http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/american-civil-war Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 11 Apr 2026 14:32:36 -0400 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 14:32:36 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1903/from-flourishing-industrial-slavocracy-to-restrictive-tenancy-and-re-enslavement-the-southern-labor-force-before-and-after-the-civil-war By Mang Lu - Some scholars of American history suggest the institution of slavery was dying out on the eve of the Civil War, implying the Civil War was fought over more generic, philosophical states' rights principles rather than slavery itself. Economic evidence shows this conclusion is largely incorrect; the industrial slavocracy of the south was thriving—Southern aristocrats had every reason to fight the prospect of abolition, for the Southern economy and capital structure was almost exclusively on the ownership of Black men and women. After the war, repression continued through economic means, as... Tue, 25 May 2021 09:44 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1903/from-flourishing-industrial-slavocracy-to-restrictive-tenancy-and-re-enslavement-the-southern-labor-force-before-and-after-the-civil-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1858/the-lingering-influence-of-revolutionary-political-discourse-from-the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-era By Bhadrajee S. Hewage - The Civil War was a seminal moment in the historical development in the United States. The American Revolution may have created the U.S. as a sovereign nation, but the Civil War helped to determine what kind of nation America would become. The Reconstruction era, from Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation to Hayes's removal of federal troops from the South in 1877, further defined how exactly the U.S. would evolve into the nation that it is today. By examining the attitudes towards the extension of slavery in the pre-war U.S., the decisions taken by the Union and Confederate governments during... Fri, 08 Jan 2021 10:45 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1858/the-lingering-influence-of-revolutionary-political-discourse-from-the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-era http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1751/the-captains-compromise-political-symbolism-in-herman-melvilles-benito-cereno By Brian Chen - Until the outbreak of civil war, the United States would continually try and fail to subdue the existential threat of slavery, with each attempt exacerbating the sectional tensions between slave and free states. In 1830, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster claimed that the country stood on the “precipice of disunion” and foresaw a future in which “the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union” are drenched in “fraternal blood.”[1] As tribalism tore away the shared history between the North and South, Webster’s grim prediction would eventually... Wed, 09 Jan 2019 10:37 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1751/the-captains-compromise-political-symbolism-in-herman-melvilles-benito-cereno http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1409/the-uprisings-of-nat-turner-and-john-brown-response-and-treatment-from-the-abolitionist-movement-and-the-press By Franco A. Paz - This paper examines two influential slave uprisings and the treatment these received by both the abolitionist movement and the press. The first section explores the country’s reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, as well as his subsequent trial, conviction, and execution. The second section discusses the media coverage of and reaction to the Southampton Insurrection, the largest slave rebellion in the history of the United States. The third section explores the contrasting reactions to Nat Turner’s and John Brown’s respective revolts, and analyzes some... Mon, 23 May 2016 05:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1409/the-uprisings-of-nat-turner-and-john-brown-response-and-treatment-from-the-abolitionist-movement-and-the-press http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/641/duty-in-the-face-of-defeat-the-confederate-soldiers-perseverance By William D. Jones - By 1864 and 1865, the effects of three years of war were like symptoms of a terrible disease afflicting the Confederacy. Internal divisions caused by perceptions of an overreaching and ineffectual government, antagonistic class and state objectives, economic woes, and a general decrease in morale caused by a lack of military successes were among the illnesses that plagued the South. Although these developments applied mainly to the home-front, the Confederate soldier was also affected. What was it, then, that compelled these men to continue to suffer and risk their lives in a war that was slowly... Fri, 11 May 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/641/duty-in-the-face-of-defeat-the-confederate-soldiers-perseverance http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/121/rethinking-the-american-civil-war-through-the-eyes-of-a-teenager By Adrienne M. Naylor - The legacy of the American Civil War with which we are left is one that emphasizes a participatory American populace, overwhelmingly enthused over and invested in the conflict. Particularly in the North, we are likely to think of a cooperative culture unifying civilians and the enlisted in a shared war effort. Indeed, the popularity of this vision is such that a production currently runs at Boston’s Huntington Theatre called A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration. While self-congratulatory histories of uplift and reconciliation everywhere abound, contradictory records lay... Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:22 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/121/rethinking-the-american-civil-war-through-the-eyes-of-a-teenager