The United States of America has undergone a prosperous history, beginning in the Colonial era of 1607 to 1776 and the Post-Revolution and Antebellum eras of 1776 to 1861. From our humble beginnings as a part of the British Empire to our declaring independence and beyond, America has been a key force in the world. However, the prosperity of America has been distinctly interrupted by both the American Revolutionary War and Civil Wars, which occurred respectively from 1775 to 1783 and 1861 to 1865. It is with that that we must ask ourselves, “With the prosperous periods of the Colonial and Antebellum eras, why did the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars occur?” Both wars are considered important moments in our nation’s history because of the precedents they set. The Revolutionary War has been the only instance where a part of the British Empire has gone to war against Britain and successfully seceded. The Civil War established the precedent that any US state cannot secede from the Union. Despite the prosperity that America experienced in both the Colonial era and the Antebellum era, the American Revolution and the American Civil War were the results of the very prosperity America experienced, tensions between both Great Britain and the Colonies as well as the industrial North and the agricultural South, and the events surrounding the ethics of slavery.
America was indeed prosperous during the Colonial and Antebellum eras, but that prosperity was a factor that contributed to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. From 1607 until 1776, the colonies were controlled by Great Britain, which leeched off its prosperity. However, the colonies were not very profitable to begin with, as the colonists in Jamestown died frequently as a result of lack of food, disease, and conflicts with the Natives. With the planting of tobacco starting in 1612, the original Virginia colony became very profitable, which eventually led to the expansion of the colonies, the next being the Puritan Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies. Each region of the colonies was prosperous in their own ways, relying on different industries to make ends meet. Beginning in the 18th century, Britain wanted to have more control over the colonies and its profits, whilst the colonists wanted more control. In the Antebellum era, each region of the United States had their own thriving industries: agriculture in the South, and industry in the North. The issue of why
During the Colonial era, tensions between the colonies and Great Britain escalated greatly and was a tremendous factor to the American Revolution. These tensions were not prevalent until after the French and Indian War. In order to save costs and ‘protect’ colonists from the Natives, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, which made illegal the settlement of colonist west of the Appalachian Mountains. However, the colonists did not approve as they wished to migrate westward, given that they won the land through the French and Indian War. In order to pay off the costs of the War, Parliament attempted to tax the colonists numerous times, each with dismal reception. After putting taxes on stamps, trade, and tea, the Boston Tea Party occurred, after which Britain passed the Coercive (or ‘Intolerable’) Acts in retaliation, which closed Boston Harbor until the tea that was destroyed in the Boston Tea Party was paid for. The Acts also removed power from the Massachusetts legislature, forced the colony to quarter the soldiers that Britain had sent to keep order, and changed the judicial procedures around British officials accused of crimes. The main purpose of the Acts were to quench any possible rebellious attitudes in the colonies, but the tensions and attitudes were only further magnified by the Acts. This resulted in the First Continental Congress, which took place in September and October 1774 in Philadelphia. The First Continental Congress focused on how to repair the torn relationship with Great Britain, which resulted in the colonies preparing for war. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the publication of Common Sense, the Colonists were divided on the issue of independence, but the delegates at the Second Continental Congress in the Spring of 1776 were in unison.
The Antebellum era was marred by tensions between the industrial free states of the North and the agricultural slave states of the South that eventually sparked the Civil War. These tensions, which mainly revolved around the ethical battle against slavery during the Antebellum era, played a key role in igniting the Civil War. The conditions around which slaves were forced to experience were explored in Frederick Douglass’ autobiography. Slaves were often sold to different plantations around the area in order to pocket a profit for the slaveowners. These conditions were deplorable to the point where states in the North wanted to abolish slavery during the Constitutional Convention. However, many of the Southern delegates owned slaves, including George Mason, George Washington, and James Madison. In order to get these critical Southern votes, the 3/5 Compromise was added to the Constitution, which primarily existed for the Southern states to pay less in taxes. This governmental debacle continued up until the outbreak of the Civil War. A notable catalyst was the 1820 Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, which kept the Senate balanced. In addition, this made slavery illegal in the remaining area of the Louisiana Territory above 36° 30”. In 1836, the House of Representatives, which was free majority, issued a gag rule on the topic of slavery, which was removed in 1844. Two years later, the United States entered into war with Mexico, during which the question of whether or not the acquired land would be free or slave. Three months into the war, in August 1846, Pennsylvania Representative David Wilmot conceived the ‘Wilmot Proviso’, stating that slavery and involuntary servitude will be illegal in any territories gained through war. The Proviso was voted on numerous times, though never enacted. After the Mexican-American War, the California Gold Rush occurred, which soon gave the area the population necessary to be admitted to the Union as a state, which sparked debate over whether or not it would be free or slave. The Compromise of 1850 was passed in response, which admitted California as a free state, while also passing the Fugitive Slave Act, in which the federal government agreed to help slaveholders find and return slaves who have escaped. These tensions increased notably, as many citizens of the North did not want to assist the government in capturing and returning runaway slaves.
The American colonies, which became the United States, have had prosperity since their inception. However, with time, tensions between sides grew, which eventually culminated in the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Both wars were the product of the very prosperity experienced, tensions between, respectively, the colonies and Great Britain as well as the free North and the slave South, as well as events regarding the future of slavery. The significance of the American Revolutionary War stems from what it stood for, and the principles it upheld. The principles of the Revolution came from the Enlightenment. The Civil War was the ultimate test for Abraham Lincoln in his quest to preserve the Union, and did so through his generals blistering military tactics and his policies, the most important of which was the Emancipation Proclamation.