Civil War Comparisons

Within the province of Skyrim there is an everlasting civil war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials.

It began when High King Torygg was slain by the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak, who then initiated the Stormcloak Rebellion. Ulfric was displeased with the new laws forced on the Nords via the White-Gold Concordat, which aimed to outlaw all and any worship of Talos, a Nordic god. This is because according to the nine other races of Tamriel there are only Eight Divines (Gods).

The Stormcloaks believe that the Empire betrayed Skyrim by signing the White-Gold Concordat with the Aldmeri Dominion at the end of the Great War. The Concordat, which heavily favors the Aldmeri Dominion (Thalmor), allows for the Thalmor to hunt down Talos worshipers. It is because of this that many Nords feel that the Thalmor hold too much power over the Empire.

The Imperial Legion seeks to eliminate the Stormcloak rebellion threat in Skyrim. With the uprising many Nords have begun to outcast those of the nine different races who are not native to Skyrim. Many times in Skyrim the Dragonborn can see a Dunmer citizen traveling to Solitude, stating "I was born and raised in Skyrim, but the Nords treat us like dirt".  In order to keep Skyrim in the Empire the Legion must strictly enforce the terms of the White-Gold Concordat.  

Ulfric and the Stormcloaks believe that the Emperor has become a puppet of the Thalmor and therefore no longer holds the authority to rule over Skyrim. It is this defiance that caused Ulfric Stormcloak to kill the ruling king of Skyrim; High King Torygg. By right Ulfric should now be king of skyrim, but because of his violent display when killing Torygg some of the Jarls do not accept his reign. Many favor what the empire has done for them and see Ulfric as a power hungry murderer. This is where the province of Skyrim becomes divided into the Stormcloaks and the Imperials and the Civil war ignites.

An argument can be made that the civil war in Skyrim is mirrored to that of the American civil war.

During the American civil war the country was divided into two forces, the North (Imperials)

and the South (Stormcloaks). The North wanted to place new rules of government on the South that would drastically affect the Southerners way of life. The policy changes to remove slavers can be compared to that of the removal of Talos, the Nordic god. The South fought for the country to remain the same as the North fought to implement new rule.

According to Digitalhistory.uh.edu “Planters found it hard to adjust to the end of slavery. Accustomed to absolute control over their labor force, many sought to restore the old discipline, only to meet determined opposition from the freed people, who equated freedom with economic autonomy.”

We can assume the dramatic governmental and life style change made on the South caused them to be more racist. We can clearly see this in Skyrim as the Stormcloaks and Nords begin to shun the different non-native races for living in Skyrim. The Stormcloak capital Windhelm begins to move the Dunmer citizens into the barrows and not allowing them to work in high profiting employment positions.

As the south rebelled in the American civil war so did the Stormcloaks. They felt that to secure their rights, freedoms, and way of life they needed to place their lives on the line in the divided country.