Ciivl War

James McPherson the author of What They Fought For 1861-1865, thesis states that the soldiers from both the North and South fought for a large extent for ideology, and not exclusively as brothers in war with other soldiers, for principles of strength or courage, and for the nations of honor and duty. McPherson uses hundreds of letters and diaries from soldiers from both the Union and Confederate troops to show their experience. He tries to focus on a variety of attitudes and motives from the volunteer soldiers. These young men coped with fear, stress, exhaustion, pain, and death everyday while out there fighting. “A final theme that will receive attention is ideology,” (McPherson 1) this is what the soldiers supposed they were fighting for during the Civil War.

James McPherson is the author of the book What They Fought For. McPherson breaks the book into three parts, “Chapter 1 will explore Confederate elucidations of this and related themes; chapter 2 will look at the Union side; chapter 3 will analyze the perceptions of the slavery issue by both Confederate and Union soldiers” Through the usage of diaries, and letters from the Union and the Confederate soldiers. Will allow us to depict the reasonings for them fighting in the civil war. McPherson state's, “That book will explore the motives of Union and Confederate soldiers for enlisting and fighting in the Civil War.”1 In my opinion, I believe there are more differences in the motivations that led Confederate (Southern) and Union (Northern) soldiers to fight in the Civil War. I believe there may have been a few

The American Civil War has caused many debates amongst a wide range of historians resulting in many different views being formed on all aspects of the War. The argument whether slavery has been overemphasised is one of great debate. Some historians like Michael F. Holt concur that the slavery issue was nearly the only reason and cause of the American civil war. Others disagree, Joel H. Silbey agrees that this is a reason but not the only one other ideas to need to be looked at to the cause of the outbreak of war in America. I will look at this issue and others which caused the beginning of the civil war.

The American Civil War occurred between 1861 and 1865 and is largely considered the most destructive conflict in U.S. history, resulting in approximately one million military casualties and an inestimable number of civil victims. Much controversy still surrounds the nature of this conflict, as its determining causes are complex. Contemporary international perception may have placed a progressive, anti-slavery label on the whole affair, yet the basic fact remains that nineteenth century America was an increasingly inhomogeneous country and prone to blatant discrepancy.

The Civil War caused a shift in the ways that many Americans thought about slavery and race. Chandra Manning’s What this Cruel War Was Over helps readers understand how soldiers viewed slavery during the Civil War. The book is a narrative, which follows the life of Union soldier who is from Massachusetts. Chandra Manning used letters, diaries and regimental newspapers to gain an understanding of soldiers’ views of slavery. The main character, Charles Brewster has never encountered slaves. However, he believes that Negroes are inferior. He does not meet slaves until he enters the war in the southern states of Maryland and Virginia. Charles Brewster views the slaves first as contraband. He believes the slaves are a burden and should be sent back to their owners because of the fugitive slave laws. Union soldiers focus shifted before the end of the war. They believed slavery was cruel and inhumane, expressing strong desire to liberate the slaves. As the war progresses, soldiers view slaves and slavery in a different light. This paper, by referring to the themes and characters presented in Chandra Manning’s What this Cruel War Was Over, analyzes how the issue of slavery and race shifted in the eyes of white Union soldiers’ during Civil War times.

Americans had been engaged in a Civil War which had been begun in April of 1861 with shots fired on a fort in South Carolina. In the summer of 1863 in a small town called Gettysburg, there would be a fierce battle fought between the Union Army of the Potomac led by General George G. Meade and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee. The events of the battle would overcome the losses suffered by the Union and put the Confederacy on the run. “Over 165,000 men would converge, and before the fighting ended, the ground would run red with blood. The battle was fierce, and the casualties proved it. But the casualties that resulted would not be in vain, at least for the Union; the formidable power

James M. McPherson sets out to discover what motivated the Confederate and Union soldiers to continue fighting in the Civil War in his book What They Fought For. McPherson analyses nearly a thousand letters, journals, and diary of Union and Confederate soldiers to determine what urged them to fight is this defining American Conflict. McPherson reads and groups together the common thoughts of the everyday soldier, from their letters and journals that none of which had been subjected to any sort of censorship, in that time period. He then generalizes the motivations that they used to fight for their country. Whether it be for slavery or for the Union, the author views both sides of the fighting to analysis their ideological issues, how deep their belief coursed through their veins to continue fighting, and how the soldiers held their convictions close to heart in the time of war.

The Civil War is a harsh part of American history but the life of the soldiers was a real struggle. Most people know that the soldiers had a miserable life but it was far worse than people assume. Weapons weren’t easy to use, training was like starting from scratch and the camp life was miserable. Whether is was the North or the South, life wasn’t easy. Therefore, during the Civil War, the soldiers continued the courageous and daring fight in spite of poorly constructed weapons, labored training, and dreadful living conditions.

