Throughout history, the United States of America has been the center of 2 major conflicts. This war came to be known as the American Revolution. Later, after years of internal dispute and struggle, the U.S. erupted into an internal war. This came to be known as the Civil War. These two conflicts are different but are both quite important to the formation of our country.
Looking back at the Revolution, we saw the 13 American colonies revolted against their British rulers in 1775. The war began on April 19, when British regulars fired on the Minutemen of Lexington, Mass. The fighting ended with the surrender of the British at Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781. In 1783 Great Britain signed a formal treaty recognizing the independence of the colonies. .
Through the hardships of life in a wild, new land, the American settlers gained strength and a firm belief in the rights and liberties of the individual man. They revolted because England interfered with their trade and industry, demanded unjust taxes, and sent British troops to compel obedience. At first they fought only for their rights. After a year of war they fought for complete independence. .
At 4:30 AM on April 12, 1861, Confederate artillery in Charleston, S.C., opened fire on Fort Sumter, which was held by the United States Army. The bombardment set off a savage four-year war between two great geographic sections of the United States. One section was the North--23 Northern and Western states that supported the federal government. The other section was the South--11 Southern states that had seceded (withdrawn) from the Union and formed an independent government called the Confederate States of America. The struggle between these two combatants is the American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States or the War of the Rebellion. .
The war aims of both sides were simple. At the beginning the North fought only to preserve the Union. The South fought to win recognition as an independent nation.
