Essay Sample on The Civil War: The Turning Point In American History

Life during the civil war was chaos for families. Families lost their homes and all their belongings that they had possession of. White men that had families were pulled away from their families not just for a few days they were pulled away from their families for years. This was a good thing for the most part simply because they were providing protection for their families. This was hard for the women since they didn't have the right to really do anything but what they were ordered to do. Women had to manage plantation,Harvesting crops,  and running businesses while having to also deal with inflation and slave resistance. Black Families were found in the war to have their chance to bring their families back together after years of separation from each other, mostly the enslaved men. The civil war was a turning point because it got black african american men rights to be a citizen of the united states and the right to vote. Although the civil war led to black african american being free they still continue to suffer with getting jobs and benefits to help them out.

The Civil War is a turning point because it allowed good things to happen such as people finally having the ability to have civil rights. But it caused a whole war to be able to get these rights. In the article titled the civil war by Earl Warren he states  “In 1861 when the civil war began there were tensions between northern and southern states over slavery,states rights and westward expansion”.These tensions was because the north had more than the south. Another thing that Earl Warren stated was “Even as Lincoln  took office in March 1861,the confederate forces threatened the federal-held Fort Sumter in Charleston SC”. .On April 12,Lincoln ordered a fleet to resupply Sumter, in which then the Confederate fired the first shots of the civil war” . The civil war then began and ended with the United States  getting the victory. Then soon after in 1862 there was another civil war in Virginia that ended in spring 1865 with Robert E.Lee surrendering giving the North the victory. In U.S. History Primary Source Timeline  :  Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress states “After four years of fighting, the Union was restored through the force of arms... The problems of reconstructing the Union were just as difficult as fighting the war had been because most of the war was fought in the South, the region was devastated physically and economically, helping freedmen and creating state governments loyal to the Union also presented difficult problems that would take years to resolve”. On January 1st,1863 Abraham Lincoln signed Emancipation of Proclamation which freed all enslaved people, and civil rights act and lastly congress passed two amendments the fourteenth and fifteenth amendment that gave black americans  the right to become a citizen and the right to vote. There was also a ten percent plan. In the article “American History:The Civil War and Reconstruction;Aftermath of the Civil War”  states “The Ten Percent plan was a Reconstruction plan for the south put forward by Abraham Lincoln in 1863”. Overall  the Civil war had its ups and downs but at the very end it led to black african american men getting  the rights they deserved.

Now let's get into why it is not a turning point. Although the Civil War gave black americans freedom still to this day black americans are still not treated equally and still continue to suffer with poverty. In the article “How black Americans' lives have–and haven't–changed since Dr. King's death” states “Today’s black poverty rate of 21% is almost three times that of whites..Compared to the 1968 rate of 32%, there’s not been a huge improvement”. The poverty for black folks has skyrocketed up to three times the white How is this fair? It's not fair at all. Dr. King gave his speech to try to make everyone equal but was assassinated and things never changed for black african americans. African Americans get paid a lot less than what a white person would get paid. Another quote from the article “How black Americans lives have-and haven’t-changed since Dr King's death”  states “Financial security, too, still differs dramatically by race…In 2018 black households earned $57.30 for every $100 in income earned by white families..And for every $100 in white family wealth, black families held just $5.04”. This isn't fair for black african americans because they worked hard before they were  set free to be a citizen of the united states. In the article “How Segregation Survived:Equal Justice Initiative '' it states  “The Civil Rights movement did not eradicate the narrative of racial differences ,and opposition to racial equality remained deeply rooted in the American way of life”. The civil rights movement's intention to make sure everyone was equal was a disappointment because black people still continued to suffer. Overall the whole war to get civil rights wasn't a complete flop but it wasn't the best either. 

My position on this would be that the civil war battle for civil rights is not a turning point. I believe this because black people still continue to suffer even after amendments were passed, Emancipation of Proclamation was signed, and plans for reconstruction were finalized. Black people have to struggle with a low income which caused a lot of poverty.  Black people also had struggled with a lot of racism. These things to me shows why i chose this position to stand by.

Based on the research I shared today, the civil war was in fact a turning point but not for everyone. The civil war led to black african americans getting the right to be a citizen of the united states because of the Emancipation of Proclamation being passed and reconstruction plan that was finalized. But after all that black african americans still continued to struggle with the same amount of things as before the civil war.