Talk:American Civil War

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Frequently asked questions

Many of these questions arise frequently on the talk page concerning the American Civil War.

To view an explanation to the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

Q1: Should slavery be presented as the most important cause of the war? (Yes.)

A1: Yes. Slavery was the most important cause of the war. Wikipedia requires that we rely on the best officially documented research available, without any original research or undue weight to fringe theories.

After the war, some movements sought to advance Lost Cause interpretations, arguing that the Confederacy was not primarily fighting to defend slavery. While these have been popular in some quarters, the vast majority of historians do not support these interpretations, including best historians (McPherson, Nevins, Freehling and even the better Southern historians such as Potter). Ironically, during the crisis that led to the outbreak of war, Confederate politicians openly presented preservation of slavery as the central issue, in their own words. They mentioned fears for the future of slavery many times in their declarations of reasons for secession, political speeches and editorials. Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Stephens had the following to say:

"You think slavery is right and should be extended; while we think slavery is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub." - From Abraham Lincoln's letter to Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens, Dec 22, 1860

"We at the South do think African slavery, as it exists with us, both morally and politically right. This opinion is founded upon the inferiority of the black race. You, however, and perhaps a majority of the North, think it wrong." - From Stephens' reply to Lincoln, Dec 30, 1860

It is true that Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis both downplayed the slavery issue after the war began. As historian James Ford Rhodes explained, Davis hoped to get support from Britain and France, where slavery was unpopular, and Lincoln needed to keep the loyalty of the border states, which were both pro-slavery and pro-Union. This is why in statements like the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, northern politicians argued they were only fighting to preserve the Union. Similarly, Lincoln's sole justification for the Emancipation Proclamation was military necessity. Holzer, Striner and Brewster note that Lincoln needed to portray the emancipation in a way that was acceptable to the border states and War Democrats.

Q2: Were tariffs and states' rights similar in importance? (No.)

A2: No. The tariff issue and states' rights were factors, and there were others. These are all included in the article. However, no issue was as important as slavery.

The original secessionists were not very careful in separating states' rights from the slavery issue. They defended both states' rights (such as secession) and federal power (such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850), depending on which suited slavery with each controversy. South Carolina's declaration of reasons for secession is one example out of many. However, Lost Cause historians did subsequently portray the Confederacy as consistent defenders of states' rights.

The tariff issue had been a much larger issue three decades before the war, and even then John Calhoun, who led South Carolina's attempt to nullify the Tariff of 1828, said that the tariff issue was related to slavery. In his March 6, 1860 speech at New Haven, Lincoln had said that the slavery issue was more important than the tariff or any other issue.

Q3: Did Lincoln propose to immediately abolish slavery in the South when elected? (No.)

A3: No. Lincoln combined moral opposition to slavery (calling it "a monstrous injustice") with a moderate, gradual program of action. Lincoln, like most Republicans, believed that compromises of the Constitution (a three-fifths clause, a 20 year extension of the African slave trade and a fugitive slave clause) implied constitutional recognition of slavery where it existed. However, Lincoln would not compromise on preventing any expansion of slavery in the hope that this would put it "in the course of ultimate extinction."

Q4: Did Lincoln believe in racial equality? (Mostly.)

A4: In the context of the 19th century, being seen as a "Black Republican" abolitionist would be politically damaging. Lincoln was inconsistent on the equality issue during the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, partly in order to deflect this charge. However, the things Lincoln said in favor of equality were many (including Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address and his Cooper Union speech), while the things he said against it were few, and those few were combined with a great deal of political pressure. While Lincoln and other northern politicians did not always advocate equality, this should not be given undue weight, especially as they wanted to give far more rights to black people than the Confederate politicians. At a July 10, 1858 Speech at Chicago Lincoln said, "I have always hated slavery, I think as much as any Abolitionist."

Q5: Should the article refer to the states that allowed slavery as slave states? (Yes.)

A5: Yes, because their politicians referred to them as slave states, and because slavery related concerns were by far the major complaint mentioned by secessionists. After the outbreak of war, the slave states became divided between the Confederate states and the border states.

Q6: Did some slave states fight for the North? (Yes.)

A6: Yes, the five border states. These states had less slavery and more support for the Union than the Confederate slave states. They opposed emancipation at first, but largely accepted the military need for it eventually. Kentucky and Missouri had more slavery than the rest, and had loyalties that were more divided than the rest. For example, Missouri's Governor Claiborne Jackson was a southern sympathizer, but was prevented from seceding by Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. Missouri saw some of the worst guerrilla fighting of the entire war because of its divisions over slavery.

Q7: Should the title be American Civil War? (Yes.)

A7: Yes. The title "American Civil War" is used only because it is the most common international name for the war. It is used in order to be understood, regardless of whether it could be better. The title does ignore the South's point of view, and it ignores the fact that Central America and South America are also America, in a sense. The other names should be mentioned, but not in this article. They are mentioned in Naming the American Civil War. The main article links to this.

