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The term turning point is used to show when society takes a new historically significant trajectory resulting in a new historical reality (Adams, 4-20). Usually, it is marked by the establishment of new ideas, events, or the emergence of new technologies. Civil War, which took place between April 12, 1861, and May 9, 1865, is considered to be one of the influential turning points in the history of the United States (Newstalk). Before the Civil War, the United States was divided against itself with the Southern against the Northern (Ayers). However, after the civil through the effort of civilians and soldiers, the enslaved part of the nation was reunited with the part of the society that had freedom (Hummel, 56-78). In 1831 Nat Turner led a major revolt, the support that John Brown won in the North during his trial, and his attack on Harper's Ferry in 1859 scared the slave owners and increased fear of rebellion among them (Ayers). Harriet Tubman and others established the Undercover Railroad while the abolitionists conducted a moral crusade against slavery (Hummel, 56-86); however, it was the Civil War that crushed down or ended this system of slavery (Newstalk). Over 200,000 slaves were freed (Hummel, 56-88); they later joined with the hundreds of thousands of immigrants, small farmers, workers, and others in the military and Union Army and crushed the slave owners (Newstalk). This paper discusses the main events in the Civil War and how the war contributed to a significant turning point in the history of the United States.

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Background

The capitalist industrial Revolution, which was centered on the wage labor and development of manufacturing industries, weakened the slave system in North America; however, due to the increase in demand for cotton in the textile manufacturing industries in the Southern, the slavery system was getting intense. However, the constant rebellion against the slave owners led to the start of the American Civil War (Hummel, 6-8).

The Civil War transpired between 1861 and 1865, with the fight against slavery as the leading cause of the War (Ayers). The southern states fought to keep slavery since they depended on cotton as their leading economy; therefore, the necessity of slaves. On the contrary, several northern states were fighting to end slavery; the Northern was becoming more industrialized; hence there was not much need for human labour (Adams, 4-20). Due to the separation of economic needs, the Southern and Northern divided against themselves in the War against slavery. The Southern did not want the federal government to impose its will on the fight (Ayers). However, the election of Abraham Lincoln as the president in 1860 made no effort to convince the Southern states that their rights to own slaves would be supported. Later the military, the Union Army, and civilians brought to an end the slavery system through the Civil War (Adams, 4-10).

American Second Revolution

The struggle for power between the capitalists of the North and the slave-owners of the South (The Civil War) is considered as America's Second Revolution and a significant turning point in United States history (Hummel, 56-88). It resulted in a reordering of social, economic, and political relations in the United States; the struggle for independence from the British Empire was considered as the First Revolution and was also a significant turning point in the history of America (Hummel, 53-65).

The second act of the Revolution was when the Union Army, military, and civilian struggled to put down the slave-owners (the Southern states); the act revolt against the Republican Party government led by Lincoln Abraham after his election in 1860. President Lincoln, on January 1, 1863, issued an Emancipation Proclamation, which was considered as an executive order out of military necessity (Ayers). Emancipation was the most significant initiative on private property in history and undermined the whole basis of the slave-owners' power; the War became a revolutionary war against the slave system itself. President Lincoln showed determination to bring to an end the salve-owner rebellion and thus represented a more radical section of the Northern capitalists (Newstalk).

One of the seminal moments of the American Civil War was The Battle of Gettysburg, which occurred during the first three days of July 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg was also one of the most brutal encounters of the conflict with thousands of casualties on both the Confederate and the Federal sides (Ayers).

The Confederate Armies, led by General Robert E. Lee, launched Gettysburg Campaign in June of 1863 after their victorious win in the Battle of Chancellorsville in April of 1863. Motivated by their success, General Lee and his troops marched north with the hope of defeating or pushing back the threatening sanctity of the Union and the Federal forces. They finally encountered the Federal troops in Pennsylvania and Gettysburg after progressing through Maryland and Virginia with relative ease. The Federal forces were led by General George E. Meade (Adams, 29-40). The Confederates initiated their attack against Meade and his troops during the first two days of the battle, but Meade and his soldiers stood firm throughout. Confederates seek to strike the decisive blow on the third day (Newstalk); however, they were defeated and forced to retreat. Meade ordered his men who survived the onslaught to follow in pursuit (Newstalk). Various battles broke out in the days that followed; however, what survived of the Confederate army managed to escape. Lee's men were forced back through Maryland and over the Potomac River to Virginia once again, ending the Gettysburg Campaign. This battle took place at the mid-point of the Civil War; Confederate troops never recovered to attack the Federal at Gettysburg again. Meade's troops withstood the attack and maintained control of the Union, though his pursuit of the Confederates could have been more forceful (Newstalk).

