North-South Contradiction
The fundamental reason for the outbreak of the American Civil War was "the struggle between the two social systems, the slave system and the free labor system." After the United States became independent, the South and the North developed along two different paths. In the north, the capitalist economy developed rapidly. From the 1820s, the industrial revolution began in the northern and central states, and it was completed in the 1950s. In 1860, northern industrial production ranked fourth in the world, with a total output value of US$1.88 billion. In the South, the plantation black slavery system was practiced. In 1860, there were 4 million black slaves in the South. Southern slavery is a tumor that grew in American society. It severely suffocated the development of industry and commerce in the North. The contradictions and struggles between the North and the South have become increasingly fierce since the 19th century. The struggle mainly revolved around the land in the west. The North requires the development of capitalism in the western region and restricts or even prohibits the expansion of slavery; the South seeks to expand slavery in the western and even the whole country. The contradictions between the two sides had led to armed conflicts in some areas in the 1850s. Facing the advance of slave owners, the people in the north launched a massive "abolitionist movement", and the black slaves in the south continued to riot. Driven by the struggle of the people, the northern bourgeoisie began to advocate the abolition of slavery. The Republican Party was established in 1854, and in 1860, Lincoln, a Republican who opposed slavery, was elected president. This heralded the end of slavery. As a result, the 7 southern states withdrew from the Union, and in February 1861 a new "country"-the "Union of American States" was established, and the capital of Richmond was established. On April 12, the Southern Army shelled and occupied the EFF’s Sumter Fortress on the 14th, provoking a civil war.
"subway"
After the rise of the abolitionist movement, in addition to propaganda through written or oral forms, many abolitionists also used practical actions to oppose slavery, that is, to help black slaves to escape from the South in an organized manner. The specific method is to send staff to the south to bring the slaves out, and set up post stations along the way to cover the fugitives and provide them with board and lodging. Because everything is secret, this kind of organization is also called the "underground railway."
The "underground railway" can be traced back to the 18th century, because since slaves have fled, there have been people helping them. After the massive rise of the abolitionist movement in the 1830s, the activities of the "underground railway" also became more widespread. By the 1940s, people in almost every city and town had contact with the "underground railway." "The Underground Railway has two main routes, one in the Midwest, from the south through Ohio to Canada, and the other along the east coast from the south to the north.
Assisting slaves to escape is an extremely difficult and dangerous task. Generally, there are well-organized and planned, and the methods are extremely clever, and all methods that people can think of are used. Fugitive slaves often disguise themselves: the whiter-skinned slaves usually disguise themselves as whites, sometimes as slave owners, and the darker-skinned slaves as servants. Sometimes the fugitive slave held the baby and pretended to be a nanny. Some men pretend to be women and women pretend to be men. When assisting women and children to escape, there are not only escorts, but also vehicles. Guides often load these fugitives into a freight truck and disguise them with cargo outside. Sometimes black people are put in boxes as goods and transported to the north by train or ship.
Evacuation is usually at night. Guides and fugitives can only rely on the Big Dipper to distinguish their directions, and they are hidden in the warehouse, top floor or other easily sheltered places of the abolitionist home during the day.
The history of the "underground railway" is full of records of fugitive slaves overcoming various obstacles and enduring arduous struggles.
Blacks are the main force of the "underground railway". By the 1950s, an average of 500 black abolitionists travelled between the North and the South to rescue slaves. Among them are Harriet Tubman, John Steele, Ruggles and Douglas, and the bravest is Tubman. She was born as a slave and was forced to do intensive labor when she was 5 years old. She was often beaten by slave owners because she hated slavery. In 1825, she was injured by the overseer for helping another slave to escape. At that time, the overseer hit her on the head with a two-pound counterweight, and she suddenly fainted. on-line. Later, although he recovered from the illness, he left a serious sequelae-sleeping sickness, and he suddenly fell into a lethargic state several times a day. In 1849, she finally escaped from the fire pit of slavery and came to the Free State—Pennsylvania alone.
