The American Dream (Honors Civil War Paper/Blog 11)

The American Dream

By: D’Vaughn McCrae

The Civil War is often called “the beginning of modern America”. But what is Modern America? It certainly has a debatable answer since the word “modern” is so broad. But could The Civil War really be considered the beginning of all of that? We all know that before the Civil war, slaves were allowed, and races outside of the Caucasian race were looked down upon like dirt. But that is only one aspect of the history behind the Civil War.

The Civil War led to Abraham Lincoln writing The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves from the heavy shackles that bound them to a life with no choice of their own. It also brought on the 15^th Constitutional Amendment that allowed every race their rights. Of course, these documents were not embraced by many Americans when they were first written. Most people back then still considered African Americans and Native Americans as something other than humans. In fact, the Ku Klux Klan, the Red Shirts, and the White League (all hate crime groups) were all born not long after these writings were presented.

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14^th, 1865. That was the end of the progress that occurred back then, right? Not exactly. After the Civil War ended and Abraham Lincoln was killed, America came under new leadership. The Vice President, Andrew Johnson, took office. Although he was Lincoln’s second in command, Andrew Johnson basically had the opposite beliefs of the president before him. Johnson came from a Southern upbringing and did not have the same beliefs as Lincoln. In fact, Johnson wrote “Black Codes” to restrict the newly obtained rights of African Americans so the Caucasians of America wouldn’t fear the thought of African American’s being seen or treated as equals. To enforce his own policies, he put the south under new leadership of state governors. These governors were given power to actually make sure that African Americans were following the Black Codes and were not given the rights they had so recently gained. This was not the only decision made by him that was not quite pushing towards what America was working towards. In 1866, Congress wrote an earlier version of The Civil Rights Bill. Johnson vetoed it.

But through these mistakes and struggles Americans evolved and despite powerful leaders’ attempts to stop it, modern America had already been born and our progression was inevitable. For example, the first draft of The Civil Rights Bill was written in 1866, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this past draft played a major part in writing the final draft we have today. Had Abraham Lincoln not freed the African and Native American slaves, we might still be living in a hellish and underdeveloped land. America went from a time when cruel and brutal racism was an ordinary, every day condition and slaves were a normal part of American society, to a modern time when racism is generally looked down upon and slavery is considered primitive and barbaric.

Our progress throughout time has proved to be tremendous. America, in many ways has earned its title as “the land of milk and honey” but we have a long way to go. As modern as we’ve become, America still faces similar issues now to those back in the eighteen hundreds. For example, in 2008 a woman was shot after attending a Ku Klux Klan initiation ritual because she asked to be taken back to town. The leader of the KKK group shot her and eight people were arrested and charges of murder were filed. The group tried to hide her remains under some brush and burned her belongings to hide the crime. The authorities found the body of the woman along with Ku Klux Klan flags, robes, and weapons of theirs not too far away. This example illustrates that while modern America is a place where equality among all is emphasized and encouraged, the ideal is a goal we have not achieved.

Although The Civil War is often called the “beginning of modern America,” it was not the first time American “modern” ideas appeared. In 1776, nearly a century before The Civil War, The Declaration of Independence was signed. This document clearly birthed many, if not all, of the ideas and achievements that came out of the Civil War. The Civil War and the advancements that flowed from it could be described as the beginning of modern America – but it was just that – a beginning.

“All men are created equal” is one of self-evident truths that The Declaration of Independence lists. This was one of the very first documents to bring up the idea of equality for everyone and was undoubtedly a cornerstone of Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy for leading the country. Let’s not forget that throughout all the years, all the struggles, and all the triumphs, that goal of happiness and equality have been perpetual guiding principles in American evolution. “The pursuit of happiness” has always been and still is what America works towards.

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"Gett Kidz- What were they fighting about?." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America. 2 Oct. 2009 .

"The Civil War." PBS. 2 Oct. 2009 .

"The Declaration of Independence - TEXT." Archiving Early America: Primary Source Material from 18th Century America. 2 Oct. 2009 .