This battle was also seen as the turning point of the Civil War; the American Civil War took a decisive swing in favour of the Federal side after the end of this battle. President Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address at the scene of the fight on November 19, 1863, just four months after the battle took place, further outlined the change of the nature of the Civil War.

At the moment, the Battle of Gettysburg is seen as the turning point of the Civil War (Hall et al., 64-88). After this fight, the Confederate troops failed to initiate any successful offensive maneuvers and were consistently on the retreat. Led by General Ulysses S. Grant, the federal forces continued attacking the Confederate side, forcing Lee to surrender to Grant on April 9, 1865, at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia (Ayers). The mood of the North was changed by the victory in Atlanta in September 1864. This victory signaled that the Union's full military, the social, and economic advantage was coming to bear. With the re-election of President Lincoln in November 1864, the Confederacy finally surrendered in June in 1865 after they were forced to accept defeat in April 1865 (Hall et al., 64-88).

Significantly, the Atlanta Campaign of 1864 was also a turning point in the American Civil War. Atlanta was the most important city to the Confederate Armies; it was an industrial center, a transportation hub, and a warehouse for ammunition, food, uniforms, supplies, and other military material critical to Confederate troops (Ayers). The battles for Atlanta, which led to the surrender of the city to General William T. Sherman, boosted the win against the Confederate Armies. This win also assured the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln and eventually secured freedom for nearly four million enslaved people. On June 2, 1865, Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, the commander of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, finally signed the Union Army's terms of surrender (Ayers). This defeat marked the end of the Civil War, which can also indeed be described as America's Second Revolution and a significant turning point in United States history in terms of social, economic, and political activities (Hall et al., 64-88).

Conclusion

Although the Civil War resulted in the loss of many lives, it had a more significant impact on American, politics, society, and economy than any other event in the country's history. After the War, Reconstruction witnessed a remarkable political revolution in the South. African American individuals in the conquered Confederacy were given the right to vote and stay in offices in 1867 as compared to the pre-Civil War days, where only a few Black Americans could vote northern states. A politically mobilized Black American community joined with white allies and brought the Republican Party to control throughout the South and with it a redefinition of the responsibilities and the purposes of government. Attempts were made to reconstruct and increase the shattered economy, and the region's first public school policies were established.

Black Americans held positions of political power for the first time in United States history, ranging from local sheriffs, justices of the peace, the US Congress to state legislatures, and school board officials. Manufacturers switched from wartime to peacetime production when the War ended, beginning a half-century of phenomenal economic growth that established the current United States as a global power. Therefore the Civil War was a significant event in American history; it assisted in liberating the people who had mixed opinions and presented them with reasons to live for greater ideals.

Works Cited

Adams, Ephraim Douglass. Great Britain and the American Civil War. Good Press, 2020.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13789/13789-h/13789-h.htmAyers, P. 1865: A Revolutionary Turning Point in U.S. History, 3 June 2015

https://www.socialistalternative.org/2015/06/03/1865-revolutionary-turning-point-u-s-history/Hall, Andrew B., Connor Huff, and Shiro Kuriwaki. "Wealth, slaveownership, and fighting for the confederacy: An empirical study of the American civil war." American Political Science Review 113.3 (2019): 658-673.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/wealth-slaveownership-and-fighting-for-the-confederacy-an-empirical-study-of-the-american-civil-war/5197A38881BAE7EB2F1C39D43DF3AC7E

Hummel, Jeffrey. Emancipating slaves, enslaving free men: a history of the American civil war. Open court, 2013. Tucker, Spencer C., ed. American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [6 volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO, 2013.

https://www.librarything.com/events/American+Civil+WarNewstalk. The turning point of american civil war, 11 Sept. 2014

https://www.newstalk.com/talking-history/the-turning-point-of-the-american-civil-war-689839