As we study American history we see that the saying, “History repeats itself” reveals much truth. As we look closer to the American Revolution and the American Civil War, we can find many similarities between the two. Another saying that is made known is that “We learn from our mistakes,” but even the greatest men and women of our history did not follow. The main causes for both wars were the fight for liberty. If we are to analyze this issue in both wars, we see that the conclusion of one war leads to the beginning of another.
As Semisonic sings, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end. ” The American Revolution could, to some have started when the Americans were given the Proclamation of 1763. As we see they are given boundaries and forbidden to settle onto Indian land. Many more decisions were made in England for the people of America without their opinions. Thereafter, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Townshend Duties were set and intended to help finance and sustain the British troops in America.
These laws were created without the consent of the people and they were later informed that they were included by Virtual Representation. The colonists lived with these annoying custom duties by evading them through smuggling. Soon after a Declaratory Act was passed reasserting the right of Parliament to legislate “in all cases whatsoever. ” (Graham 78) The people of America just wanted to separate from the English and soon become interested in the fact that England was producing all sorts of laws and acts onto them.
Having such a government displeased the Americans and soon the reaction that they promoted was that of rebellion. A pamphlet authored by Thomas Paine, became a real best seller and many after reading such literature were ready to fight for their freedom. These legislatures were derived from the King of England George III. He soon became the most disliked man in American homes. The Revolution War brought the people together in a patriotic manner. Soon, a document that would change the lives of many was constituted for the citizens of America.
The Declaration of Independence was then formed and granted all men freedom and equality. Freedom was finally rewarded to Americans, but how they manipulate, it was up to them. Was freedom and equality guaranteed for all men and women? Studying history we see that it does differ and in the Declaration it states, “all men are created equal. ” This gets interpreted as all white men are created equal. In having such frame of mind, civilians began disputing. Not for the equal rights primarily, but for the unlawful slavery that was occurring.
This time in history many laws and acts were distributed but often ignored such as the Fugitive Slave Acts 1850 and the Wilmont Proviso of 1846. Both were set for the benefits in trying to start the unchaining of slavery. Similarly to the Revolution, the Americans can be compared with the slaves of the United States. In parallel with writings from the Revolution, the Civil War had some great writers that professed that fighting for the slaves was lawful. Uncle Tom’s Cabin in itself a fine piece of literature encompassed the life of a slave.
Slaves had no say in what they wanted and were not able to actually live life. Not only did the black servants feel like they were being inhumanely treated but so did the masters of the slaves. The slave owners saw this out to be that the North was destroying they way of living by emancipating the slaves. Like early Americans wanting to be liberated, so did the slaves. With the help of fellow Americans, the slaves of the United States were soon unchained with the victory of the North in the American Civil War. What came of this was the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
The 13th amendment stated slavery was against the law. The 14th granted all people born in the United States are granted citizenship. And finally the 15th amendment declared all citizens of the United States voting rights. In conclusion, we recognize that both battles are in some ways related due to the means in fighting. Each side thought that they had a right to a certain type of freedom. The Americans in the Revolution went to America for the specific reason to separate from the country or religion that they were being persecuted from.
Although in the Civil War, the slaves did not wish to come over to America but were taken out of their homes and forced to work. Their blood and sweat built some of the fine plantations that we see in our history books today. Now the question that boggles my mind and I am sure many others is if we wanted freedom so badly and knew that hardships it took in receiving it, why do we hold such liberty and happiness from others? Still to this day African Americans are being discriminated against will it end?
