Introduction
The Civil War in the United States is one of the controversial historical periods, the subject of debate for historians of numerous generations. At the cost of significant human losses, the unity and integrity of the country were restored, and slavery and indentured labor were abolished. The U.S. political system and fundamental rights and freedoms underwent significant transformations.
The government’s response has generated various debates, and the war’s causes and consequences are valuable lessons for modern homeland security. The stated problem acquires even more scientific significance in connection with the increasing tendencies of separatism in world countries. The U.S. Civil War is one of the most influential periods in the state’s history; its value can hardly be overestimated since this threat caused the improvement of the institution of civil rights and freedoms.
Threat Description
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency coincided with one of American history’s most complex and controversial stages. It was the period of the country’s division, the secession of the Southern states, and the bloody Civil War, which claimed the lives of 450 thousand Americans (Dal Lago, 2021). However, it is difficult to deny that A.
Lincoln’s victory in the presidential elections became, in part, the final push and pretext for the beginning of the secession. Legally, as later reflected in the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas v. White, the Secession Ordinance was an illegal act, and the seceding states did not cease to be part of the United States during its duration (Hammond, 2021). Consequently, A. Lincoln did not terminate his powers as President of the United States in the Southern states even during the Civil War.
Considering the purpose of the American Civil War, one can conclude that the goal of seizing power in the country was not the Union or the Confederacy. The main motive of the military conflict for one side was a radical change of the entire social, economic, and political system; for the other, the preservation of the existing traditional way of life (Richardson, 2020). The consequences of the war were radical transformations in the economy, politics, and social and spiritual spheres of society.
Government Responses
One of the immediate reactions of the government and the measures taken are rightly considered to be changes in the presidential powers. The President’s powers, clearly defined in the U.S. Constitution, did not reflect the realities of the war period and did not allow the head of state to promptly and powerfully solve the issues (Hammond, 2021). Already from the first days of the war, it became apparent that the President of the United States needed to adopt regulations, the content of which was not provided within the powers granted to him by the U.S. Constitution. Abraham Lincoln’s proclamations, more than thirty of which were issued during the Civil War, became a significant part of American legal history.
Presidential proclamations date back to the time of the first President of the United States. However, Presidential Proclamation 95 is still considered the most influential. In the specified normative act, A. Lincoln declared the general mobilization, announced the prohibition of any servile labor, and suspended the action of the Habeas Corpus Act for the period of the war (Newhall, 2023).
The last of the above proclamations became a stumbling block between the U.S. Congress and the President, for according to the Constitution, only the U.S. Congress had this right. At the same time, the court later upheld the President’s decision, basing its position on the existence of extraordinary circumstances that gave the President the right to act for the benefit and in the country’s interest (Richardson, 2020). Thus, a legal precedent was established, which gave rise to the so-called implied powers of the President.
Impacts on Civil Liberties
Moreover, the U.S. Civil War is one of the most compelling examples of how ethnicity often plays a role in crises that threaten the very existence of great powers. Undoubtedly, the government’s response to events affected civil rights and liberties. The United States of America has fought many wars in its relatively short historical journey (Walter, 2022). However, it is no exaggeration to say that the Civil War was unparalleled. At the heart of this most grievous conflict was a racial problem.
One of the significant responses to the Civil War was the abolition of slavery. It also provided a powerful impetus to the social and political development of the United States. After the Civil War ended, there was a significant national upsurge in the labor, farm, and populist movements (Venet, 2023).
Reconstruction began in the former slave states, reorganizing all life in those states in the interests of bourgeois development. In 12 years of Reconstruction, people of color gained more rights and success in all areas of life than in three centuries of slavery (Newhall, 2023). The destruction of slavery created the conditions for implementing the Homestead Act, the free provision of land to all who needed it and were willing to work it.
The American Civil War has been the subject of much research. They all prove that it was a war of a new type in its impact on the consciousness of the whole society. It was in it that, from its inception, emerged an understanding of the value of human life and respect for individual rights and freedoms.
