While many refer to it as such, the conflict from 1861 to 1865 doesn’t meet the common definition of a civil war. According to Webster, a civil war is a conflict between different sections or factions within the same nation. However, this wasn’t the case during the War Between the States. The North and South were two distinct nations—the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. Before the conflict, Southern states legally passed ordinances of secession to leave the Union and later formed their own nation.
Additionally, the term “civil war,” as used in reference to other historical conflicts like the English or Roman civil wars, doesn’t accurately describe what happened between the North and South. The Southern states had no intention of overthrowing the existing federal government or imposing their will on states like Massachusetts or New York.
Instead, the Southern states chose to withdraw from the United States, leaving its government intact, and formed their own confederation. This approach is similar to the one taken by American patriots 90 years earlier, but with an even stronger legal foundation than the revolution celebrated by many who now condemn Southern secession.