But Tubman was not satisfied with her own rescue. She thought that there were still thousands of compatriots still tortured under slavery, and felt that she had an obligation to save these suffering compatriots. So not long after she came to the north, she took part in the work of the "underground railway" and became a "mechanism driver" on the eastern line. She traveled 19 times to the "Longtan Tiger Den" of slavery in the South, and rescued more than 300 slaves. She is wise and courageous, able to travel between the North and the South from birth to death, and can use flexible strategies. Many guides wrecked at work: some were arrested, some were wounded, some were killed, but Tubman never had an accident during her 10 years of work. As an abolitionist Sanborn put it, she could "achieve her purpose with calmness, foresight, patience and wisdom." She became a mythical figure among the slaves in the South, whom they affectionately referred to as her. "Moses". Under her influence, the work of assisting slaves to escape has reached a high level of organization and skills.
The slave owners hated her deeply, and some even offered a reward of 40,000 dollars to catch her. Her activities caused great panic among slave owners throughout Maryland and caused a sharp drop in slave prices in the state. At this time, because of her activities, the slave property of the planter has lost its protection. Because of Tubman's bravery and wit, the great abolitionist John Brown called her "General Tubman."
Of course, there are also white people participating in this adventure work, including Calvin Fairbanks, John Fairfield, Levi Coffin, Thomas Garnett, Charlie Torrey and John Brown. Elite.
According to statistics, there are more than 3,200 people participating in this great cause. Many of them would rather go through fire and water in order to save black people. Their spirit of self-sacrificing and saving others has shined forever in history.
The significance and influence of the "underground railway" cause are significant. In the 40 years from 1810 to 1850, due to the escape of slaves, the southern slave owners lost a total of 100,000 slaves, worth more than 30 million U.S. dollars. There were 40,000 slaves who fled through Ohio alone. This had to deal a heavy blow to slavery in the South. Moreover, probably none of the factors have exacerbated the struggle between the North and the South like the "underground railway".
John Brown Uprising
In May 1800, John Brown was born into a white peasant family in Torrington, Connecticut. His father Owen Brown was a staunch abolitionist. Brown spent his childhood in the mountains and forests of the northern United States. Later, he worked as a tanner and ran sheep farming. The tragic experience of black slaves that he had heard and witnessed aroused his incomparable hatred of slavery.
In the American Revolutionary War, black people made great contributions. However, after the War of Independence, they were not liberated. Blacks were excluded from many industries, had no right to vote, and could not serve in the militia. In 1793, the U.S. government enacted the "Fleeing Slaves Pursuit Act," which stipulated that as long as the slave owner showed a certificate at the place where the fugitive was arrested, the local officials would sentence the fugitive to the original owner. Many free blacks in the north were kidnapped to the south under the pretext of "arresting fugitive slaves." Since the 1820s, the call for abolition of slavery has stirred the North American continent. Workers, peasants, and bourgeois democrats have all plunged into the torrent of struggle. The slave liberation movement founded the "Liberator" newspaper and established the Abolitionist Association. They also organized a national secret group "Underground Railway" to help slaves escape from the South and emigrate to Canada or the North of the United States.
In 1834, Brown organized an abolitionist group and got to know many black friends. He actively participated in the work of the Underground Railroad, learned about the distribution of blacks, drew a map of the escape route of slaves, and studied the heroic deeds of the American slave uprisings and Haiti. In 1854, the slave owners of the Southern Planting Countries sent armed bandits to invade Kansas, where they used bayonets to forcibly establish slavery. This aroused the opposition of the American people. A large number of workers and peasants were armed and poured into Kansas to have armed conflicts with plantation owners. At this time, Brown was presiding over a station on the Underground Railroad in Virginia. When he heard the news of the bloody battle in Kansas, he immediately sent his 5 sons to the local area to participate in the battle. Soon Brown drove away himself, and annihilated a group of enemies at Dutch Henry's Ferry. Since then, Brown's name has spread everywhere.
In order to crack down on slavery, Brown decided to launch an armed uprising at Harpas Ferry. On the evening of October 16, 1859, Brown said to his comrades: Marching", he took the lead and led the insurrection team to march towards the Harpas Ferry. The uprising started very smoothly. Later, due to the lack of responders and poor contact, slow movements delayed the timing, and allowed the enemy time to gather local military police from nearby to counterattack. On the 18th, after the last fierce battle, the rebels led by Brown finally failed due to outnumbering. Nine of the insurgents died, six escaped, and seven others including Brown were captured.
In the enemy’s court, Brown was awe-inspiring. He said: “I believe that, as I have done, working for the poor who are despised by others is not wrong, but right. Now, if you think it’s necessary. Ask me to give my life for the cause of justice, to mix my blood with the blood of my children, and the blood of millions of slaves-I agree."
