| No doubt that the real meaning of the Civil | | | | striking achievement was the triumph of |
| War is completely different from the one we | | | | industrial capitalism. The industrial |
| are used to. Civil War is called the Second | | | | capitalist, through their political |
| American Revolution by some great historians. | | | | spokesmen, the Republicans, had succeeded in |
| The term "Second American Revolution" was | | | | capturing the state and using it as an |
| first used by Charles and Mary Beard about | | | | instrument to strengthen their economic |
| seventy years ago when describing the | | | | position. It was no accident, therefore, that |
| American Civil War. Only after everything was | | | | while the war was waged on the field and |
| settled about the reunion and reconciliation, | | | | through Negro emancipation, in Congress' |
| after the construction of monuments were | | | | halls the victory was made secure by the |
| completed, after all the veterans were | | | | passage of tariff, banking, public-land, |
| satisfied, when most of the emotions were | | | | railroad, and contract labor legislation." |
| dull the Civil War could have been viewed | | | | |
| from another prospective, the logical | | | | Some famous historians and James McPherson |
| prospective that could easily point out "that | | | | occasionally talk of Abraham Lincoln's |
| armed conflict had been only one phase of the | | | | "Second American Revolution" (the title of |
| cataclysm, a transitory phase; that at bottom | | | | one of McPherson's books). They are |
| the so-called Civil War, or the War between | | | | absolutely correct to describe Lincoln as a |
| the States ... was a social war, ending in | | | | revolutionary, however, the explanations they |
| the unquestioned establishment of a new power | | | | present to support this point of view are not |
| in the government, making vast changes in the | | | | fully complete. It is true that Lincoln led a |
| arrangement of classes, in the accumulation | | | | revolution, but it was an anti-American |
| and distribution of wealth, in the course of | | | | revolution against nearly all the founding |
| industrial development, and in the | | | | values of the country. It was a revolution |
| Constitution inherited from the Fathers." | | | | against: free-market capitalism (Lincoln was |
| | | | a committed mercantilist); the principles of |
| Over the years the term "Second American | | | | the Declaration of Independence; the |
| Revolution" has been viewed differently by | | | | Constitution; the system of states' rights |
| different parties. The historians of the | | | | and federalism that was created by the |
| Civil War Era always had difficulties with | | | | founders; and the prohibitions against waging |
| accepting this term. In any case, Civil War | | | | war on civilians embodied in the |
| greatly changed the sense of balance of | | | | international law of the time as well as the |
| political power between North and South and | | | | canons of Western Christian civilization. |
| significantly speeded up the appearance of | | | | Lincoln through all of his life never |
| industrial capitalism in the post-war period. | | | | believed in equality of all races. He always |
| Most historians see the abolishing of slavery | | | | viewed whites as the superior race. Maybe he |
| in the South as the revolutionary result of | | | | wanted all races to be equal but not in the |
| the war. Another point of view is from people | | | | U.S. Lincoln is thought to save the union, |
| that lived through the war, they saw their | | | | however, it was only geographically, he |
| struggle as revolutionary. People that lived | | | | destroyed it philosophically, and the union |
| in the South called their revolt a revolution | | | | was not voluntary anymore. Lincoln |
| against the tyranny regime of the North. | | | | eviscerated constitutional liberties in the |
| Northerners, on the contrary, viewed their | | | | North, which permanently weakened the |
| conflict as a struggle to keep the union, | | | | constitutional protections of liberty for all |
| which was formed as the result of revolution | | | | Americans. |
| against England, together. However, both | | | | |
| sides viewed that war as the continuation of | | | | Despite all of the arguing of prominent |
| their fight for freedom that started in 1776. | | | | historians, the fact continues to be revealed |
| | | | as the history moves up but at the same time |
| The prominent historians Beards were very | | | | it sort of steps back away in history. I |
| precise as to what they called a | | | | think, it is an individual right for everyone |
| "revolution." In 1940 Louis Hacker briefly | | | | to view the Civil War as the Second American |
| summed up what later became recognized as the | | | | Revolution or not. Each generation will |
| Hacker-Beard Thesis: "The American Civil War | | | | reason and view this event differently, |
| turned out to be a revolution indeed. But its | | | | according to background and political views. |