Civil War, Unification and Reorganization
1861-1877
In 1861, the United States of America was thrown into a great civil war following the succession of most of the southern slave state, formed into the Confederate States of America. Many leaders thought it would be a short war, no longer than a year. They would soon see how wrong they were.
The war was an interesting one: the Confederate's superior leadership under such Generals as Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, but lack of manpower or resources, verses the United States' overwhelming manpower and industrial base, but lack of strong leadership (or, it could be argued, lack of any leadership at all. Lincoln went through several Generals throughout the war, starting with the indecisive McClellen, but finally settling on William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864).
The US of A and the CS of A during the American Civil War (1861-1866)
The war was incredibly destructive. There are two campaigns worth noting. Lee's 1862-1863 Campaign to the Gates of Philidalphia was a smashing success, begining with the Second Battle of Bull Run (1862), all the way the the failed Siege of Philidalphia (1863), at which he was finally pushed back to Virginia by overwhelming numbers of Union troops. That campaign brought recognition by the U.K., but little else. The other is Sherman's Drive (1864-1866) from the Third Battle of Bull Run (1864) to the Battle of Richmond (1864), and ending with the Siege of Atlanta (1866), which also ended the war when the Confederate government finally threw in the towel.
The U.S. Civil War was very costly. 750,000 soldiers in all were killed, and many cities were reduced to rubble, including Philidalphia, Richmond, Atlanta, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. Other cities in the south, such as New Orleans and Birmingham, were damaged during the anti-U.S. riots of the post-war period. The former Confederate citizens made it very clear that they wanted nothing to do with the United States.
British-American relations were at the lowest point since 1815 after the war. The British had recognized the C.S.A., and they were afraid that the large U.S. army may look north after victory. This brought an increased amount of troops to British North America, as well as shot down the North American's cry of home rule until the situation had passed. When the colonists became incresingly frustrated, and possibly violent, the British re-evaluated their situation in the Americas: the U.S. was demanding compensation for harboring the CSS
Alabama and recognizing the C.S., the subjects on the continent were and increasing handfull, and if the UK didn't appease the U.S., they could face a war in which they would lose their colonies anyway. Thus, in 1869, sold British North America to the United States for $75 million and and end to American demands of compensation.
The former British subjects felt betrayed. They also felt upset, as many of them held less than favorable opinions of the US. These opinions were also held in the south, where anti-U.S. riots had erupted and the leaders of the riots had made it crystal clear that they would not accept being part of the United States again. These problems were why the concept of reorganization was intially proposed in 1871. If the southerners and former Brits didn't want to be in the United States, then change the United States to include them.
The Constitutional Congress was first called in 1875, with the idea being that the constitution could be adopted and ratified by the centennial of the Declaration of Independance. The Constitutional Congress included representatives from the individual states of the U.S., the territories of the U.S., the former British North America, and the former C.S. The constitution was nearly identical to the U.S. constitution except for the following:
- the Bill of Rights is included from the begining
- slavery is made illegal
- seccesion from the Union is made illegal
- the new nation is to be called the 'Union of North American States'
The ratification process was difficult, however. Michigan was the first state to ratify it, followed by the rest of the Midwest U.S., the Pacific states, and Pennsylania. After that, however, everyone waited for a state from the south to ratify it or a northern territory to apply for ratification (the recently purchased north had to apply for ratification. To become a state in the UNAS, certain requirements had to be met: 1) Population, and 2) English was to be fluently spoken by at least 75% of the graduating class for 5 years in a row. The second was seen as anti-French, but, by 1900, most Quebecers spoke English, with 1/4 speaking only English at home). The next ratification was Canada, the former Upper Canada, the first non-U.S. ratification. Tennessee soon followed, and was the first former C.S. ratification. After this, most states ratified it. By 1877, every U.S. and C.S. state, as well as Canada and New Caledonia in the north, had ratified it, and it came into effect July 4, 1877 (a year after what was planned). The capital was moved from Washington, D.C., which had suffered heavy damage from artillery, to Chicago, a more centric location, until such time that a new capital could be built.