Between the Age of Exploration to the end of the Civil War, the United States of America has undergone countless events, people, and ideas in which the history of the country was forever altered. However, out of all these moments in history, the American Civil War of 1861-1865, is by far the most important event in the United States. Known as the largest and most destructive conflict in American history, the Civil War brought into question what kind of nation it would become. The importance of the Civil War can be found in the conflicts, deaths, and questions that were created by this brief event in

To what extent was the Civil War fought over African American freedom ? What were political issues that dominated U.S. politics in the 1850’s ? What factors led to the split of political parties leading up to the war ? What major events heightened sectional conflicts ? What political wartime strategies did both sides use to win the war ? These are some points and questions that will be discussed in this paper. These questions will be answered to find out why the civil war was fought

The experience for Northerners was a lot different from that of Southerners. Horwitz does his best to depict the view of the Civil War all throughout the south. He spends time with war reenactors who go for days and nights trying to experience what it was like for the Confederate soldiers. They all were so passionate about the war and that seems to be something more prevalent in the South, which may stem from the entire cause of the war. According to neo-Confederates, “The North and South went to war because they represented two distinct and irreconcilable cultures, right down to their bloodlines. White Southerners descended from freedom-loving Celts in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Northerners- New England abolitionists in particular-came from mercantile and expansionist English stock”. Neo-Confederates believe that the South’s reasons for fighting were a lot more personal than the North because the South felt like they were fighting to protect their society and their freedom. It is believed that “[The Civil War] was a culture war in which Yankees imposed their imperialist and capitalistic will on the agrarian South” , which makes it seem like Southerners were the ones being attacked. When defending something a person is more likely to be passionate about it as opposed to the offensive side. Southerners can easily claim the North was forcing industrialisitc

African Americans were a very important addition to the American Civil War such as fighting and spying for both the north and the south sides. The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States between the North and South states. The war was from 1861-1865 and was because the South wanted to establish itself as a separate nation. The northern states were called the Union and the southern states were called the Confederate. Between the north and south states were the Border States, which did not belong to either of the sides. The Border States included Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri. In the north, slavery did not exist but the south was the opposite. In the war, the north and south states fought against each other while the Border States were neutral. Before the war and during the war, African Americans were treated very unfairly compared to white people. This essay will examine how African Americans were treated before, during and after the Civil War.

After thoroughly assessing past readings and additional research on the Civil War between the North and South, it was quite apparent that the war was inevitable. Opposed views on this would have probably argued that slavery was the only reason for the Civil War. Therefore suggesting it could have been avoided if a resolution was reached on the issue of slavery. Although there is accuracy in stating slavery led to the war, it wasn’t the only factor. Along with slavery, political issues with territorial expansion, there were also economic and social differences between North and South. These differences, being more than just one or two, gradually led to a war that was bound to happened one way or another.

By all estimation, the American Civil War was considered to be the bloodiest and most gruesome war in American history. There are more US casualties involved in the American Civil War than US casualties in World War I & II, Korean, and Vietnam War combined. Historians have discussed possible causes that led to the greatest separation among the American people. It is important to recognize the true causes behind this separation so that history does not repeat itself. It is important to recognize the true cause behind this separation so that history of a civil war does not repeat itself. It is best to examine and understand one fundamental cause so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent another repeat of the past. Current research as well as old documents demonstrate that the conflict over the legality of African American slaves is the main cause to such separation. However, many tend to overlook the economic reason that benefited both the northern and southern states. While it is clear that the Southern states benefited more from slavery due to the vastness of uninhabited land, both southern and northern states benefited in one way or another. Therefore, it makes one wonder: To what extent economic motive between the southern and northern states spurred the American civil war? Although causes like slavery, greed, and fear factor into the causes of the American Civil War, the economic motive between the southern and northern states spurred

Despite taking place 150 years ago, the Civil War is still an event that weighs heavily on America’s conscious. The effects of the Civil War continue to alter American politics, and daily life. Many southerners still feel ill will towards the North, terming the war, “The War of Northern Aggression”, and recalling fondly their “Lost Cause”. Battles over states’ rights and the power of the Federal Government continue on, forming the ideological bases of our main political parties. A war was fought between neighbors, brothers, and former countrymen, something that our country had not endured before, or has since. The rift that was created between opposing sects in the country was not one that could be swiftly remedied. The war’s end did not preclude immediate reconciliation, as Reconstruction was a long and arduous process that was not done to perfection. Recently, there has been controversy over the use of the Confederate flag, as people are trying to reconcile honoring their heritage, while still understanding what that heritage stood for. The war provided our politicians with a model of how a President should act, giving us possibly our finest Commander in Chief. The Civil War has remained so compelling to Americans because of its unique nature, how its history should be viewed, and the historical impact of the war’s famous actors.