Q8: Did the South start the war? (Yes.)

A8: The South bombarded and seized Fort Sumter, a federal fort in South Carolina. Historians regard this as the incident in which the actual fighting began.

This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (color, defense, traveled) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

American Civil War was one of the Warfare good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
April 10, 2006	Peer review	Reviewed
November 4, 2006	Good article nominee	Listed
November 26, 2006	Good article reassessment	Delisted
December 10, 2006	Good article nominee	Listed
March 22, 2007	WikiProject A-class review	Not approved
March 28, 2007	WikiProject A-class review	Approved
April 21, 2007	Good article reassessment	Kept
October 14, 2007	Good article reassessment	Kept
November 5, 2007	Featured article candidate	Not promoted
December 10, 2008	Good article reassessment	Kept
March 23, 2011	Peer review	Reviewed
July 28, 2012	Good article reassessment	Delisted
May 30, 2014	WikiProject A-class review	Demoted
December 12, 2015	Peer review	Reviewed
May 25, 2021	Good article nominee	Not listed
Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on December 20, 2004, December 20, 2005, and December 20, 2006.
Current status: Delisted good article

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This article has been mentioned by a media organization:

Daniel Nasaw (4 April 2012). "Who, What, Why: How many soldiers died in the US Civil War?". BBC.

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Leonard, Elizabeth D. (1999). All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies (1st ed.). W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-3930-4712-1.

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Change this[edit]

"The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction." to "The central cause of the war was a disagreement on the state's rights to secede, the extent/reach of the federal Government, the southern way of life, and slavery." ^[1] 70.191.203.101 (talk) 21:49, 26 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The cause was do to some states believed the federal gov was impeding the states right to govern themselves that is why whether or not an individual supported slavery or not they still fought in their states militia. 108.145.161.122 (talk) 22:02, 22 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This should be changed because slavery was not the sole cause of the civil war, which is being implied by this sentence. 70.191.203.101 (talk) 21:51, 26 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Central cause" does not mean "sole cause". And your proposed change puts far less emphasis on slavery than your source does. –CWenger (^ • @) 01:25, 27 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, slavery was the sole cause. Other differences between the North and the South would not have led to war, and the slavery dispute was sufficient to cause the war. I would simply delete "central" and say "The cause of the war." But I won't, because there seems to be a consensus about the state of the opening paragraph. Maurice Magnus (talk) 01:00, 30 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The four southern declarations of reasons for secession mention slavery related causes.Michaelbtfsplk (talk) 20:20, 12 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It's pretty obvious that the cause of the war was that Lincoln didn't think the Southern States had a constitutional right to secede. If the North would have agreed with the South that they had the right to secede, there wouldn't have been a war to "preserve the Union". Jimhoward72 (talk) 22:13, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Lincoln said that secession is never a legal right, only a moral right at best. Given the South's reason for secession (to protect slavery according to secessionists), Lincoln didn't think that what he called a "monstrous injustice" was morally right. Also, Lincoln saw secession as an attack on democracy, the "last best hope of earth."Michaelbtfsplk (talk) 00:49, 3 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/causes.htm#:~:text=For%20more%20than%2080%20years,of%20slavery%20within%20American%20society.

Numbers in Ref. 3 do not match the numbers in article[edit]

Numbers in Ref. 3 do not match the numbers in article. 107.145.28.211 (talk) 20:42, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Ref. 3 gives very rough numbers and then other references are more concrete, so we tend to use those numbers. We could probably drop ref. 3 for all but the last use. –CWenger (^ • @) 23:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In the Wikipedia table derived from the National Park Service figures (ref 3), the number of wounded is exactly the same for both Union and Confederate (ie., 275,154). The Confederate wounded in the NPS article is 194,026. 118.102.70.75 (talk) 01:27, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out. –CWenger (^ • @) 16:53, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 29 April 2024[edit]

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

There is sneatance requiring a citation in one of the paragraph in Eastern theater. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:32, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I apologize I meant sentence. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:32, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Paragraphs in the Eastern theater sub heading. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:33, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sixth paragraph under battles. 64.189.18.32 (talk) 18:34, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Already done This sentence already has a citation needed template. If you have a citation that verifies this statement please reopen your request with the reference. Jamedeus (talk) 19:26, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 8 May 2024[edit]

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

In Eastern theater a paragraph requires a source for a sentence about Pope's slavery learning to victory. 64.189.18.24 (talk) 01:41, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

WP:SOFIXIT Acroterion (talk) 01:49, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sentence has no citation so it should be removed as it cannot be verified.[edit]

That sentence can't be verified as there no sources to verify it. 64.189.18.24 (talk) 01:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Which sentence? The solution is to provide a source, not to demand its removal. Acroterion (talk) 01:48, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[1] ttps://www.nps.gov/civilwar/causes.htm#:~:text=For%20more%20than%2080%20years,of%20slavery%20within%20American%20society.

[1]