Brown wrote his last words before he died: "I, John Brown, now firmly believe that only blood can cleanse the sins of this guilty land. In the past, I thought I could do this without much blood. Now I I think this is unrealistic."
On December 2, 1859, Brown died heroically. He gave his life for the liberation of black people.
Lincoln
One day in June 1831, at the slave auction market in the southern city of New Orleans, rows of black slaves were standing there with fetters and hands, they were all strung together by thick ropes. The slave owners followed one by one. I looked at them like buying a mule or a horse, and sometimes stepped forward to touch their arms and pat their thighs to see if they were strong and muscular, and whether they would have the strength to work in the future. The slave owners beat the black slaves with leather whips and branded them with red iron bars. At this time, several sailors from the north came over. They were all stunned by the tragic sight in front of them. One of the young men said angrily: "It's shameful! When I have a chance one day, I must put this slavery out. Completely defeated." The person who spoke was named Abraham Lincoln. Later he became the President of the United States and really realized this great ambition.
On February 12, 1809, Lincoln was born into a peasant family. When he was a child, his family was very poor, he had no chance to go to school, and he followed his father every day to cultivate and work on the western wasteland. He himself said: "The total time I spent in school in my life is less than a year." But Lincoln is diligent and studious. He asks others for advice whenever he has the opportunity. He doesn't have the money to buy paper and pen, so he lays on the sand and wooden boards. He writes, draws, and practises handwriting. He always holds a book in his arms when he is grazing cattle, chopping wood, and digging the ground. When he is resting, he gnaws on the hard and cold corn cakes while reading with relish. In the evening, he often reads until late at night under a small oil lamp.
When he grew up, Lincoln left his hometown and went out to make a living by himself. He did all kinds of jobs, worked part-time jobs, worked as a sailor, shop assistant, country postman, land surveyor, and worked hard at logging and chopping wood. No matter what he is doing, he is very serious and responsible and treats people sincerely. When he was a village clerk, once, a customer paid a few cents more, and he chased more than a dozen miles in order to refund the money. On another occasion, he discovered that he had missed two taels of tea leaves for customer 2 and ran a few miles to deliver the tea to that person's home. Therefore, wherever he goes, he is loved by people around him.
Lincoln never forgets to study no matter what he does. He seized all his free time to study hard by himself, studying history, literature, philosophy, law and other books, and gained a wealth of knowledge. During this period, he developed a great interest in politics and actively engaged in political activities. In 1834, at the age of 25, Lincoln was elected to the Illinois state legislator and began his political career. In 1836, he passed the exam and became a lawyer. Lincoln hated slavery in his youth, because when he was a sailor, he shipped goods to the south many times and witnessed the brutality of slave owners and the cruel torture of black slaves. After he became a parliamentarian, he often gave speeches attacking slavery, which was very influential among the masses. The Republican Party of the United States was established in 1854. Lincoln participated because the party advocated the abolition of slavery. Two years later, he was nominated as the vice presidential candidate at the first National Convention. He said in his campaign speech: "We are fighting for freedom and the abolition of slavery until our country's constitution guarantees freedom of discussion, until the entire vast land is only free workers who work in the sun and rain."
In 1858, when Lincoln was running for the Senate of Illinois, he gave a speech entitled "The Cracked House." He compared the coexistence of the North and South systems to "a cracked house." "He said: "A house that has been cracked apart is untenable. I believe that this government cannot remain semi-slave and semi-free forever." Lincoln's speech is vivid and simple in simple language, expressing the requirements of the northern bourgeoisie It also reflected the wishes of the people across the country, and thus won him a great reputation.
In 1860, Lincoln was elected President of the United States. His election caused anxiety and anxiety to the slave owners in the South. In 1861, some of the slave-holding states in the South formed the "Confederate Union" and did not declare a war, and the American Civil War broke out. In the early days of the war, due to the lack of preparations in the North, it rushed to fight, leading to successive defeats. At this critical moment, Lincoln resolutely signed the "Homestead Act" and "Emancipation Proclamation". The promulgation of these two decrees was a turning point in the Civil War, and the situation on the battlefield became more and more favorable for the North. By April 1865, the four-year Civil War finally ended with the victory of the North.
