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<v Speaker 1>I welcome to Spotlight. I'm Alice Irazari and.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Andrew Davis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.

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<v Speaker 2>It is easier for people to understand no matter where

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<v Speaker 2>in the world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>In eighteen sixty one, hundreds of Southern soldiers surrounded Fort Sumter.

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<v Speaker 1>This large walled building was in South Carolina in the

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<v Speaker 1>United States. Inside the fort, Northern soldiers stood on the walls.

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<v Speaker 1>These soldiers were from the same country, but now they

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<v Speaker 1>were pointing their cannons at each other. Suddenly, Southern soldiers

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<v Speaker 1>began to fire their guns. The fort shook with explosions.

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<v Speaker 1>The air filled with the smell of smoke. The first

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<v Speaker 1>battle of the American Civil War had begun.

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<v Speaker 2>The American Civil War was a conflict between the Northern

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<v Speaker 2>and Southern states of the United States. Different parts of

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<v Speaker 2>the country fought in open war against each other. This

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<v Speaker 2>happened over one hundred and sixty years ago, but the

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<v Speaker 2>war shaped American culture in ways that are still important today.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's Spotlight is on the American Civil War.

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<v Speaker 2>There were many issues that caused the American Civil War,

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<v Speaker 2>but the biggest was the issue of slavery. The United

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<v Speaker 2>States was founded during a time when slavery was common,

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<v Speaker 2>each state decided whether it would be legal to own

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<v Speaker 2>enslaved persons inside their own borders. These enslaved people were

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<v Speaker 2>taken from Africa. Slave owners forced them to work on

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<v Speaker 2>farms or as servants. The founding documents of the United

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<v Speaker 2>States declare that each person is equal, but slave owners

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<v Speaker 2>did not consider enslaved persons fully human.

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<v Speaker 1>For a long time, people owned slaves in most states,

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<v Speaker 1>but soon many people in the United States began to

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<v Speaker 1>believe slavery was wrong. These people called themselves abolitionists. The

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<v Speaker 1>abolitionists hoped to one day make slavery illegal.

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<v Speaker 2>By the eighteen thirties, the abolitionists had partially succeeded. Slavery

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<v Speaker 2>was illegal in most northern states, but the South had

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<v Speaker 2>always used more enslaved persons than the North. The South's

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<v Speaker 2>economy depended on growing crops like tobacco and cotton. Enslaved

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<v Speaker 2>persons did most of the work to grow these crops.

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<v Speaker 2>Landowners in the South became rich because of the enslaved persons.

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<v Speaker 2>Many were not willing to change. Some even believed it

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<v Speaker 2>was their right to own other human beings.

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<v Speaker 1>The country was split between states that owned enslaved persons

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<v Speaker 1>and states that did not. There was no violent conflict

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<v Speaker 1>between them, but the United States was growing. The country

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<v Speaker 1>expanded into new areas, and each side was afraid the

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<v Speaker 1>other would grow too powerful. The North tried to limit

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<v Speaker 1>new slave states, the South tried to expand slavery.

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<v Speaker 2>Then in eighteen sixty a man named Abraham Lincoln was

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<v Speaker 2>elected president. Lincoln was from Illinois, a state in the North.

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<v Speaker 2>Lincoln hated slavery. In his speeches, he often talked about

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<v Speaker 2>how he believed it was evil.

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<v Speaker 1>But Lincoln also did not believe he could end slavery

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<v Speaker 1>right away. Instead, he wanted to stop its spread. In

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen fifty nine, he spoke in the city of Chicago

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<v Speaker 1>on the subject.

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<v Speaker 3>I do not wish to be misunderstood on the subject

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<v Speaker 3>of slavery in this country. I suppose it may exist

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<v Speaker 3>for a long time. Maybe the best way for it

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<v Speaker 3>to come to an end peacefully is for it to

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<v Speaker 3>exist for a while. But I say that the spread

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<v Speaker 3>and strengthening of it is a very different idea. There

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<v Speaker 3>we should in every way resist it as a wrong.

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<v Speaker 3>We should treat it as a wrong, with the idea

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<v Speaker 3>that it must and will come to an end.

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<v Speaker 2>Slavery may not have ended with Lincoln's election, but many

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<v Speaker 2>southern states were afraid of Lincoln. They saw him as dangerous.

