Civil War in the United States

John Brown's Raid And The Secession Crisis

The American Civil War is considered as an event that was the culmination of several confrontations regarding the institution of slavery. The series of confrontations involved several people including John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. John Brown was an abolitionist who led a group of 21 men to capture the federal armory of Harpers Ferry (which is currently known as West Virginia). Together with these men, Brown's ultimate plan was to provoke an uprising against slavery across the nation. During the planning stage, Brown and his group disguised themselves as farmers and collected weapons. The group of 21 men comprised fugitive slaves, factory workers, farmers, and Brown's family members or relatives.

Even though Brown and his men ultimately seized the guard on the bridge to this town, the event was relatively unsuccessful. This is largely because the raid didn't last long as several raiders were killed despite Brown's refusal to surrender.[footnoteRef:2] However, in light of what is known regarding the centrality of slavery in causing the Civil War, John Brown's Ferry Raid was significant in triggering the Civil War. This raid was the beginning of when things started going downhill by crushing hopes that the divided nation could still compromise and prevaricate. It actually exposed the great divide between North and South and raised pertinent questions that culminated in the Civil War six years later. [2: Tony Horwitz, "The Harpers Ferry 'Rising' That Hastened Civil War," National Public Radio, last modified October 22, 2011, http://www.npr.org/2011/10/22/141564113/the-harpers-ferry-rising-that-hastened-civil-war]

Despite the significance of John Brown's Ferry Raid in triggering the Civil War, Lincoln's election would have led to the Civil War if Brown had never made his raid. This is primarily because Lincoln's election triggered secession, which highlighted the need for slavery to be purged from America. The secession highlighted the fact that moral persuasions and political institutions had failed to combat slavery and eventually resulted in the Civil War.

Success in the West January -- June 1982

The Civil War, which lasted between 1861 and 1865, was a war between Southern slave states and the Union i.e. the United States Federal government. The origin of the American Civil War can be traced back to 1861 when the Confederate forces launched an attack against a federal military system in South Carolina. The Civil War was characterized by a series of events in the subsequent years after the attack by the Confederate forces. One of the most important periods in the American Civil War was 1862 since it marked the beginning of bloody battles between Union forces and the Confederate forces (which represented the Southern slave states that seceded and established the Confederate States of America under President Jefferson Davis).

During the first 6 months of 1862, Union forces enjoyed tremendous success in the Western Theater than they did in the Eastern Theater. The Western Theater, which was determined by geography and series of campaigns, was relatively the most important theater of this conflict or war. There were several reasons or factors that contributed to the initial success of Union forces in this theater as compared to the Eastern Theater. First, Union forces seemingly enjoyed more success in this theater because the Confederate forces had limited resources to defend this huge land mass. Given the limited resources, the Confederate forces experienced significant challenges in defending the large Western Theater.