The Civil War is known as the second revolution in the United States after the War of Independence. Lincoln became a symbol of black liberation. But the slave owner hated him extremely. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by a thug bought by a Southern slave owner while he was watching a play at the Ford Theater in Washington. Lincoln's tragic death caused a huge shock at home and abroad. The American people deeply mourned him. More than 7 million people stood on both sides of the road to mourn the funeral procession, and 1.5 million paid tribute to Lincoln's remains. Lincoln is an outstanding politician who has made great contributions to the advancement of American society and is admired by the American people. In the eyes of Americans, his prestige even surpasses Washington.
The history of the American Civil War
After Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860, it posed a serious threat to the interests of southern plantation owners. Of course, they did not want a person who advocated the abolition of slavery to be president. In order to regain their long-held national leadership, they launched a rebellion before Lincoln took office. In December 1860, the southern state of South Carolina first declared its independence from the Union, and then slave-holding states such as Mississippi and Florida also seceded from the Union. In February 1861, they announced the establishment of a "Confederation of America" and elected Jefferson Davis, the owner of the big plantation, as president. They also formulated the "Constitution" declaring that black slavery was the foundation of the Southern Union: Equality, black slave labor is a natural and normal state."
On April 12, 1861, the Confederate Union fought undeclared war and quickly captured the fortress of Sumter where the federal government troops were stationed. Lincoln had to declare war on the South, and the Civil War broke out.
At that time, the balance of power between the North and the South was very different. There are 23 states in the north with a population of 22 million, and industrial production is 10 times that of the south. There are only 9 million people in 7 states in the South. The reason why the South dared to provoke a war is that the South has already made military preparations. The South has a high-quality army, a well-developed munitions industry, and has received assistance from Britain, France and other countries. The South wants to defeat the North through a quick fight. The American Civil War was roughly divided into two phases and two battlefields, east and west. The period from April 1861 to September 1862 was the stage of "limited war". Both sides concentrated their forces on the Eastern Battlefield and fought fierce battles for the opposing capital. The commander of the southern army was an outstanding military strategist Robert Lee. He formulated an offensive-defense strategy based on the disparity between the forces of the two sides.
Lincoln and the North were not prepared for the war. They adopted the so-called "Snake Plan", spreading their forces on the 8,000-mile front, and the passive tactics adopted by the commander McClelland, who sympathized with the slave owners, caused the North Army to frustrate again and again. In 1861, the two sides held the first Battle of Manassas in the Eastern Battlefield. On July 21, the North launched an offensive towards Richmond, the capital of the South. 35,000 Northern troops lined up in a neat formation and marched towards Richmond amidst the sound of military music. Due to the North’s great pretensions, thinking that the Confederate Army was vulnerable, and this day was Saturday, many Washington citizens, congressmen, journalists, etc. were dressed in full costumes, wives, carrying baskets with picnics, and some rode in horse-drawn carriages. Some went on foot with the army and came to the battlefield to see the excitement like a festival. The 22,000 southern troops lined up at the railway junction Manassas. The northern army attacked the southern army amidst the cheers of the audience, and the fierce gunfire shrouded the southern army's position in smoke. The Northern Army then crossed the Bull River and launched an assault on the opposite bank. Who would think that the commander of the Southern Army was the famous general Thomas Jackson. He commanded calmly and repelled the Northern Army's 5 assaults, thus earning the reputation of "Stone Wall". The battle was fierce. Because the military uniforms of both sides were almost the same, it was difficult to tell the enemy from us for a while, and the battlefield was in chaos. Soon, 9000 reinforcements from the South Army arrived and launched a counterattack.
The untrained North Army collapsed at the touch of a touch, leaving behind a large number of guns and ammunition and fled back to Washington. In this battle, the Northern Army lost 3,000 soldiers and the Southern Army lost less than 2,000. In 1862, the battle became more intense. Lincoln ordered an army of 500,000 to launch a general attack on February 22. The Northern Army won steadily on the Western Front and almost opened up the Mississippi River, the major artery of the North and South. The navy also captured New Orleans, the largest port in the South. But in the Eastern Battlefield, the Northern Army suffered another defeat. Northern Army Commander McClelland has 100,000 troops, but he hasn't moved for a few months because he regards the enemy's 50,000 horses as 150,000. Later, under the urging of Lincoln, the "Battle of the Peninsula" was launched in an attempt to capture Richmond.
