The American Civil War

The American Civil War is a two-part series created by OverSimplified that covers the events that caused and happened during the American Civil War.

Part 1
Hundreds of years ago, millions of Africans were transported to the Americas to work as slaves. After the American Revolution, the founding fathers never answered multiple problems due to reasons. The biggest question was slavery in the new nation. As the US developed, the northern and southern states took different paths. Northern states became increasingly industrialized and less dependent on slave labor.

In contrast, the Southern states had become more dependent on plantations and slave labor. This divide caused tension between the North and South for the coming years. Missouri's entrance into the USA as a slave state disrupted the balance of free and slave states. As a result, Maine entered the USA as a free state. Afterward, numerous states entered roughly in pairs to keep the balance between the free and slave states. After winning a war against Mexico, the USA added Texas and California to its territory. Southern representatives created the territories of Utah and New Mexico and passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.

In 1854, a senator named Stephen A. Douglas proposed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. They held a vote to they would like to legalize slavery or not. Then, many pro- and anti-slavery settlers went to the area to sway the vote in their favor. Now, there were several fights between these settlers. Then, John Brown and his sons went on a massacre in Kansas, starting years of violence from 1854 to 1861 in Kansas, known as "Bleeding Kansas." Finally, Kansas and Nebraska outlawed slavery, and tension in the country began to grow.

In 1854, after the collapse of the Whig Party, former Whig Party members created a new party called the Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln became a leading figure of the newly formed party; Southern Democrats mistrusted him. After an incident in Congress, tension increased between slavery's allies and opponents. After that, the Supreme Court ruled that anyone of African descent could not be a citizen of the USA.

In October 1859, John Brown seized arms in Harper's Ferry, freed several slaves, and caused a massive uprising. However, US marines led by Robert E. Lee defeated John Brown and his forces. He was later captured. Months later, he was executed. Tensions increased as several free states joined the USA, outnumbering the slave states. Abraham Lincoln became the Republican Party candidate for president. He made several speeches against slavery; proslavery supporters continued to mistrust him. Much to their horror, Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election with 180 electoral votes.

On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Many more slave states followed suit and created the Confederate States of America. A war between the Union and Confederates broke out after the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861. The Union decided to blockade the South to starve them. Union forces headed down South and stopped at the city of Manassas. Union forces lost several battles at the start of the Civil War. A man named Frederick Douglass argued with the president to make the war about emancipation. Lincoln then appointed George B. McClellan as the new commanding general of the army. At the same time, a general named Ulysses S. Grant won several battles in Tennessee.

In March 1862, Lincoln ordered McClellan to head for Richmond. However, McClellan failed and retreated from Richmond while the Union Navy took several ports, most importantly, New Orleans. In addition, tension grew between the Union and European powers due to Confederate diplomats being discovered on a British ship.

Lincoln then made the war about emancipation to prevent Europe from getting involved, but he needed a victory first. Robert E. Lee invaded the North, but the Union discovered the general's plans. McClellan and Lee's forces fought in the Battle of Antietam; McClellan won the battle. Lincoln fired McClellan after a lack of action. In September 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In January, all slaves in the Confederate States were officially free. Europe decided not to get involved with the war due to the noble cause of the Union.

Part 2
The Confederates attempted an offensive through Kentucky and failed. Several Native American tribes joined either the Union or Confederates to gain rights after the war. Grant, with a friend named William Sherman, arrived at Vicksburg. At the same time, Lee defeated newly appointed general Ambrose Burnsides at Fredericksburg. However, both Northern morale and Lincoln's popularity were shirking. When winter came in 1863, many soldiers deserted and returned to the North. The Union and Confederates introduced conscription; however, riots in the North occurred due to the idea of fighting for African slaves. Due to pressure, Africans were finally allowed to be enlisted in the Union Army.

Joseph Hooker was appointed as general but lost a battle against Lee in Chancellorsville. However, Lee lost his right-hand man, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, when Confederate soldiers, unable to recognize him, killed him. Grant and Sherman took out the supply line for Vicksburg and had to settle in for a siege.

People in the western half of Virginia broke away and formed their state, ingeniously named West Virginia. Lincoln appointed George "Snapping Turtle" McGee as general of the army, while the economy of the South decreased. Though Confederate President Jefferson Davis wanted to send troops to Vicksburg, Lee entered the North to threaten them and start peace terms. However, Lee's and McGee's forces fought in Gettysburg, and McGee defeated Lee. His forces retreated to the South, while Vicksburg fell to Grant on July 4.

With an election coming up, Lincoln appointed Grant as general of the Union Army. Grant had all fronts in the South pushed, while Grant led the Potomac to advance through Virginia. Sherman defeated a general named Joseph E. Johnston in several battles and pushed him back to Atlanta; however, Sherman lay siege in Atlanta.

Grant and Lee's forces faced each other in several bloody battles. People hated Grant due to him continuing to attack Lee instead of retreating, which caused massive casualties. Grant tried to cut Richmond's supply line in Petersburg, but he had to siege the city. In the 1864 election, Lincoln faced McClellan. Sherman took Atlanta, causing Lincoln to gain more support. At the end of the election, Lincoln defeated McClellan in a landslide victory. Congress passed the 13th Amendment; however, Davis didn't surrender to the Union.

Sherman then cut his army from its supply line and marched through Georgia in his infamous March to the Sea. After reaching the Atlantic, he attacked South Carolina (as punishment for being the first state to secede). At the same time, Lee retreated from Petersburg, and Richmond was overrun. Finally, after being trapped at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered to Grant. Afterward, general Johnston surrendered.

On April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theater, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln, who died on April 15, 1865. Booth was killed weeks later in a barn, and the Union captured Davis. On May 9, 1865, the last Confederate forces in Texas finally surrendered to the Union. After the war, the South came under Northern occupation and finally reunited with the Union.

Trivia

 * The first part of the American Civil War series is the first video to be uploaded in 2020 by OverSimplified.
 * Both parts of the American Civil War series are the nineteen and twenty videos to get uploaded to the OverSimplified channel.
 * The American Civil War series is the seventh series to get uploaded to the OverSimplified channel.