The Role of Secession in the American Civil War

The Civil War was a fight to preserve the Union which was the United States of America. From the conception of the Constitution, there were two differing opinions on the role of the federal government. Federalists believed that the federal government and the executive needed to maintain their power in order to ensure the survival of the union. On the other hand, anti-federalists held that states should retain much of their sovereignty within the new nation. Basically, they believed that each state should have the right to determine the laws within its own borders and should not be forced to follow the mandates of the federal government unless absolutely necessary. As time passed the rights of the states would often collide with various actions the federal government was taking. Arguments arose over taxation, tariffs, internal improvements, the military, and of course slavery. Northern Versus Southern Interests Increasingly, the Northern states squared off against the Southern states. One of the main reasons for this was that the economic interests of north and south were opposed to each other. The South was largely comprised of small and large plantations that grew crops such as cotton which were labor intensive. The North, on the other hand, was more of a manufacturing center, using raw materials to create finished goods. Slavery had been abolished in the north but continued in the south due to the need for inexpensive labor and the ingrained culture of the plantation era. As new states were added to the United States, compromises had to be reached concerning whether they would be admitted as slave or as free states. The fear of both groups was for the other to gain an unequal amount of power. If more slave states existed, for example, then they would garner more power in the nation. The Compromise of 1850 - Precursor to the Civil War The Compromise of 1850 was created to help stave off open conflict between the two sides. Among the five parts of the Compromise were two rather controversial acts. First Kansas and Nebraska were given the ability to decide for themselves whether they wanted to be slave or free. While Nebraska was decidedly a free state from the start, pro and anti-slavery forces traveled to Kansas to try and influence the decision. Open fighting broke out in the territory causing it to be known as Bleeding Kansas. Its fate would not be decided until 1861 when it would enter the union as a free state. The second controversial act was the Fugitive Slave Act which gave slave owners great latitude in traveling north to capture any escaped slaves. This act was hugely unpopular with both abolitionists and more moderate anti-slavery forces in the north. Abraham Lincolns Election Leads to Secession By 1860 the conflict between northern and southern interests had grown so strong that when Abraham Lincoln was elected president South Carolina became the first state to break off  from the Union and form its own country. Ten more states would follow with secession: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. On February 9, 1861, the Confederate States of America was formed with Jefferson Davis as its president. The Civil War Begins Abraham Lincoln  was inaugurated as president in March 1861. On April 12, Confederate forces led by General P.T. Beauregard opened  fire on Fort Sumter which  was a federally held fort in  South Carolina. This began the American Civil War. The  Civil War  lasted from 1861 until 1865. During this time, over 600,000 soldiers representing both sides were killed either by battle deaths or disease. Many, many more were wounded with estimates of more than 1/10th of all soldiers being wounded. Both the north and the south experienced major victories and defeats. However, by September 1864 with the taking of Atlanta, the North had gained the upper hand and the war would officially end on April 9, 1865. The Aftermath of the Civil War The beginning of the end for the Confederacy was with General Robert E. Lees unconditional surrender at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.  Confederate General Robert E. Lee  surrendered the  Army of Northern Virginia  to Union General  Ulysses S. Grant. However, skirmishes and small battles continued to occur until the last general, Native American Stand Watie, surrendered on June 23, 1865. President  Abraham Lincoln  wanted to institute a liberal system of Reconstructing the South. However, his vision of  Reconstruction  was not to become reality after  Abraham Lincolns assassination  on April 14, 1865. The  Radical Republicans  wanted to deal harshly with the South. Military rule was instituted until  Rutherford B. Hayes  officially ended Reconstruction in 1876. The Civil War was a watershed event in the United States. The individual states after years of reconstruction would end up joined together in a stronger union. No longer would questions  concerning secession  or nullification be argued by individual states. Most importantly, the war officially ended slavery.

Compare And Contrast Thomas Paine And The Era Of...

