American Revolutionary War and American Civil War



American Revolutionary War and American Civil War

Introduction

This essay is focused on providing n overview of the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War. It also identifies the various similarities and differences that exist between the two wars. This essay is also focused on summarizing the first inaugural speech of Abraham Lincoln whose dominant topic was slavery.

Discussion

American Revolutionary War

It is also known as the American War of independence (1775 - 1783). It was a war between Great Britain and its thirteen colonies. It was a result of the political American Revolution in which the colonies overthrew the rule of British. The revolutionaries were able to confiscate the control over the governments of thirteen colonies in 1775 and were able to develop a Continental Army and Second Continental Congress. In the next year, they made a declaration regarding their independence as a new nation under the name of United States of America. The other European powers from 1778 onwards started fighting on American side during the war. On the other hand, the African Americans and Native Americans served on both ends.

During the war, the British used their naval superiority in capturing and occupying the coastal cities and the control on the countryside was avoided because of their comparatively smaller land army. After the victory of Americans at Saratoga in early 1778, France entered into war against Britain in which Netherlands and Spain joined the allies with France. This involvement proved to be decisive when the naval victory of French in Chesapeake led to the surrender of British Army in Yorktown. The war ended in 1783 through the Treaty of Paris and also recognized United States' territory that is bounded by Mississippi River to west, Canada to North and Florida to south.

The war of American Independence can be summarized as a war that was fought on the foreign soil in terms of opposing forces which compromised the residents of both nations. The Americans should not have won the war without the assistance of French. British also had military disadvantages and the major problem was distance due to which the supplies and troops had to be shipped across Atlantic Ocean. The British had the logistical problems while Americans had food and manpower and were also more familiar with the territory.

American Civil War

The Confederate States of America was formed in February 1861 and consisted of eleven Southern States which had seceded from United States of America for preserving the slavery, political liberty of whites and states' rights. The Confederate formed a conservative government with Jefferson David as the president wanted to have a peaceful separation but United States showed refusal towards the acceptance of secession. The war started in 1861 at Fort Sumter in South Carolina and lasted for four years. This war cost the South with almost half a million men wounded or killed from among the population of nine million and a total treasure of $5 billion.

The Confederate States were convinced that their method ...