How Did Civil Wars Occur After The End Of The American Civil War?

Throughout history, the world has faced numerous wars, revolutions, and uprisings. People have seen more sweat, blood, and tears shed than we care to admit and millions have lost their lives fighting for their nations. Wars tend to begin when tensions with other countries or one’s own government arises. Civil wars occur because of the latter. During a civil war there is widespread discontent with the current government and their ways and so the majority of the population, usually those oppressed, rises up and tries to overthrow the government. These wars last for extended periods of time, usually several years, and have drastic and sometimes negative effects on the population. The dictionary defines a civil war as a war between groups of people in the same country (Merriam Webster). In order to be categorized as a legitimate civil war, however, they have to meet certain criteria. Among these, “the wars have to have caused more than 1,000
The period immediately following the end of the American Civil War became known as the Reconstruction Era, a time of restoration and rebuilding for the United States. President Lincoln had begun to plan for reconstruction during the Civil War because he wanted the nation to be united quickly and easily after the fighting was over. Unfortunately, only five days after the South’s surrender in Virginia, John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, assassinated him. Nonetheless, Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction was put into action until his successor, Andrew Johnson, incorporated his own plans for Reconstruction. This included the abolition of slavery that Lincoln had encouraged and an oath that Southern states were required to take before they were readmitted into the Union (Howard University). However, Johnson did not establish any changes to “their social structure apart from the abolition of slavery” (Harman,