Robert Lee hurriedly led the Southern Army to meet. From June 25 to July 1, Li’s 90,000 troops and 100,000 people in the Northern Army launched the "Seven-Day Battle." Li used mobile to search for fighters, mobilize the Northern Army, and then search for weak links in the Northern Army to launch an offensive. The expulsion of the peninsula near Richmond caused the Northern Army to lose 16,500 and the Southern Army also lost 20,000. However, they achieved a strategic victory in defending the capital. Li Chengsheng went north, and at the end of August, he fought the second Manassas battle with the Northern Army. The Southern Army has 54,000 people and the Northern Army has 80,000 people. Li Gaochao's commanding art is fully displayed. He attracted the main force of the Northern Army to the position with a small force. The main force maneuvered, attacking from the flanks and the rear, and then flanked the front and the side to defeat the Northern Army in one fell swoop.
The Northern Army had 14,000 casualties and 7,000 captured. Southern soldiers approached Washington. The Northern Army only withstood the Li's offensive in the Battle of Antietam in September. In terms of naval warfare, although the northern navy has an overwhelming advantage, the armored warships in the south have also brought great trouble to the north.
At this stage, the South has a clear advantage. In addition to the high quality of the southern army and Li's outstanding command, the reason for the northern failure was mainly because the northern bourgeoisie was afraid of revolution and did not dare to explicitly abolish slavery and liberate the blacks, but fantasized about reunifying the North and the South through compromise.
Lincoln is worthy of being a great politician. He saw that in order to win the war, he must be determined to solve the core problem of blacks and slavery. So he accepted the opinions of the people and followed the trend of history. On September 22, 1862, he resolutely issued the "Emancipation Proclamation", announcing the emancipation of 4 million black slaves in the United States from January 1, 1863. This great historical document sounded the death knell of slavery in the South. At the same time, Lincoln also implemented a series of revolutionary policies, such as: promulgating the "Homestead Law" to distribute the land in the west to the people; arming blacks; implementing the conscription system; reorganizing the military command organization and replacing McClelland, who sympathized with slave owners and was passive in combat. , Appointed Grant as commander-in-chief, levied progressive income taxes on the rich, suppressed the "brass-headed snake" counter-revolutionaries, and so on. These measures have greatly aroused the enthusiasm of the people in the north. Nearly a million people joined the army, including 230,000 black soldiers. The war entered the "revolutionary war phase" in September 1862.
The Northern Army Commander Grant and the famous general Sherman jointly formulated the "overall strategy", that is, not only to destroy the enemy's army, but also to destroy the enemy's economic foundation and the fighting will of the enemy's residents. As Sherman said: To prevent the enemy from launching war in future generations, "We must remove and destroy all obstacles, if necessary, kill everyone, take every inch of land, and confiscate everything. Property. In a word, destroy everything we think should be destroyed..." The Northern Army adopted an active offensive tactic. Since 1863, the two sides fought three major wars:
One is the Battle of Chauncey Lowell. From April to May 1863, 130,000 Potomac Corps of the Northern Army fought fiercely in Chauncey Lowell with 60,000 Southern Army under Li command. Li overcame the disadvantages of troops, maneuvered and flexibly dealt with the North Army, with a small number of troops to contain the North Army's main force. 17,000 people were lost, and the Southern Army lost 12,000 people. But the Southern Army's hero "Stonewall" Jackson was shot dead. This is the victory of the last battle in the South.
The second is the Battle of Gettysburg. In June 1863, the Li Jun 80,000 invaded Pennsylvania, and the North was in emergency again. Lincoln hurriedly summoned the 110,000 Potomac Army to meet.
This time, Li underestimated his opponent, thinking that he was as clumsy as before, and he could easily win, so he didn't use the usual containment actions. Unexpectedly, the Northern Army has appointed Titan Mead as the commander of the army. Mead led his army to stop Li Jun at the transportation hub of Gettysburg. On July 1, Li Jun launched a fierce attack on the high ground defended by the Northern Army. On the first day, the North Army broke through the defense line. The North Army suffered heavy casualties, with more than 5,000 captured. Li got up and made the troops stop and rest, waiting for the follow-up troops to come up, so as to give the Northern Army a respite. On the afternoon of July 2, the Southern Army stormed with 300 cannons. The Northern Army fought bravely and withstood the Southern Army's attack. On the third day, the Southern Army made a desperate move and launched a total offensive. Several division commanders and brigade commanders personally waved their swords and charged. The artillery of the Northern Army engulfed a group of Southern soldiers with fierce firepower. However, despite the heavy casualties, the Southern Army finally rushed to the summit of Cemetery Ridge, the main position of the Northern Army, and the two sides started a hand-to-hand battle. At this time, the Northern Army counterattacked across the board and eventually wiped out the Southern Army. I saw the bodies of soldiers from both sides piled up everywhere in the northern army position. 2 brigade commanders and 15 regiment commanders of the southern army were all killed and 28,000 casualties. The Northern Army also suffered 23,000 casualties. Li led his army back. This battle was the fiercest of the civil war. A tree on the battlefield was hit with 250 bullets. This battle reversed the battle on the Eastern Front, and since then the North has fully grasped the initiative.
