American Civil War:

The Civil War, also known as the American Civil War, was the only large-scale civil war in the history of the United States. The two parties involved in the war were the American Confederacy in the North and the American Union in the South. country. The war ended with a Union victory. The Civil War was the second bourgeois revolution in American history. It safeguarded national unity, abolished slavery, further removed obstacles to capitalist development, and made the United States quickly become an industrialized power. But racial discrimination has not been completely eliminated, and black people still receive unequal treatment. This war not only changed the political and economic situation of the United States at that time, leading to the final abolition of slavery in the American South, but also had a huge impact on American civil society in the future.

Lincoln:

Abraham Lincoln (AbrahamLincoln, 1809-1865), American politician, the 16th President (term: March 4, 1861-1865 April March 15), is also the first *** and party president. During his presidency, a civil war broke out in the United States, known as the Civil War in history. Lincoln defeated the southern secessionist forces, abolished slavery, and maintained the unity of the country. But shortly after the Civil War, Lincoln was assassinated. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated. In 2021, Abraham Lincoln was ranked first among the 100 people who influenced the United States by the authoritative American journal "The Atlantic Monthly".

The course and landmark events of the Civil War:

1. Time: 1861-1865,

2. Both sides: the northern states of the United States and the southern states A war between rebellious slave states.

In 1860, Lincoln, the anti-slavery party candidate, was elected president of the United States.

In February 1861, the "Southern Confederacy" was established, with 11 of the 34 states in the United States participating. In April 1861, the "Southern Confederate" army launched a rebellion and occupied many fortresses in the south and arsenals containing large amounts of weapons and ammunition. Only Fort Sumter in South Carolina resisted the rebels for two days, but surrendered on April 14. President Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4.

On April 15, 1861, the southern states were officially declared to be rebel areas. The American Civil War broke out.

The first phase of the war (1861?1862): This phase was characterized by the Lincoln administration's indecisiveness in fighting, which was the result of the northern bourgeoisie's vacillating attitude towards southern slaves and showed an attempt to use compromise to resolve the conflict. rather than the tendency to conduct war in a revolutionary manner. In 1961, the main combat operations were launched in the direction of Washington and Richmond.

The Homestead Act passed on May 20, 1862, and the Lincoln Declaration (January 1, 1863) liberating the black slaves in the rebellious southern states, brought about major changes in domestic political life and the strategies and tactics of the federal army. change. The political enthusiasm of the people in the northern states was high, and the army was supplemented by new troops. About 190,000 blacks (72% of them from the southern states) enlisted in the army, and 250,000 blacks served in the rear service troops.

In the spring of 1865, the federal army resumed its offensive under Grant's command and captured Richmond on April 3. The Confederate army retreated southeast, but was overtaken by Grant and surrounded. On April 9, Lee's Army surrendered near Appomattox. By June 2, other Confederate troops stopped resisting. On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated by slave owner and Northern reactionary group agent Booth (actor), and was fatally wounded. The civil war lasted for four years and ended with the complete defeat of the slave owners.

Historical evaluation of Lincoln:

1. Led the North to put down the rebellion in the South and safeguarded national unity

2. Promoted the development of more advanced capitalism in the North The spread of the method removed obstacles to the development of American capitalism

3. The Emancipation Proclamation was promulgated, abolishing slavery and removing internal obstacles to the development of American capitalism

The Battle of Gettysburg? The turning point of the Civil War:

The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history up to that point. The Union Army suffered 23,000 casualties and missing persons, and the Confederate Army suffered 28,000 casualties.

General Meade issued important orders to all armies during the battle, which played a positive role in the victory of the battle. The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War. From then on, the Confederate army lost its strategic initiative and could no longer march north, and the federal army turned to the offensive. The victory at the Battle of Gettysburg further strengthened the American people's confidence in winning the final victory. Just as Lincoln said in his immortal speech four months later when he held the dedication ceremony of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg Battlefield: "We must draw more devotion from these glorious dead to complete the mission." They have devoted all their loyalty to this cause; we must make the greatest determination here to prevent these dead from being sacrificed in vain.”

Related junior high school history knowledge points: The crisis of serfdom

Serfdom:

Serfdom is an economic system established by feudal lords in feudal society in their territories to exploit and enslave serfs. Since the main targets of exploitation were serfs, it was also called feudal lordship. Under this system, a small number of feudal lords or serf owners owned most of the means of production such as land, mountains, forests, grasslands, and rivers, and partially owned serfs; the serfs were allocated a piece of land from the serf owners, and in exchange they had to cultivate the lord's land for free. Perform various types of labor and turn over most of the products of labor. The basic feature of serfdom is that serfs are bound to the land and have to depend on their owners. The serf owners took advantage of this personal dependence relationship to carry out extra-economic forced exploitation of the serfs. The form of land rent under serfdom was mainly labor rent, supplemented by a small amount of physical land rent and monetary land rent.

Characteristics of serfdom in Tsarist Russia:

1. Mainly using labor service as the main means of exploitation;

2. Serfs were completely tied to the land of the landlords , at the bottom of society;

3. Serfs were oppressed and had to not only serve the landlords, but also provide various tributes to the landlords;

4. Tsarist Russia formulated cruel restrictions on serfs Legislation;

5. In the later period of feudal society, it gradually became an important factor restricting the development of productive forces.

Comparison between American black slaves and Tsarist Russian serfs:

1. Black slaves:

On the coast of Africa, European colonists set up fortresses and trading stations. The captive black people were taken in groups to the slave market there to be "selected" by slave traders. After the buyer and seller make a deal, the slave trader uses a red-hot iron to brand the slave's arms and chest with the company's coat of arms. The slaves were then imprisoned in dungeons in fortresses and trading stations. Once a batch was collected, they were put on ships and shipped to the Americas. The black slaves transported to the Americas were then transported to the slave market for purchase by American plantation owners. Black slaves generally did not have human rights. Slave owners had the power of life and death over slaves. During the American Civil War, slave owners could use their slaves to replace themselves for military service or to replace taxes, property, etc. Therefore, black slaves were completely a living commodity at that time, like cattle, chickens, and dogs.

2. Russian serfs:

From the second half of the 15th century to the first half of the 19th century, Russia established an economy based on the landlord manor economy with labor service as the main form of exploitation. legal system. Peasants were tied to the landlord's land and were dependent on the landlord in terms of land, person, and law. They were at the lowest level of society and were actually serfs. As early as the 11th to 12th centuries, during the era of Kievan Rus, princes and nobles owned a large number of hereditary territories and forced the poor to perform labor. From the 14th to the 15th century, the feudal land ownership system in the Principality of Moscow developed, and more and more peasants fell into enslavement.

The main harms of serfdom:

1. Peasants are tied to the land and unable to meet industry’s demand for free labor.

2. The impoverishment of serfs severely restricted the expansion of the Russian domestic market, which in turn affected the expansion and reproduction of enterprises.

3. The class contradiction between farmers and rulers is acute.