After reading the passages given throughout the quarter I found the Enlightenment era to be interesting and a very influential time period. It was an era where people pushed the boundaries of critical thinking and began to question things in a scientific manner, whether it was philosophy, art, politics or science the era of enlightenment was one of drastic revolution in intellectual and philosophical ideas . One particular issue or topic that was really prevalent in two of the readings covered , was the topic of society and government, to the extent of what is society and government? do we really need Government, is it essential to the human society or existence? Or is it just a construct to protect us from ourselves? After reading†¦show more content†¦If a country only had society without government then the people would end up killing themselves because it would be a chaos state and there would be no laws because without government there are no laws , at least not one that is equal to everyone .So government, although it can be evil, is necessary to protect man from himself. In The Social Contract by Rousseau the question that is asked is how can man surrender his natural liberties to the body politic or community and yet still have a level of primitive or natural right where he may preserve himself? Rousseau goes into this complicated question and tries to answer this question in his essay. Rousseau argues that there is a need for a social contract because of how we as a society have evolved. He goes into the concept of the primitive man, which says one is concerned with him or herself or the sole purpose of self-preservation. Rousseau argues, that this is the true state of nature.In the state of nature, we are free to do whatever we want, but our wishes and actions are not affected by reason and logic. We have physical freedom but we lack morality. Although the natural state can be perceived as a chaotic way of living , Rousseau believed that this state of nature was better than the slavery of contemporary society. But as humans developed as time we nt , we began to move further away from this natural state. He describes the civil society which is basically the opposite of theShow MoreRelatedLiberal Perspective of a State7979 Words   |  32 Pagesbut the dominant variants are classical liberalism, which became popular in the eighteenth century, and social liberalism, which became popular in the twentieth century. Liberalism first became a powerful force in the Age of Enlightenment, rejecting several foundational assumptions that dominated most of the earlier theories of government, such as hereditary status, established religion, absolute monarchy, and the Divine Right of Kings. The early liberal thinker John Locke, whoRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pagesand Barbara B. Moran United States Government Information: Policies and Sources Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, and Joan F. Cheverie Library Information Systems: From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions Thomas R. Kochtanek and Joseph R. Matthews The Complete Guide to Acquisitions Management Frances C. Wilkinson and Linda K. Lewis Organization of Information, Second Edition Arlene G. Taylor The School Library Media Manager, Third Edition Blanche Woolls BasicRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagescontemporary American political parties. He has a Ph.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught previously at Dartmouth College. He is the author of the books Trading Blows: Party Competition and U.S. Trade Policy in a Globalizing Era (University of North Carolina Press, 2000) and is a co-editor of Whats Left of the Left: Democrats and Social Democrats in Challenging Times (Duke University Press, 2011). He has published eleven articles in academic journals on American economic

Barrick Gold and the Mine at the Top of the World free essay sample

Barrick Gold and the Mine at the Top of the World Introduction The purpose of this case analysis is to identify the main communication problem that the worlds largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold, is facing in the midst of their major Pascua-Lama developmental project. The following paper discusses the causes of the communication problem and resulting symptoms, along with the key stakeholders that are affected and their concerning issue. Finally, this paper will provide a solution using all the steps of the communication model on how Barrick Gold can deal with all the key stakeholder groups. Main Body Barrick Golds main communication problem has been formed by Barrick saying one thing, then doing something else; this inevitably caused a lack of trust between its stakeholders and the company. The problem has created hidden agendas and guarded communication, thereby slowing decision making and productivity. For example, Argentina passed a law that protected their glaciers and permafrost, â€Å"which looked as if it might prevent the Argentinian part of the project from going forward. We will write a custom essay sample on Barrick Gold and the Mine at the Top of the World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † (Barrick Gold case, pp. 11). The cause of the problem stems from Barrick Gold not keeping their promise. They proposed to transport the most affected glaciers farther away from the mining site, but did not live up to that promise. The symptoms of the problem include the farmers unhappiness with the company and the mayor for supporting the mining project. Another symptom is the fact that the Argentinian national legislatures passed the law protecting the glaciers. This desperate move shows that Argentina has a lack of trust that the company will follow through on their promise to deal with the melting glaciers. The 5 main stakeholders include the Chile and Argentina governments, the local farmers, residents of the valley, and the shareholders of Barrick Gold. Each of these stakeholders have separate issues they are concerned with. The Chile government is concerned with waste the mine is dumping into the river that runs through the Huasco Valley of Chile, specifically cyanide. The Argentina governments concern is based on the fact that the royalties they receive from the mine are ? of the total GDP of their poor San Juan province; once the mining is finished this will regress back to zero and devastate the economy. The local farmers are concerned with the explosions that cause dust to settle on the glaciers and accelerate its melting; the effects are devastating to the whole surrounding ecosystem. The residents of the valley share the same concern as the Argentinian government, that once the mining ceases their income will revert to zero. Finally, the shareholders of Barrick Gold are concerned with the idea of huge opposition and lack of productivity that ensued because of it. In dealing with the afore mentioned stakeholder groups, Barrick Gold can use all the steps of the communication model, including: sender, encode, channel, receiver, and feedback. First off, the Chilean government: Barrick Gold (sender) needs to think of a method that allows cyanide to be removed from the river (encode), and this idea needs to be presented face-to-face (channel) to the Chilean government (receiver); once the idea is received, Barrick Gold needs to allow for feedback (positive or negative) from this stakeholder. Secondly, the local farmers: Barrick Gold (sender) is responsible for devising a plan for decelerating the melting of the glaciers (encode) and portraying this plan, either in a proposal or in a meeting (channel), to the local farmers (receiver); the farmers need to provide their response of how the government is doing (feedback). Conclusion In conclusion, Barrick Gold has a communication problem that could potentially destroy its whole project. How the company deals with its stakeholders is very important to its future success in Chile and Argentina. To mend the problem it is of the companys best interest to follow the communication model and make all attempts to repair the damage already done by not keeping their promise.