The third is the Battle of Vicksburg. Vicksburg is a strategic place to control the Mississippi River and the western rail network. The Southern Army is tightly fortified here, known as the "Gibraltar of the South." The Northern Army failed in several attacks. Beginning in February 1863, Grant led 3 legions with more than 70,000 men to besiege the fort. Due to the strong fortifications of the enemy, several attacks were frustrated. Grant adopted a siege tactic and cut off all supply lines for the enemy. After several months of siege, the enemy troops in the fort run out of ammunition and food, and even the cats and mice were eaten up.
The Northern Army bombarded for 47 consecutive days, forcing the Southern Army to surrender on July 4 by raising the white flag. The Northern Army captured 37,000 enemies with 15 generals and 172 artillery pieces. At this point, the North controlled the Mississippi River and split the southern territory in half.
After the 3rd World War, the southern army was exhausted, and the morale of the northern army was getting higher and higher, and they continued to launch powerful offensives.
In November 1863, he won another victory in the Battle of Chattanooga, defeating 46,000 southern troops and opening the door to the southern rear.
In 1864, the Northern Army launched a 3-way offensive to the south. In the East Battlefield, Grant adopted a consumption strategy. After the Wilderness Campaign and the Cold Harbor Battle, the main force of the Li Army was exhausted, losing 32,000 and unable to attack. On the Western Front, Sherman ran into the enemy's rear for a long distance. He commanded an army of 100,000 to penetrate the southern hinterland and in September captured Atlanta, the largest industrial city in the South. Starting from November 15th, another 62,000 elite soldiers have been selected to launch the "Marriage to the Sea". The army drove more than 300 miles for more than a month, and implemented the "Three Lights" policy wherever it went, burning down plantations, towns and villages, and destroying factories. Enterprises, even the rails are dismantled and bent. The south was full of flames and ruins. The army captured Savannah on December 21 and completed the task of destroying the southern rear. At the same time, the Northern Navy also imposed a "suffocating blockade" on the South, completely cutting off the South's external relations.
In 1865, the South was exhausted and was on the verge of collapse. The Northern Army launched a final offensive from both land and sea. The Northern Army captured the important town of Petersburg and the southern capital of Richmond. The Li Army had less than 30,000 remaining defeated generals and was forced to surrender to Grant on April 9. Soon, all 170,000 remnants of the southern army laid down their weapons. At the moment of victory in the North, Southern slave owners assassinated President Lincoln. But this dying struggle cannot save the South’s failure. The American Civil War ended with the victory of the North and the demise of slavery in the South. The reason for the victory in the North was that Lincoln was able to follow the trend of history and took a series of revolutionary measures such as liberating the blacks, which mobilized the enthusiasm of the broad masses of people and blacks in the North. At the same time, with the strong support of international justice forces, the disparity in economic power between the North and the South was also the victory of the North Key factor.
This war has many characteristics of a modern overall war: both sides implemented a conscription system, mobilizing a total of 4 million people to participate in the war; both sides mobilized all manpower and material resources into the war; the goal of the war is not only to destroy the other side, but also to destroy the other’s socio-economic system. Completely conquered each other; the two sides killed 620,000 people, including 360,000 in the north and 260,000 in the south, with more than one million wounded and a cost of $25 billion. Both the large loss and the serious consumption are the first in modern wars. In addition, the latest scientific and technological achievements were widely used in the war, such as wireless telegraphy, armored trains, carbines, blooming shells, photographic reconnaissance, high-altitude balloons, armored ships, mines, submarines, minesweeping devices, and so on. These have greatly changed the face of warfare, and the logistics supply has also become more complicated. Therefore, this war occupies a prominent position in military history and is called the "first modern war".
