causes The cause of the American Revolution stems from numerous issues faced by the colonists. The colonists had growing resentment toward the government which was being operated by the crown in England. They imposed numerous taxes and regulations on commerce in the colonies. From 1763-1765 there were four main pieces of legislation passed by the British Parliament that drove the colonists toward war. The first of these measures was the Sugar Act which revised existing customs regulations and placed new duties on some foreign imports. This act was followed by the Currency Act which banned colonial currency from use in trade and the Quartering Act which required citizens with open rooms to take in British troops and raised taxes to provide the soldiers with more housing. The final act which pushed the colonists closer to their breaking point was the Stamp Act which required taxed stamps to be placed on all printed goods. After the 1773 Tea Act was passed and the Boston Tea Party occurred in opposition to the Act the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts which further tightened the British noose around the colonist's neck. The colonists decided enough was enough and cut the rope itself by sending delegates to the first Continental Congress in 1774. There was no turning back now. The seeds for the war and independence had been planted and a new nation would rise within the decade.
The cause for the American Civil War had its roots in the Revolution and in the beginnings of the nation. The Civil War while believed by many Americans to have been fought only over slavery had other issues leading to the bloodiest war in American history. One of the other main issues was the continuing contest between the states and the national government over the power of government that had been present since the founding of the republic. The issues leading up to the Civil War are numerous and stem primarily from sectional issues between the northern republicans (anti-slavery) and the southern democrats (pro-slavery). Slavery was the primary issue surrounding the war and there were numerous issues attached to it. There were issues over the expansion of slavery to the west as seen in "Bleeding Kansas" and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. There were issues with the Fugitive Slave Act, the Missouri Compromise, and the Dred Scott Decision as well. The primary issue was slavery but the fight for each side extended beyond slavery. For the south they were fighting to protect their way of life and their backwards institution while the north fought to keep the Union together and to uphold the government. The issues that preceded the war, slavery and states' right problems, all came to a head with the election of President Lincoln in the 1860 election. His victory led to the start of the secession movement (in South Carolina) that would result in a split nation and the bloodiest war in American history to keep our nation intact. The Revolutionary and Civil War had one common thread in history. Besides both being wars that would shape our nation they had their roots in one primary (yet separate) issue. In the Revolution the roots for the war were planted in the countless issues colonists had with the British Parliament and its relentless taxation of the people. The colonists were fed up with this over-extension of power that they felt was unjust and after failed attempts to peacefully settle issues took matters as far as they needed to go to realize their wishes - a full scale conflict with the most powerful nation in the world at that time. In the Civil War the one main primary issue was slavery. Slavery is a broad topic but there were many specific issues that stemmed from this one main topic. The issues over its continuation, its expansion, where it was allowed and forbidden, and whether the nation would expand with slave states or free states gripped the country and were the roots for the war. The seeds for this conflict were planted when Africans first started being brought to the colonies but the tree of slavery would fall after the war with the Emancipation Proclamation and the addition of the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th). Both wars while fought over different issues had a common theme of being fought for one primary cause- the Revolution was fought for independence and the Civil War to keep the nation united and slavery abolished. These two wars and their outcomes shaped not only our nation but the entire world we live in today. |
Casualties
The Casualties in the two wars are not even comparable. In the Civil War - the bloodiest war in US history - the total estimated death toll stands around 620,000 while the Revolutionary War only saw casualty figures around 25,000.
The number of dead in the Civil War dwarf the number in the Revolutionary War because for every 1 soldier that died fighting for the new nation in the Revolution nearly 25 died trying to preserve it in the Civil War.
The number of casualty in all major US conflicts total around 700,000 while the Civil War totaled 620,000 dead Americans and Confederates. These appalling figures in the Civil War leave out the combined total of dead and wounded which numbers over 1 million men. 
The reason for all these casualties have been associated with the old tactics meeting new weaponry during the Civil War. Infantry tactics at the time of the Civil War were based on the use of the smooth-bore musket which had limited range and accuracy. Firing lines that were much more than a hundred yards apart could not inflict very much damage on each other so the troops would often mass together and make a run to attack the enemy's defensive line. However the Civil War musket was rifled, which made an enormous difference. It was still a muzzle-loader, but it had much more accuracy and a far longer range than the old smooth-bore and it completely changed the conditions under which soldiers fought. The massed charge of Napoleonic tradition was hopelessly outdated and charging lines could be fired upon at half a mile away. When a defensive line occupied field entrenchments the Napoleonic charges became nearly impossible. The hideously high casualty lists of Civil War battles resulted primarily due to the fact that soldiers were fighting with rifles but were using tactics suited to smooth-bores. In addition to new rifled guns came a few newer rifled cannons. These cannons could fire their projectile much further and accurately than the older smooth-bore cannons. The result was greater casualties inflicted from safer and further away artillery positions.
The Revolutionary War on the other hand had drastically less killed in combat. This is because the smooth-bore muskets back then coincided with the tactics that were being used not just in the Revolution but in armed conflicts around the world at the time. The combination of these tactics and older muskets were effective but not nearly as catastrophic in the casualties inflicted. The limited range and accuracy of these weapons severely limited their performance in the the field. Along with compromised performance in combat was the fact that fewer troops and militiamen fought in the Revolution than in the Civil War. The combination of fewer troops and older weaponry resulted in fewer casualties during the Revolution. However the combination of more troops, old tactics, and new rifled weapons worked to produce the horrendous casualty figures seen across the Civil War battlefields. |
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Outcomes
The outcome of the Revolutionary War and Civil War have defined our government, our nation, and the world we live in today. These two most important conflicts in our nation's history have had the greatest effect on the way America evolved.
In the Revolution we defeated the British to cement America as a new and powerful nation in the world. This victory allowed our national leaders to set up the new government, legislatures, laws, and taxes that they had fought for. The new nation with freedom from tyranny was the greatest possible outcome that could have been achieved in the war and it was.
In the Civil War the Union was able to defeat the Confederacy to keep our nation intact. The states were not able to just come and go as they pleased. they were bound by the Constitution to our nation. Through the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and the Union cause slavery was abolished and the United States of America stayed united.
The Revolutionary War was the war that gave birth to our nation and our government. We were free from the oppressive rule of the British Parliament and American were now able to take part in the formation and running of their country without interference. The Civil war however was fought to keep America together and to settle the issues of slavery and power of government that gripped national politics. The Revolutionary War founded the United States of America but it was the Civil War that kept them intact and our nation together.
In the Revolution we defeated the British to cement America as a new and powerful nation in the world. This victory allowed our national leaders to set up the new government, legislatures, laws, and taxes that they had fought for. The new nation with freedom from tyranny was the greatest possible outcome that could have been achieved in the war and it was.
In the Civil War the Union was able to defeat the Confederacy to keep our nation intact. The states were not able to just come and go as they pleased. they were bound by the Constitution to our nation. Through the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and the Union cause slavery was abolished and the United States of America stayed united.
The Revolutionary War was the war that gave birth to our nation and our government. We were free from the oppressive rule of the British Parliament and American were now able to take part in the formation and running of their country without interference. The Civil war however was fought to keep America together and to settle the issues of slavery and power of government that gripped national politics. The Revolutionary War founded the United States of America but it was the Civil War that kept them intact and our nation together.