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<v Speaker 2>After his election, many states decided they wanted to leave

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<v Speaker 2>the country. These eleven states tried to form a different country. Together.

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<v Speaker 2>They called themselves the Confederate States of America. They elected

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<v Speaker 2>their own president, named Jefferson Davis.

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<v Speaker 1>Lincoln did not recognize the Confederacy as a country, and

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<v Speaker 1>soon small battles began to break out. The two sides

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<v Speaker 1>began building their forces.

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<v Speaker 2>Then came the Battle of Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter was

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<v Speaker 2>on land that the Confederacy claimed, but soldiers from the

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<v Speaker 2>North still occupied it. By attacking the fort, the South

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<v Speaker 2>believed they were taking what was theirs, but the North

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<v Speaker 2>saw it as an attack on their country. Soon the

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<v Speaker 2>North declared war.

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<v Speaker 1>The two sides fought against each other for four years.

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<v Speaker 1>The fighting was extremely bloody. Almost three percent of the

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<v Speaker 1>country died in the fighting. Both sides used new technology

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<v Speaker 1>like fast firing guns. Soldiers died by the hundreds. Many

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<v Speaker 1>who survived were injured in ways that could not be healed.

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<v Speaker 2>The North won the war, and in eighteen sixty four,

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<v Speaker 2>the United States officially made slavery illegal. The government gave

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<v Speaker 2>formally enslaved persons the right to vote and own land,

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<v Speaker 2>but the Northern victory came at a great cost. Many

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<v Speaker 2>Southern cities were destroyed and half a million Americans died

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<v Speaker 2>because of the fighting, and in eighteen sixty five President

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<v Speaker 2>Lincoln was killed. He was going to make many new

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<v Speaker 2>laws about slavery. He was trying to bring a new

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<v Speaker 2>kind of equality.

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<v Speaker 1>But with Lincoln's death, many of these plans fell through.

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<v Speaker 1>In Southern states, former slaves were supposed to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to vote and own land, but the local governments often

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<v Speaker 1>prevented them from doing so. Racist groups like the Ku

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<v Speaker 1>Klux Klan would attack those who tried to vote, and

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<v Speaker 1>many lived in conditions that were not much better than slavery.

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<v Speaker 2>Southern states also created laws called Jim Crow laws. These

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<v Speaker 2>laws separated white and black people. They could not use

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<v Speaker 2>the same restaurants. They could not even drink from the

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<v Speaker 2>same public water fountains. It was not until nineteen sixty

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<v Speaker 2>five that these ways of separating people were made illegal.

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<v Speaker 1>Today, the United States continues to struggle with racial issues,

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<v Speaker 1>but the Civil War is an important part of its history.

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<v Speaker 1>It changed how people in the United States saw themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>and it paved the way toward equality.

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<v Speaker 2>Brooks Simpson is an American historian. He wrote about the

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<v Speaker 2>impact of the Civil War on the country's culture.

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<v Speaker 4>In some ways, America's Civil War has yet to end.

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<v Speaker 4>Its major figures live on in story as well as history.

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<v Speaker 4>Americans debate the war's meaning with passion. They shape and

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<v Speaker 4>reshape their understanding of the conflict to match their own beliefs.

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<v Speaker 4>The war shaped national identity, but the exact meaning of

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<v Speaker 4>that identity is not always clear. Still, the Civil War

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<v Speaker 4>is the central event of American history. It gave the nation,

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<v Speaker 4>at a painful cost, a new birth of freedom.

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<v Speaker 1>The Civil War is a very large part of American

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<v Speaker 1>culture even now. Is there a conflict where you are

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<v Speaker 1>from that is similar? Tell us about it.

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<v Speaker 2>You can leave a comment on our website at www

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<v Speaker 1>The writer of this program was Dan Christman. The producer

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<v Speaker 1>was Michyo Osaki. The voices you heard were from the

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<v Speaker 1>United States and the United king All quotes were adapted

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<v Speaker 1>for this program and voiced by Spotlight. No AI or

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<v Speaker 1>artificial intelligence was used in this program. Spotlight programs are written, voiced,

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by real people for real people, no matter

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<v Speaker 1>where in the world they live. This program is called

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<v Speaker 1>the American Civil War.

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<v Speaker 2>We hope you can join us again for the next

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<v Speaker 2>Spotlight program. Goodbye,