As the United States began to establish itself as a country, more and more problems began to surface within the nation. A perfect example of this would be the American Civil War, which significantly affected society. This brought about many changes within America such as women’s rights movements and decisions regarding African American freedom. Also many of the problems are country had previously left unresolved were soon to be resolved too. The social changes of the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era greatly affected the years that followed it as well. The American Civil War was different from many of the wars the United States had fought in at this time. Mostly this nation had only helped out in wars for other countries, or to just become one country itself. By the mid-1800s though, the separate areas of the U.S. had begun to develop diverse ideas regarding many important decisions. The separate areas of the Unites States quickly shifted into the North or the South. One of the matters in particular that the North and the South greatly disagreed on was slavery.
[Slave owners] feared that the activities of abolitionists would make it more difficult to run their plantation system. Where possible they wanted to see an expansion of slavery into other areas. (Simkin 2)
While the North believed it should be abolished, the South felt that the African American slaves were important to their economy. (Simkin 1-3)
As the tensions rose between the North and South, the South began talks of seceding from the North and forming their own country. After Abraham Lincoln was elected president, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas decided to secede. In doing so, they formed their own government and renamed themselves the Confederate States of America. They elected their own president, and eventually the Civil War as the United States knows it started. (Davis