American Civil War was one of the Warfare good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones Date Process Result April 10, 2006 Peer review Reviewed November 4, 2006 Good article nominee Listed November 26, 2006 Good article reassessment Delisted December 10, 2006 Good article nominee Listed March 22, 2007 WikiProject A-class review Not approved March 28, 2007 WikiProject A-class review Approved April 21, 2007 Good article reassessment Kept October 14, 2007 Good article reassessment Kept November 5, 2007 Featured article candidate Not promoted December 10, 2008 Good article reassessment Kept March 23, 2011 Peer review Reviewed July 28, 2012 Good article reassessment Delisted May 30, 2014 WikiProject A-class review Demoted December 12, 2015 Peer review Reviewed May 25, 2021 Good article nominee Not listed Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on December 20, 2004, December 20, 2005, and December 20, 2006. Current status: Delisted good article

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The following references may be useful when improving this article in the future: Leonard, Elizabeth D. (1999). All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies (1st ed.). W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-3930-4712-1.

I've been working on the Attacks on the United States article and I wrote some summaries for the few Confederate campaigns against the Union (i.e. campaigns against the U.S.). Can someone who is familiar enough with the Civil War take a look to make sure (1) I didn't butcher any of the campaign summaries and (2) make sure nothing else is needed for the summaries? See (Attacks on the United States#American Civil War (October 1859–May 1865)). The Weather Event Writer (Talk Page) 17:29, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that." Lincoln carefully noted that this represented his official position" - Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, Friday, August 22, 1862 (Clipping from Aug. 23, 1862 Daily National Intelligencer, Washington, D.C.)

Hi! I would like to ask why this quote is not in the entire Wikipedia. It gives a completely different meaning to the character of Lincoln and the tone of the entire war. If there is something wrong with this quote, you could add it and give some annotations, because this quote is VERY popular in non-American media.

Very often, in media other than the American one, the basis of the war is more libertarian-economic, and only after a few years the Union added to the war the motto to free slaves, "just to encourage black people to join the war." and to "spread moral superiority".

This approach is mainly found in Poland, Germany and Russia.

And please don't delete it like last time, just reply normally because the answer "Some nationalist troll XD" is just pathetic. 2A02:A31A:C2AF:A900:2CCE:1385:3D14:E2C0 (talk) 15:55, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Try reading this page Abraham Lincoln, and wp:soapbox. Slatersteven (talk) 15:58, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If there is an appropriate place for the quote in the article, and original research is not being done, then feel free to add it. Just10A (talk) 17:01, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

When a quote is provided, you normally need a quote to explain its relevance and what it meant. TFD (talk) 20:04, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Lincoln made it clear many times that he hated slavery but needed the border states, which were both pro-slavery and pro-Union. He wanted to prepare them to accept the military need for emancipation. If you add the quote you should add the full context of circumstances surrounding it and Lincoln's other well known statements about slavery, without cherry picking.Michaelbtfsplk (talk) 22:38, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That approach is found in the former Eastern Bloc because the notion of the United States going to war to end slavery clashed heavily with Soviet propaganda needs. Furthermore, even after the Emancipation Proclamation there was great reluctance to enlist black regiments; it was a struggle even months later when the order was given, so suggesting that enlisting what became the United States Colored Troops was Lincoln's sole goal is risible. I suggest considering your sources. Rogue 9 (talk) 20:08, 31 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I have been working slowly over the past couple of months on Draft:Attacks on the United States, which obviously has several entries from this war (like the Maryland campaign and the Gettysburg campaign). If anyone familiar with one or several of the attacks against the U.S. during the war, feel free to help perfect the summaries or help by adding additional sources/references.

Any assistance is always appreciated! You can find the American Civil War section in the draft here: Draft:Attacks on the United States#American Civil War (October 1859–May 1865). The Weather Event Writer (Talk Page) 22:21, 16 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reverting it was absolutely right. The edited version said, "However, the states rights ideas of South Carolina-based John C. Calhoun, which went beyond slavery and also concerned other federal policies which were viewed as not being in the interest of the Southern states, would also play a significant role in the buildup to the war as well." But its source did not support that.

