Opposition to the American Civil War

Opposition to the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was widespread. Although there had been many attempts at compromise prior to the outbreak of war, after it began, some felt it could be ended peacefully or did not believe it should have occurred in the first place. Opposition came from both those in the North who believed the South had the right to be independent and those in the South who wanted neither war nor a Union advance into the newly declared Confederate States of America.