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)
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.
