How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them

While Walter focuses primarily on the Trump presidency, division and factionalism in the US predate this time period. The legacy of structural racism is one factor that explains the country’s political divide. The US has taken decades to address this issue. For example, the passage of the Civil Rights Act—which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin—occurred almost 100 years after the end of the first civil war. Over the last few decades, institutions have attempted to more quickly address structural racism, such as through affirmative action policies. However, Black Americans still remain on unequal footing with their white counterparts.

This attempt to make the US more equitable has caused backlash among white Americans, especially those living in rural areas. These individuals, who represent America’s sons of the soil, feel that their power and status are under threat. They believe the federal government is abandoning them as more and more jobs move from rural areas to cities. These feelings of vulnerability and fear have enabled extremists (i.e., ultranationalists) to begin to radicalize some white Americans into believing violence is the only way to protect their way of life. The US has seen the rise of militias over the last few decades, but especially since the election of President Barack Obama, who was the country’s first Black president.