Thomas states in his work that Lee was always searching to seize the initiative and keep his opponent off balance. Grant may have been the master of the calculated risk, however Lee could be characterized as the master of the uncalculated risk. Lee more likely than not saw an aggressive plan as the only way to stand against the North’s seemingly endless resources. He expresses that Lee may have thought if he bloodied the Union forces seriously enough, often enough, the people of the North would grow tired of war. Thomas also goes on to write that Lee’s strategies went nearly too far, particularly when he divided his outnumbered troops, as he did both times the Army of Northern Virginia marched north of the Potomac. Thomas remarks on the battle at Antietam, where only good luck and a few minutes spared Lee’s battered army from annihilation.
For example, after encountering the troops that Grant had sent forth, Lee blocked the Union advance on the Totopotomoy Creek. Grant realized how strong the defenses were and organized another move around. Grant’s army would have to bring the Army of Northern Virginia into the open and kill them all. Grant had the idea that all the union armies would move in a pattern on all fronts. This was to put many and merciless military troops onto the confederacy and to prevent the confederates to reinforce one another. Grant’s believed that if Lee’s army failed, Richmond would fall by default and the war would end. This strategy was from hard and desperate fighting and soldiers were not at their best because this plan made incredible demands on one average soldier, and the decision about making the attack was from invalid assumptions about what the enemy was capable of and poor
In the beginning of the war white southerners reject black men joining their army whether they were slaves or a free man. In addition, confederate leaders and soldiers would not recognize black men as legitimate soldiers when they captured black soldiers they would abuse or murder them, rather than treat them as prisoners of war. However, the confederate’s perspective of black men joining the confederate army changed, when they needed more troops and laborers In addition, the chance of the confederacy winning the Civil war became grim. Therefore, they allowed black men to enlist and promise them freedom, if the remained loyal. Furthermore, the confederacy did what they thought was necessary to save the white
For generations, slavery had been one of the most controversial issues in the history of the U.S. When the country was defined by Northern and Southern states, the battle for free or slave states exceeded with every addition. There were many compromises over the years, one replaced by another. But it was nearly impossible to keep both the North and the South satisfied. Northern states were convinced that the government was in the hands of a “slave power,” which is a theory about a secret clique of pro-slavery congressman, and the Southern states were convinced the North was trying to sabotage their way of life, in terms of relying on slave labor. The South finally reached it’s boiling point when Abraham Lincoln was elected
In response to the mounting crisis all the colonies except georgia sent representatives to a meeting in october 1774.Patrick henry and other belive that violence was unavoidable.
Along with Lee’s overconfidence, he also failed to understand what so many other Generals had understood, “Unlike many Union officers, such as Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, and Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia never recognized that Civil War armies were virtually indestructible.” Lee did not recognize that a victory of annihilation was an impossible
I would rather not have done it upon this ground, but every moment we delay the enemy uses to reinforce himself. We must hit him now. We pushed him yesterday; he will remember it. The men are ready. I see no alternatives.” (pg. 184) This proves that General Lee was more concerned about taking quick action against the Union army rather than taking the time to figure out a more defensive attack in order to ensure a higher chance of survival for his
The civil war started in 1860 to 1861 when eleven southern states seceded. Which then named themselves the confederate states of america. But the states that stayed in the U.S were know as the union. The president of the Union states was Abraham lincoln. And the president for the confederate states was jefferson davis. The first battle took place in fort sumter in 1861 when the confederacy wanted to take the union and fort sumter for its own. Fort sumter was taken by the south and so then the civil war began. The south did come short in winning the war.The North won because they had more resources, better military, and better leaders.
During the reconstruction era of 1865 through 1877 times were hard for Southerners of the United States. Because of the casualties by the civil war the south was in need of major work. The South has lost so much because of the war review it and the Lost Cause. Lost calls meaning that they were defeated by the Civil War but this setback was only temporary in the south’s Ultimate vindication.
