Civilwar

Tara Soni

Ralph De Unamuno

History 117A

April 21, 2011

Turning Points to Civil War

The Civil War is a crucial time period to educate Americans about because it was an event that lead the United States to become the kind of Nation it is today. A nation that was slowly forming into the country we know as today based on equal opportunities and rights for all human beings. Though the Civil War didn't really give rights to people, it was an event that soon led to the realization of the settlers that some kind of changes definitely needed to be made. One of the major changes that probably wouldn't have occurred for many years possibly even decades is slavery ending. Slavery might not have been the biggest issue at the time, but it was causing lots of havoc and people were on opposing sides trying to get what they wanted whether it was the "correct" steps to make, or not. Even though there were many events leading to our Nation's Civil War, some events were also considered to be major turning points that were seen also seen as points of no return. Four of these turning points included The Mexican - American War (which led to the Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo granting us lots of land and money), the Kansas - Nebraska Act (that caused lots of anger and hatred between the colonists in the Northern areas as well as the ones living in the Southern land), and lastly the event at Fort Sumter (this was the "last straw" for many people because it was the stage that made the colonists decide whether they wanted to go and fight for the issue or to stand back and not take part in the issue anymore). Since Lincoln had recently been put in office, there were still many settlers who resented him and so they let this take effect on their opinions of the situation as well and this in some ways also caused the Civil War.

The Mexican - American War was a war that really put people's perspectives in a different stand; since none of the Europeans believed that the Americans could beat...