The Civil War The American Civil War was a grave turning point in the history of North America. It was a conflict that pitted the Northern states of the American union against the Southern states. The war raged for four years, from 1861 to 1865, and was marked by some of the fiercest military campaigns in modern history. In this essay, you will learn the causes of the American Civil war, as well as the after effects of the war. It has been extremely hard for historians to exactly pin-point the causes and effects of the war. The war itself had international impact, not only because of the growing international status of the United States, but also because war threatened world access to the