The source starts in a way that appears to support that: "A common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery. In fact, it was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict. A key issue was states' rights." But then, when it elaborates, it shows, perhaps unwittingly, that slavery was the sole cause of secession.

It says, "The Southern states wanted to assert their authority over the federal government so they could abolish federal laws they didn't support, especially laws interfering with the South's right to keep slaves and take them wherever they wished." Note "especially laws interfering with [slavery]," with no other laws named.

It then says, "Another factor was territorial expansion. The South wished to take slavery into the western territories, while the North was committed to keeping them open to white labor alone." In other words, "territorial expansion" means "territorial expansion of slavery."

The rest of it pretends that secession was not about slavery by saying that Lincoln's having won the election was "a clear signal to the Southern states that they had lost all influence," so "Feeling excluded from the political system, they turned to the only alternative they believed was left to them: secession, a political decision that led directly to war." But what precedes this makes clear that the Southern states' feeling that they had lost all influence and were excluded from the political system can refer only to the fact that Lincoln, who opposed expanding slavery into the territories, had won the election. Maurice Magnus (talk) 02:11, 23 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This seems a little preemptive, as the user who made the edit hasn't even come to the talk page yet (and he might not at all). But regardless, pretty much this whole thing is WP:OR. If the source says something as explicitly as you cited it in your 2nd paragraph, then the fact that you think it later contradicts itself doesn't really matter I'm afraid. We just go off what the source says. However, the original edit was awkwardly worded, had some other sourcing issues, and definitely needed some work, so the revert(s) were proper. Just10A (talk) 07:26, 23 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Just10A (talk) If an editor quotes a source that contradicts itself, it can be intellectually dishonest to quote only one of its contradictory statements. It can be tendentious, in this case possibly an attempt to push the Lost Cause myth. I say "can be" rather than "is" so as not to impute motivations to an editor. He or she might have merely been sloppy and failed to read past the first sentence of the source or failed to read the source carefully. It's also wrong to use a source of this nature when one could quote numerous leading Civil War scholars, all of whom have written books that would disagree with the first sentence of the source. Maurice Magnus (talk) 13:19, 23 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I totally agree with your last sentence. But that's an undue/false balance issue, not an "I personally think the source is contradictory" issue. Just10A (talk) 16:58, 23 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I appreciate dates aren't always specific, the second paragraph lists four events and only gives dates for one of them:

> "Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election. Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. The war began on April 12, 1861, when the Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina."

On my first reading... I was most confused about how Lincoln won in 1860 but it's not too clear how that fits into the April 12, 1861 date? Did he come to power in late Jan like presidents seem to now?

Clicking on the "Abraham Lincoln" link, it seems like he came into power March 4, 1861. (I tried finding the date in the "1860 presidential election" link but I couldn't quickly see it. I'm guessing people that maintain this page might maintain that page and I think it would be an improvement to make this date more prominent and earlier on that page.) I think the date of the election is relevant enough to put in this opening and only takes a few additional words:

"won the 1860 presidential election, taking office March 4, 1861."

But also looking at the Wikipedia page for "The Confederacy" it says:

"The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized breakaway[1] republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 5, 1865.[8] It was composed of eleven U.S. states that declared secession: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These states warred against the United States during the American Civil War."

So I'd also update that sentence to note the date the confederacy started:

"and forming the Confederacy starting February 8, 1861"

Since those dates seem out of order it's important to also update "won the 1860 presidential election" to be:

"won the 1860 presidential election held on November 6th"

So in total something like this, with the four dates listed:

""" Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion, won 1860 presidential election (held on the November 6th to take office on March 4, 1861). Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy on February 8, 1861. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. The war began on April 12, 1861, when the Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina. """ Porco-esphino (talk) 05:16, 9 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]