We have a love-hate relationship with novels set in World War II. It is a historical period that has always fascinated us as only the highest and lowest moments of the human being can. For this reason, some of my favorite novels explore those parameters that civilization stretched more than seventy-five years ago now. “The Ledger” is one of the original novels hidden amid this tidal wave of life in rural America in 1861. Do you want to know how much did a pound of beef costs? What was the going wage for a mill worker? What did people do for entertainment? Well, it was a different life. The author Paul Tick is here to restore that period. It is a story of survival in a strategic position during the War, which will determine the fate of several of its protagonists. The ending is one of the most impactful.

The author shares how the American Civil War lasted four years, a long and blood-spattered armed conflict in the United States. Eleven southern states, comprising the Confederate States of America, clashed with the federal government and the rest of the Union States between 1861 and 1865. It is estimated that this War, later also called the War Between the States, caused the deaths of more than a million people. In addition to the heavy losses of human lives among soldiers and civilians, there was a significant loss of property and millions in economic damage to the nation.

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, and ended on April 9, 1865. Its causes are often attributed to differences between states supporting or opposing slavery. However, although this was one of the main reasons, other political, social, and cultural reasons led to it. The American Civil War meant a bloody confrontation between two types of society with conflicting economic and political interests.

The way of life of the American South, based on racial segregation and slave relations of production, was diametrically different from that of the North. The northern states did not depend on slavery or an agricultural economy based on slave labor because they had immigrant labor.

The Causes

The following are the most important causes of the Civil War:

Slavery

After the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and its ratification in 1789, slavery continued to be legal in the thirteen English colonies of America. Production relations based on slave labor continued to play a prominent role in the southern states. The establishment of slavery fueled feelings of white supremacy among the colonists and their descendants. African blacks were deprived of rights. Even after the Constitution was passed, very few blacks were allowed to vote or own property. However, in the northern states, the abolitionist movement grew, which led to the abandonment of slavery. Unlike the southern states, northerners received cheap labor from European immigrants, making slavery unnecessary. In contrast, for the South, slave labor on plantations was essential.

The wealthy southern planters were unwilling to give up the wealth of profitable cotton plantations. After the cotton gin was invented in the late 18th century, demand for the product grew in America and Europe.

Differences between North and South

The South depended exclusively on agriculture, while the North had a more diversified economy, combining agriculture and industry. The northern states bought cotton from the southern states to make textiles and other products. For this reason, the North did not have the constraints of slave labor because it preferred European immigrants. These stark economic differences also led to the creation of irreconcilable social and political views.

Immigrants from the North came from countries where slavery had been abolished and espoused liberal and egalitarian ideas. Furthermore, immigrant families lived and worked together. The social order of the South was based entirely on the segregation of blacks, who were considered an inferior race. White supremacy encompassed all aspects of everyday life and politics. The enslavers behaved like true kings within their respective estates.

Social and cultural differences between the North and the South around the issue of slavery also significantly influenced political thought. The abolitionist movement influenced the federal powers that were based in the North. The such effect created the need to control the culture and economy of the southern states.

States vs. Federal Rights

This was another point of contention between the North and the South. Since the so-called American Revolution, there have been two points of view regarding the role of government. There were the advocates of a federal government with more extraordinary powers and control over the states and those who demanded that the states have more rights. The Articles of Confederation governed the organization of the first US government. The United States comprised thirteen states run by a weak federal government. Such weaknesses of the federal state were later amended by the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Enslaved persons and non-slave states

With the Louisiana Purchase and later, due to the Mexican War, new states were incorporated into the United States. Then arose the dilemma of whether to declare their states slavery. First, free states were proposed, and the enslaved people admitted by the Union had an equal number, but this did not work.

Later, in the Missouri Compromise (1820), slavery was prohibited in the western territories north of the 36º 30′ parallel. The agreement excluded the state of Missouri and allowed slavery to the South in the Arkansas Territory. This solution, which tried to strike a balance, did not resolve the differences. Clashes between abolitionists and slaveholders continued in the states and heated debates in the Senate.

The political division of the country

Slavery became the central issue in American politics. Within the Democratic Party, some factions supported one side or the other. Within the Whigs (which became the Republican Party), support for the anti-slavery movement gained strength. Republicans were seen not only as abolitionists but as modernizers of the American economy. They were faithful supporters of the country’s industrialization and educational progress. In the South, the Republicans did not have the same sympathy between the ruling class and the white population. Amid this political turmoil, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States on behalf of the Republican Party.

Development

The Civil War broke out at dawn on April 12, 1861, when the rebel army from the South opened fire on Fort Sumter, located at Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. However, in this first confrontation, there were no casualties. After a 34-hour bombardment of the fort, the Union battalion—made up of 85 soldiers under the command of Army Major Robert Anderson—surrendered.

Anderson had received precise instructions not to attack or provoke War, but on the other hand, he was outnumbered by the 5,500 Confederate troops that had him besieged. Within weeks of the start of hostilities, four other southern states (Arkansas, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina) left the Union and joined the Confederacy. President Abraham Lincoln enlisted 75,000 civilian militiamen to serve for three months, with a protracted war looming. During the first two years of the Civil War, the victories of the Confederate Army, led by General Robert E. Lee, were notable. They won the battles of Antietam and Bull Run (the second battle), and then he was also victorious at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The southern army humiliated the North in these battles by defeating it militarily and invading several states. Still, in 1863 the situation changed thanks to the military strategy drawn up at the beginning of the War by the Union government. The financial limitations derived from the naval blockade carried out by the federal government began to be felt in the lack of weapons.

End of the War

A week after this event, on April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Washington by being shot in the head. He was succeeded to the US presidency by Andrew Johnson. Then, on April 26, the last general in the Confederate Army surrendered to General Sherman of the Federal Army. Two months later, on June 23, 1865, the final ceasefire was signed, which sealed the War’s end and brought peace to the United States.

Conclusion

During these wars, many key events took place that many writers have targeted. “The Ledger” by Paul Tick is one such book that describes the story of that bygone era. You will learn more about how fiction is inspired from real life events like the American Civil War.