From Oppressed Slaves To Champion Soldiers
...a small example
of the doubt and hatred that was bestowed on the African
American soldiers. However, during the war, they proved
themselves to be brave and courageous men on and off the
battlefield on many occasions. Despite deep prejudices and
harsh criticisms from the white society, these men were true
champions of patriotism. The cause of the Civil War was
tension between the North and the South. The sectional
division between the areas began in colonial times, largely
resulting from geographical differences. The South was
ideal for growing tobacco due to the warm climate and the
fertile soil. Plantations brought in black slaves from Africa
to provide most of the labor required for growing the crop.
In time, other plantation crops such as cotton, sugar cane,
indigo, and sugar beets were to thrive in the South. "By the
onset of the Civil War, 2.4 million slaves were engaged in
cotton production" (Long 16). A rural way of life that
supported an agrian economy based on slave labor was
quickly established in the South. The North, however, was
a cooler, rockier climate that would not support the
development of plantations. As a result, the North's
economy came to depend more on trade and industry than
on agriculture. This economy supported the growth of
cities, although many lived in rural areas during the colonial
period. The sectional division between North and South
had widened enormously by the mid - 1800's. The United
States had expanded all the way to the Pacific Ocean and
was rapidly becoming a major industrial and commercial
nation. However, industry and commerce were centered in
the North. The Northerners welcomed modernization and
the constant changes it brought to their way of life. Their
ideals included hard work, education, economic
independence, and the belief that the community had the
right and responsibility to decide...
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