The debate over the title that might serve as a synonym to Civil War involves numerous historical interpretations. The differences in suggested definitions depend on which side of the conflict one supports or which of the causes one finds the most justified. Hence, apart from the title ‘the Civil War,’ which is the most common approach, there are many other ways of referring to the events of 1861-1865.
For the majority of white southerners living in the 1860s, it was the “war between the states.” Other terms employed by these people were “the war for southern independence” and “the war for northern aggression.” The most likely reason why southerners preferred such titles was associated with the fact that the southerners wanted to become separated from the North and did not want to belong to the Union any longer. The term “aggression” incorporates the attitude of the North toward the South in the opinion of the latter. However, those selecting that word to denote the military action did not take into account the fact that the North was merely protecting itself from the South’s attacks.
In white northerners’ descriptions of the war, such terms as the “war of secession” and the “war of the rebellion” were the most frequent. Northerners chose these titles because they viewed the war as the attempt of the South to break up the political system governing the country. Meanwhile, northerners supported the idea of a single state ruled by the federal government. As a result, the views of these people on the South’s actions were justified by the “inappropriate” behavior of the latter, which was interpreted as “rebellious.”
Apart from whites’ opinions, there was also the point of view of black people living in the USA in that period. For them, the military action was the “war to end slavery” or the “war for emancipation.” These individuals viewed the war as their chance to become free from slavery or discrimination. Finally, there is a title suggested by McPherson – the “war that will not go away,” which incorporates the idea that the outcomes of the Civil War have not stopped impacting the life in the country. My own interpretative statement about the Civil War is that it was “the war for states’ rights that had a substantial effect on slavery.”