American Civil War

The war that ensued between the Northern and Southern States over the issue of slavery culminated into a civil war between 1861-1865.Under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the Northerners went into a war with the Southerners who had seceded from the Union.When Lincoln became the president of the United States he took a pledge to end slavery in the United States and this was seen as a threat to the Southerners as it would drastically affect their way of life. So they decided to secede from the union and form their own Confederacy of States with Jefferson Davis as their leader in the war. This action was condemned by Lincoln, and the war broke out. Initially, the confederate forces under Robert E. Lee won success, but their advance northward was faced resistance in the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania .In addition, in the west, the Union gained control of the area around the Mississippi river and the confederacy broke up in the battle of Vicksburg. Finally, with the surrender of the Lee, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865, the war came to an end. The war that followed was a war between states over the issue of slavery. This was followed by an era of Reconstruction (1865-1877) in order to integrate the states that broke away from the Union on the issue of slavery. This period was one of controversy with regard to the treatment meted to the states that would be allowed to integrate with the Union. But Abraham Lincoln framed a lenient plan of reconstruction before the Civil War ended with an aim to heal rather than hurt and integrate states back to the Union .Therefore the reconstruction was social, economic and political deminisions so as to benefit the States of the South. There after, America saw a spur in industrial growth with the accessibility of sufficient land due to western expansion, flow of money and availability of cheap labor. This period also witnessed the second industrialization which sharply shaped the history of America.