Why We Win Essays - John Wooden, , Term Papers

Why We Win Why We Win By Billy Packer Chapter 1 - Red Auerbach (Former Head Coach Boston Celtics) The worst thing that coaches do is talk too much. They overcoach. For example, I had guys with me for 10 years. Cousey, Russell, Sharman, those guys. How much would I say every practice, every pre-game, every halftime, every post-game? They got tired of listening to the same crap all the time. So I used to pride myself in advoiding repetition. Avoiding having them know what's going to happen. I always used the intelligence of my players. I didn't treat them like they were beneath me. They're not. i take Cousey, what am I, 10 years older than Cousey? So What? Does that make me smarter? But coaches today, they think that their form of discipline is that they should be in total control, every practice, every game. And they're like a dictator. They know it all. And it's not so. That's how you got to get respect of your players is you treat them like people. You see, I always used to hate the expression, How did you handle Russell or Cousey? You don't handle them. You handle animals. You deal with people. If they've got a problem, we go one on one. One thing that I used to tell all my guys who are coaches, try not to hold grudges. If you get down on a player for anything that he has done, I said call him in a talk to him. Lay it on the line. There's no better way to do it than that. Just talk to him, but don't hold grudges. Chapter 2 - John Wooden (Former Head Coach UCLA Basketball) I never believed in teaching through fear. there are those who do, and I could name some and it appears that they've gotton fine results. But I always wanted to keep my psoitive approach. And sometimes I just had to let my players know that they weren't going to be successful. Sometimes the other person is just better, and there's nothing you can do about that. But there is something you can do about making the effort to become the best of which you're capable. And that's all I ask. We were consistant. it has been said that consistency is the last refuge of those without imagination. I've always wanted to be consistent. Another thing that was said about our UCLA teams is that we kept it simple. Our opponents always said we were easy to scout but difficult to play because we executed well...We kept things very simple. I think the most important thing in sports is quickness under control. From the mental standpoint, the key is balance. We have to keep things in perspective. We have to keep balance. Physical balance. Emotional balance. Mental balance. Offensive balance. Defensive balance. There's a need for balance in just about every area you can think of. After each season had been over for five or six weeks, I'd then take up a topic and explore. For example, I might take up rebounding. I'd contact great rebounders or coaches who coached great rebounders. I'd get books, and I'd take everything together and just study rebounding. Then I'd take all the information and create a composite, just as I did in recruiting. ***** Coach Wooden also believed in team discipline. He had a couple of team rules at UCLA. One of the rules was that no player, at any time, was to have facial hair. Lou Alcinder (Kareem Abul Jabar) was the captain of the UCLA team and considered the best basketball player in the country. He had decided that he was going to grow a beard towards the end of the summer. UCLA was the number one team in the country going into that year. At the beginning of that school year, Coach Wooden called Alciner into his office. At this point he had grew some facial hair. Coach Wooden calmly said I understand that you are going to grow a beard? Alcinder ansewed, Yes Sir I am. Coach Wooden then said, Well I wish you the best of luck with whatever university you will be attending. Alcinder showed up for practice the next day cleanly shaved. Chapter 3 - Ara