How has the United States Changed From 1776 to 1870? America changed so much from 1776 to 1870 with key events such as the signing of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Civil War.
These combined events significantly changed the course of the United States and set the foundation for a better America and many more events that would greatly impact our country. After the events of the revolutionary war, America had finally become independent from England. As time went by, the colonies wanted to replace the Articles of Confederation because it gave little power to the federal government. The founding fathers also did not want a tyrannical leadership, so they created a document in America called the Constitution.
The Constitution is the supreme law in America that created checks and balances and gave the government more power and people basic rights, but eventually it was ratified with the Bill of Rights being added to protect peoples’ rights. The strong federal government formed by the Constitution would eventually cause a struggle between states and the centralized United States’ government some 72 years later. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, he said he would do all things needed to keep the United States joined as one nation. He declined to see southern states as a free country and soon after one of Americas most important events would occur called the Civil War. It was fought by the northern and southern states in a country divided over such issues as slavery. Tensions had already been on the rise because the north wanted slavery gone and the south did not because they relied on it for economic health and continued cotton trade. The war lasted 4 years and ended with the south surrendering to the north.
The war was so devastating that 620,000 people died during it and many towns in the south were left in ruin. The war made the south bankrupt and America had to reconstruct. In the same year the war ended slavery was abolished.
Over 800,000 Africans were enslaved. In conclusion, all of these events changed America for the better. For example, without the constitution being created by the founding fathers, America would not be a democracy.
Additionally, if we never fought the Civil War America would still be split and slavery might still be in practice. America would not be the country it is today.