The American Civil War is a civil war between 1861 and 1865 involving the United States or ("the Union") and the Confederate States of America (“the Confederacy”), led by Jefferson Davis, consisting of eleven southern slave states that had seceded from the United States. The Union included all abolitionist states and five "borderline" slave states and was headed by Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. The latter was opposed to the expansion of slavery in the territories held by the United States, and his victory in the presidential election of 1860 led to the first secession of seven southern states, even before Lincoln took office. For four years, Southerners or Confederates, commanded by Beauregard, Jackson, and Lee fought the Northerners or Federals, commanded by Scott McClellan, Burnside, Sherman, and Grant, in a series of deadly battles, where the successes and setbacks swayed between the protagonists.
The American Civil War One of the documents I have chosen is the Address of Negroes. It started in Alexandria, Virginia, from August 2 to 5, 1865 was address to the Loyal Citizens and Congress of the United States of America adopted by a Convention of Negroes. It states that the war is over, the rebellion is “ put down”, and we are declared free! Four-fifths of our enemies are paroled or amnestied, and the other fifth are being pardoned, and the president has, in his efforts at the reconstruction of the Civil government of the states, late in rebellion, left us entirely at the mercy of these subjugated but unconverted rebels, in everything save the privilege of bringing us, our wives and little
Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil War, because this single issue divided the North and South to begin with. The ideological differences between the North and South led to economic differences, conflicts over newly acquired territories, disputes over the constitution, and political extremism. The Election of 1860 was the culmination of these disputes and caused the South to secede in 1861 and guided the way towards the Civil War.
In the early years of the republic, when the Northern states were providing for immediate or gradual emancipation of the slaves, many leaders had supposed that slavery would die out. In 1787 the Northwest Ordinance had banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. In 1808 many southerners thought that slavery would end soon. The expectations turned out to be false.
Throughout its’ history, the United States of America has had a military branch in order to protect the country from foreign enemies, dating back all the way to the Revolutionary War when the brave young Colonies declared independence from Great Britain. However, the first official domestic defense did not come until almost one hundred years later when the city of Boston established the first official American police force in 1838, followed by New York City in 1845 (Potter 1). Soon major cities all over the country followed in the footsteps of Boston and New York City. Police forces were seen as a positive presence in the United States when they were established; enforcing justice against the unjust. Law enforcement in the United States has been scrutinized from the beginning of its’ creation due to bad apples within police forces across the nation. The bad apples unfortunately were corrupting an organization that was supposed to be serving and protecting the people of the United States for approximately a couple hundred years. Fortunately, the evil and undue police within departments across the country were heavily outnumbered by the good cops in this country. The same is true today, but in recent history police brutality has been a widespread issue in the United States. Although police corruption and brutality is present in America today, the need for police is more apparent now than ever because police forces across the country as a whole are keeping the peace and are
America. Whether fighting our parents or foes overseas, the American people have been faced with numerous conflicts. However, the one that stands out the most in the bloody history that is American war, is the Civil War; but what is the Civil War? Dr. James McPherson, in his article entitled “A Brief Overview of the American Civil War,” states that, “The Civil War is the central event in America 's historical consciousness. While the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 determined what kind of nation it would be. The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution: whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world. (McPherson)” To reiterate, it was a war that decided the fate of government and slave standpoint within the country. One fantastic writers whom describes these stories in fiction texts links certain traits among each other. Stephen Crane, a writer of American literature, writes vividly about the war that bloodied American soil, even though--as Donna Campbell states-- “Crane was born in 1871, six years after the war ended. (Campbell)” His unique writing style involved asking questions about the characters within the works he
The Civil War took place in the United States between Apr 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865. In this time seven states seceded from the Union—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. There were exactly 2,213,363 troops engaged in the Civil War and a lot of those troops lost their lives. This separated people in the Country because the northern states and the southern states fought over slavery and states’ rights. The death toll in the Civil War was high between the north and the south, there were a total of 140,414 battle deaths. This changed everything including people read and wrote literature. The Civil War was portrayed differently through the writing of several authors.