The American Civil War is the second revolution in American history. The Civil War opened the way for the rapid development of American capitalism. As Lenin pointed out, it has "great, world historic, progressive and revolutionary significance."
Lincoln was against slavery, and he called slavery a sin more than once.
In a debate with Democratic Northern Leader Stephen Douglas in 1858, Lincoln made it clear: "I always hate slavery, I think, like any abolitionist."
Of course Lincoln opposed slavery from the standpoint of bourgeois democracy. He is convinced by the principle of the US "Declaration of Independence": All are born equal. He believes that this principle applies not only to whites, but also to blacks. Therefore, in his view, black slavery violates the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
Lincoln's opposition to slavery is also closely related to his support for the wage labor system. He is essentially a proponent of the "free" employment labor system, and his series of remarks to workers are the best proof.
In 1860, when Lincoln gave a traveling lecture in New England, the shoemakers here were on strike. He said to the worker audience: "Thank God, we have a labor system under which we can strike." The next day, he repeated this statement to the strikers in New Haven.
While Lincoln supported the hired labor system, he also advocated opening up economic opportunities to everyone, so that workers also have the opportunity to become capitalists. He objected: "No matter who is a hired laborer, he is destined to stay in this state for life."
Based on this, we can conclude that what Lincoln yearns for and praises is a bourgeois society in which every worker has the opportunity to make a fortune and becomes a capitalist after he has made a fortune, and he believes that the North of the United States was like this Of a society.
However, although Lincoln opposed slavery, he did not demand the abolition of the existing slavery in the South at that time, and he opposed interference in the slavery in the South.
On July 10, 1858, he declared in a speech in Chicago:
"... I believe that the people of the free states have absolutely no right or intention to enter the slave state to interfere with the slavery issue." He is even more opposed to the use of violence to eliminate slavery.
He said in 1856:
"Make no mistake, votes are more powerful than bullets."
Therefore, Lincoln is not an abolitionist. When he was engaged in political activities, the abolitionist movement was surging forward, but he was always outside of this great movement. Hendon, his friend who has worked with him for 20 years, is a very staunch abolitionist. Lincoln had not accepted his influence at the time. When Hunton joined the Liberal Party, Lincoln was still a Whig. In fact, Lincoln not only did not participate in the abolitionist movement, but opposed it.
As early as 1838 when he gave his first public speech, he said: "The spread of the abolitionist theory will only increase but not reduce the crime of slavery."
Lincoln's attitude towards the slave owners in the South was also gentle. He says:
He "has no objection to southerners. If we were in their position, we would be like them."
He said again:
On the issue of slavery, “I certainly can’t blame them for not doing things that I don’t even know how to do.”
Although Lincoln did not advocate interfering with or abolishing the existing slavery system in the southern states, he opposed the expansion of slavery in a geographical area. On July 27, 1848, he supported the "Wilmott proviso" in the House of Representatives, as evidenced. Lincoln believed that if slavery was not allowed to expand, it would be eliminated on its own within a certain period of time.
Personally, Lincoln, who was born as a working people, has a certain degree of sympathy for blacks. Moreover, as a bourgeois democrat, Lincoln advocated that blacks and whites enjoy equal status in politics. He said: In terms of "certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness," all people are equal, including blacks.
At that time, in the depths of Lincoln's thought, he still did not get rid of racist prejudice. He believed that blacks were inferior to whites. In a debate with Douglas in 1858, he said unequivocally:
"I agree with Judge Douglas. He is not equal to us in many respects—it is indeed unequal in skin color, and probably in moral or intellectual endowment..."
He said again:
"... In addition, I would also like to say that there is a physical difference between whites and blacks. I believe this difference will forever prohibit the two races from living together under conditions of social and political equality..."
In this way, on the one hand, Lincoln advocated that everyone is equal before the law, and on the other hand, he believes that blacks are inferior to whites, so they should not get along as equals. This is a contradiction in his thinking. In order to resolve this contradiction, he advocated moving black Americans abroad.
To sum up, Lincoln is not only a supporter of wage labor, but also insists on the bourgeois moderate position on the issue of slavery. This is one of the reasons why he was nominated as the presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention in 1860.
But in general, Lincoln before the Civil War opposed the decadent slavery system and supported the progressive capitalist system at the time. This shows that he advocates advancement and opposes retrogression, so he deserves to be a progressive bourgeois revolutionary.