A Breaking Watershed Point in the Course of History

It was 150 years ago today, on August 20, 1866, that President Andrew Johnson issued Proclamation 157, which formally brought to an end all the hostilities of the American Civil War, as the insurrection status had ceased in all the southern states that had ceded from the United States.

This anniversary today comes at the end of a string of 150-year anniversary commemorations that have occurred over the past few years, which have given opportunity to reflect on the significance of this conflict, which I refer to as the Sectional War:  After studying about it in American History class in high school, I came to realize that the title "Civil War" isn't the best fit for this conflict.  In the case of other civil wars throughout world history in other countries, the term is used to describe a conflict in which people of the same country fight against each other.  I feel that definition only partially describes this conflict.  The people of the Southern states sought to remove themselves from the Union and even formed a separate country, though its status was in question.  After consideration, I decided upon the title "Sectional War" because this conflict was based in sectional differences that existed in the United States in the 19th Century, which were largely defined by Northern and Southern States, distinct socially as much as they were geographically.

Now, I'm a big buff of the American Revolution, which I feel was a significant period in USA history because it set the tone for the kind of nation the USA has become, establishing it in principles of freedom and liberty.  Yet there's no doubt that the Sectional War is significant because it was a point when those ideals were tested when sectional differences among the people in the North and the South reached a breaking point, resulting from a strained relationship between them.  The conflict ended slavery, which brought notable changes to the society of the South, and steered the course of USA history to what happened over the next century and a half, especially in regards to social inequality and race relations.  Even the present controversies today regarding police shootings of innocent African-Americans has roots in the Sectional War.

Indeed, the battles that we have remembered these past few years and the whole war itself have been more than just about a fight over sectional differences.  They have come to reflect much more on the course of this nation's history.  While a strained relationship that reached a breaking point, giving way to war, had the outcome of ridding the evil of slavery, there's more work to be done to enhance race relations in this country, as scars still remain.  It's time to build on the momentum gained through legal actions like the abolition of slavery, the Reconstruction amendments to the US Constitution, and the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960's to work to overcome racism, achieving the vision of our founders more holistically for our entire society.