Civil War :: essays research papers

Alpha--------------------------------------------------------------------------------AlphaThe first Greek alphabet alpha symbolizes the lineage of an event. Here, of course, we are talking about the beginning of the Civil War. Conventional history claims that the American Civil War started on April 12, 1861 at the bombing of Fort Sumter. Is it true? We CW buffs probably would not quite carry through with this answer, and we know there were armed hostile incidents happening long before Ft. Sumter, and we shall examine them here. Carl Von Clausewitz, author of "On War", said that war is the extension of politic. The sulphur had long making threat that they would secede if the country elected the Lincoln as President. The North dismissed them. After all, the southwesterlyerners had been "talking" secession for the last 40 years since the 1820 Missouri Compromise. Too many cry wolves. Meanwhile, the South thought that the North wouldnt fight. "I could wipe all the blood with my handkerchief" proclaimed Leroy Walker, who subsequently served as the first Confederate Secretary of War. "They are shopkeepers and factory workers. What do they know about soldiering?" The South believed that one southerner could easily beat 10 Yankees. So both sides on a lower floorestimated the others determination. The drumming of war cry were beating slowly in the background. In the month of November 1860, events began to heat up. Lincoln got elected on the 6th. South Carolina called for a Convention. New York stock market dropped its price. Maj. Anderson was ordered to Ft. Moultrie. Georgia voted a million dollars to arm the State. In December, South Carolina seceded on 20th. Anderson secretly moved the national garrison to Ft. Sumter at night on 26th. US Revenue Cutter William Aiken surrendered to S. Carolina State force on demand. Please notice that President Buchanan took the "do zero" policy. Taking a ship is clearly an act of war, ac cording to the Northern viewpoint, but the same act would become the defense of a new realm from the Southern viewpoint. But if the Federal chose not to fight back, there would be no "conflict." So you could see that a series of "incidents" happened, but the Federal under Buchanan did not respond. The tempo of war drum increased in January 1861. South Carolina prepared for war / defense, organizing troops and guarding the wharfs and ships, and seized Ft. Johnson in Charleston Harbor. Federal organized militia to defend the D.C. Capital.