The document discusses the significant impact of the American Civil War on various historical figures and events, arguing that without it, notable figures like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement would not have had the same impact or existence. It highlights that the Civil War catalyzed literature, civil rights advancements, and shaped America’s legacy. The author concludes that America's history is profoundly intertwined with the Civil War, suggesting that its absence would have led to a vastly different and arguably worse societal outcome.

1. No American Civil War?

3. No Ben-Hur ? Ben-Hur was written by General Lew Wallace. Published on November, 12, 1880. Gen. Wallace was from Crawfordsville, Indiana. This novel has never been out of press. It was the single most popular work of literature in the 19 th century, and outsold even The Bible in sales for several years.

4. No Walt Whitman? Like President Lincoln, Walt Whitman would have been around. His most famous work, a collection of revisions and additions over the years, Leaves of Grass , however, might be a far cry from the powerful ballad it is today. Whitman gathered much of the imagery from his poetry by volunteering in army hospitals and even admiring from afar President Lincoln taking a stroll down the streets of Washington D.C. Without the Civil War, America’s Old Grey Poet might have just been an other struggling artist in the mid-19 th c entury , reaching nowhere near the audi ence his Civil War-inspired work re aches today.

5. No Civil War Literature? The Civil War has stirred our emotions and our imaginations throughout the last 150 years and it shows in the volumes of literature written about it.

6. Who wrote Ben-Hur and where was he from?

7. Union General Lew Wallace from Crawfordsville, Indiana

8. No Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929. Receives his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Morehouse College in 1948. Receives his degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951. Receives his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1954. None of this would have been possible without civil rights efforts that began in the early 1840s, climaxing with the Civil War.

9. No Brown vs. Board of Education , 1954? Brown vs. Board of Education , 1954, was a landmark Supreme Court case deciding which school black children could attend. Psst…the black families won!

10. No Civil Rights Act, 1964? Without the Civil War establishing a road toward equality for minorities one hundred years before, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would never have happened. President Lyndon Johnson would never had shaken MLK’s hand, and that document might still not have been written.

11. What was the landmark Supreme Court case that forced the nation to face the issue of civil rights for minorities?

12. Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954

13. Well, of course, we would still have Mr. Lincoln, but not the Lincoln sitting on a giant chair in our Capitol. Without a Civil War, Mr. Lincoln would not have had the situation in which to truly demonstrate his moral, political and spiritual superiority over the era’s largest figures. We would not have Lincoln’s heart-wrenching letters to mothers of fallen soldiers, his stressed and melancholy photographs, his unifying speeches…we would not have The Gettysburg Address – considered one of the single most important documents every written. In short, Abraham Lincoln might have slipped into obscurity, becoming another peacetime president without much to show for his tenure in office. No Abraham Lincoln?

14. No Robert F. Kennedy? No one knows for sure what this man could have done for the country, but one thing is for sure: We will never know. Without the Civil War, tragedies like this would not have happened…however, if tragedies like this hadn’t happened we may have never been spurred hard enough to change what simply needed to be changed.

15. No President Barack Obama? Without the Civil War, the civil rights movement would have never happened when it did. Regardless of our opinions on his job performance thus far, this means that we may or may not have ever had the chance to see an African-American in the White House in our lifetimes.

16. What other famous people might have slipped into history’s obscurity?

17. Theodore Roosevelt was inspired by Lincoln’s funeral procession through New York City as a small child looking from a four-story window. James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Benjamin Harrison all served as officers during the war. Confederate General Robert E. Lee is still studied at West Point for his brilliance on the battlefield and his command of troops. John Wilkes Booth would have remained the most popular actor of his time. Howard “His name is…” Mudd would have remained a rural doctor, and his name untarnished. The KKK might not have been established in its present capacity should Nathan Bedford Forrest not commanded a Southern regiment that terrorized free and slave blacks. Susan B. Anthony would never have used her experience on the battlefield to create the American Red Cross.

18. In Conclusion America’s rich history has been based upon two wars. All of its tragedies, all of its successes, have been because of the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War. Though this is no endorsement of the Civil War, it’s safe to say that without the Civil War our history would be vastly different, and in my opinion, vastly worse off.

19. Bibliography IMAGES: http://www.usronline.org/staff/cavallini/specialPrograms/eUllrich/ow/images/civil%20war%20soldiers.jpg https://www.glastonburyus.org/staff/BernardRo/PublishingImages/civil-war-lincoln-pinkerton.jpg http://www.tvworthwatching.com/werts/ben%20hur%20chariot%20race.jpg http://www.kittenpolitics.com/images/lincoln1.jpg http://www.civilwar-pictures.com/g/albums/government/walt_whitman.sized.jpg http://womensrightsny.com/blawg/graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/10/weekinreview/10liptak.600.jpg http://latinolikeme.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/rfk12.jpg http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_free_images/0519-0906-0812-3122_president_barack_obama_in_the_oval_office_at_desk_o.jpg http://freepages.pavilion.net/tartarus/bierce.jpg http://blondierocket.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/gwtw1.jpg http://postlapsarian.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/cold_mountain.jpg http://www.mccsc.edu/~dwright/mel/stand_files/image002.jpg http://themasterstable.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/lincoln_memorial.jpg http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Photo/2006/07/24/1153714943_0850.jpg http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/pictures/General-Wallace.jpg VIDEOS: Ben Hur, Youtube.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Mr4MGAYhaEc&feature=related MLK, “I Have A Dream” clip: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZtNbDmv1r4&feature=related Signing of Civil Rights Act, 1964: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK2GdOxz3s0 Bobby Kennedy’s Mindless Menace of Violence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Vll-t0H6A