US HISTORY

US History

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US HISTORY

America had been submerged in the deep swamps of slavery until 1861 when the American Civil War took place and the dark era of slavery ended. The American Civil War took place between the Northern and Southern part of America. The Northern states were known as Union or United States and the Sothern states were called Confederate States (Reid, 2014). The American Civil War is the most researched and written about episode of war in the history of the United States of America. The American Civil War ended on May 9, 1865 (lasting for four years, three weeks and six days) with the victory of Union states and the defeat of Confederate states.

The most significant positive aspect that the war brought with itself was the abolition of slavery (Abzug, (2018). The termination of the American Civil War also marked the end of the dark era of slavery in the United States and the beginning of the Reconstruction Era. Other notable events that followed the end of the American Civil war were the dissolution of the Confederate States, preservation of the national integrity of the United States and passing and ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments in the Constitution of United States (Grant, 2014).

Although more than a century and a half has passed since the termination of the American Civil War, still the Confederate flag can be seen at many places. The flag can either be found fluttering proudly on the poles, on various souvenirs, on textile products (like cushions, pillow covers or bedspreads) or on toys made for children. In addition to this, the statues of many heroes from the Confederate army can be seen erected in various parts of the United States of America, especially the South. Heroic figures of the prominent personalities who fought bravely or contributed significantly in the War are still available for the American to see and remember them.

In the opinion of some people, such actions should be prohibited, and there should be a ban on the flags belonging to the Confederate States. In their view, the American Civil War was a dark phase of American History, and it should not be remembered again and again. They claim that the past should be buried and the United States of America should look forward to a better tomorrow. On the other hand, there are people who are proud of their history, no matter how much dark it is. They don't care how much blood stained the past is; these people love their nation and history with all their heart ignoring the dark phases or accepting them as well.

In fact, the right approach to move forward for the nations is to keep history side by side as their guiding light and move forward. The pages of history should be kept open while planning for the future, especially in the case of nations, so that the mistakes made in the past cannot be repeated. Same should be the plan of action in the case of keeping the memories and souvenirs of the Confederate States. Eradicating the remains or items of the past does not finish the past, and the facts remain intact (Catton, & McPherson, 2014). In fact, keeping an eye on the history create a massive chance that the mistakes committed in the past will be repeated and the nation will have to suffer again.

Government is heavily considering to finish the holidays like Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Confederate Memorial Day, Heroes day, etc. This approach seems wrong as these holidays have a deeply rooted background and they remind us of our fully rich history (Neff, 2016). These holidays give us major lessons and make us remember the great sacrifices that our ancestors and forefathers gave for us.

References

Reid, B. H. (2014). The Origins of the American Civil War. Routledge.

Neff, J. R. (2016). Honoring the Civil War Dead: Commemoration and the problem of reconciliation. University Press of Kansas.

Catton, B., & McPherson, J. M. (2014). American Heritage History of the Civil War. New Word City.

Grant, S. M. (2014). The war for a nation: the American Civil War. Routledge.

Abzug, R. H. (2018). Cosmos Crumbling: American.