (talk) 16:14, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
- at a guess, sourcing. Slatersteven (talk) 16:15, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
The federal holiday Juneteenth
editThe federal holiday Juneteenth says your end of the Civil War date of May 26,1865 is wrong. The Juneteenth holiday celebrates the end of the civil war in Texas and the freeing of the slaves in Texas. Between your clamed of the end of the war on May 26 and the end of the war in Texas June 19 uniformed confederates were active in Texas and blacks were still slaves in that area. The true end of the Civil war is June 23, 1865, when the last confederate general surrendered all his forces. After that only scattered troops were still resisting and not a threat. 2600:1015:A011:BFA0:C82:AAB8:8474:6668 (talk) 12:48, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
- 1965? do you have a source for that? 12:50, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
- Note the above comment was edited. Slatersteven (talk) 13:30, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 23 June 2024
edit| | This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. |
{{subst:trim|1= Citizens are missing one for forts that Lincoln wishes to retain and the other for McClellan's hesitation.rmeove thse snetances or add the citations.
{{}} 64.189.18.51 (talk) 21:45, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
Not done for now: What unsourced sentences do you want to be removed? It's also helpful if you could state under which section is the mentioned statement in. ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 02:22, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
Comparison Chart
editThe chart Comparison of Union and Confederacy, 1860–1864 shows a decrease in the population of the Confederacy of six million and a comparable increase in the population of the Union. This calls for an explanation. As I understand it, there was no large-scale movement of people in the course of the war from the south to the north. The Confederacy did not experience anywhere near that number of deaths due to the war, nor can natural population increase or immigration account for the increase in the population of the Union. I suspect that something is wrong, or that the chart perhaps represents the population of areas controlled by the Union and the Confederacy, with the population of the Union including that of those parts of the Confederacy conquered by the Union as of 1864, and the population of the Confederacy excluding the population of the areas lost by the Confederacy. If that is the case, at the very least an explanation should be provided, but better yet, the figures should be revised so that the 1864 figures are for the same areas as in the 1860 figures. After all, the population advantage of the Union was not really increased by the population of the conquered areas of the Confederacy.Bill (talk) 22:18, 1 July 2024 (UTC)