It is no coincidence that there is a strong tradition of compromise in America, tolerance for the views of the other, and the capacity for reconciliation (Walter, 2022). The institution of slavery itself will always arouse negative feelings, primarily because of the violation of one person’s fundamental natural rights over another; people of faith will criticize slavery anyway because of their moral considerations.
The coincidence of the interests of the majority of the population and the talent-laden distortion led to the formation of public opinion. Indeed, the institution of slavery is a terrible thing, and for a nation such as the United States to maintain it would be unacceptable, contrary to the basic principles of the state (Nuriddin et al., 2020). At the same time, its abolition marked the beginning of the establishment of the principle of equality and respect for rights and freedoms as the foundation of the state.
Lessons for Modern Homeland Security
Each country has a unique specificity in its historical development. It can be assumed that it first concerns peculiarities of interracial and interethnic relations, fundamental ways out of crises in this sphere. Nevertheless, another specialty is indisputable: every nation can and must learn from others; this also applies to interracial and interethnic relations. The experience of resolving the Negro problem in the U.S. during the Civil War is very instructive for all multinational states facing a crisis in interracial and interethnic relations. It is a valuable lesson for the U.S. in domestic security (Tamanaha, 2021).
This experience has shown, among other things, that drastic decisions in this area must be accompanied by a serious economic basis. Only under this condition can one count on the effectiveness of decisions and the preservation of domestic security. It was no historical coincidence that the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and the Homestead Act were published only a few months apart—both acts complemented each other.
The scenario in which events unfolded in the United States strongly indicated that crises in interracial and interethnic relations produce powerful separatist tendencies that often lead to the disintegration of great powers. The most crucial guideline in these dramatic events is a maximum of patience and goodwill by state leaders in seeking a way out of the deadlocks of interracial and interethnic conflicts. If this course does not yield the necessary result, state leaders are obliged to go to the most extreme measures, including using armed force against separatists (Nuriddin et al., 2020). It is the only means to restore national unity and prevent further bloodshed in the Civil War.
Conclusion
Despite its study, the history of the American Civil War preserves numerous problematic issues over which historians argue to this day. The interest of researchers in this topic is determined by the fact that the Civil War in the United States marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the United States. The expansion of presidential powers, the abolition of slavery, and the expansion of civil rights and freedoms were the significant consequences of the American Civil War. Although slavery could not be called the central cause of the war, its abolition promoted democracy and equality as the basis for the functioning of the state. At the same time, it is clear that government leaders play a significant role in unleashing national conflicts; their decisions determine the fate of many people and the country’s stability.
References
Dal Lago, E. (2021). Writing the US Civil War era into nineteenth-century world history. Journal of the civil war era, 11(2), 255-271. Web.
Hammond, J. C. (2021). Inveterate imperialists: contested imperialisms, North American history, and the coming of the US Civil War. American Nineteenth Century History, 22(2), 117-140. Web.
Newhall, C. W. (2023). Stephen A. Swails: Black freedom fighter in the Civil War and Reconstruction by Gordon C. Rhea. The Journal of the Civil War Era, 13(2), 266-268. Web.
Nuriddin, A., Mooney, G., & White, A. I. (2020). Reckoning with histories of medical racism and violence in the USA. The Lancet, 396(10256), 949-951. Web.
Richardson, H. C. (2020). How the South won the Civil War: Oligarchy, democracy, and the continuing fight for the soul of America. Oxford University Press, USA.
Tamanaha, B. Z. (2021). Legal Pluralism Explained: History, Theory, Consequences. Oxford University Press, USA.
Venet, W. H. (2023). True blue: White unionists in the deep south during the Civil War and reconstruction by Clayton J. Butler. Journal of Southern History, 89(2), 368-369. Web.
Walter, B. F. (2022). How civil wars start: And how to stop them. Crown.