In “Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War,” Charles B. Dew analyzes the public letters and speeches of white, southern commissioners in order to prove that the Civil War was fought over slavery. By analyzing the public letters and speeches of the commissioners, Dew offers a compelling argument proving that slavery along with the ideology of white supremacy were primary causes of the Civil War. Dew is not only the Ephraim Williams Professor of American History at Williams College, but he is also a successful author who has received various awards including the Elloit Rudwick Prize and the Fletcher Pratt Award. In fact, two of Dew’s books, Tredegar Iron Works and Apostles of Disunion and Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson, received the Fletcher Pratt Award for the best nonfiction book regarding the American Civil War. In his analysis, Dew argues that the fear of eliminating slavery along with the fear of racial equality were both crucial factors regarding the outbreak of the Civil War. By tracing the speeches and public letters of state-appointed commissioners, Dew effectively argues that the white, southern commissioners led the southern states into a Civil War in order to preserve the institution of slavery as well as the ideology of white supremacy. The Civil War was a defining time in American history as the outcome of the war determined what kind of nation America would become. Due to uncompromising
The romanticized version of the Civil War creates a picture of the North versus the South with the North imposing on the South. However, after reading “The Making of a Confederate” by William L. Barney, one can see that subdivisions existed before the war was declared. The documents analyzed by Barney primarily focus on the experiences of Walter Lenoir, a southern confederate and a member of the planter elite. His experiences tell a vivid story of a passionate and strongly opinioned participant of the Civil War as well as demonstrate a noticeably different view involving his reasoning when choosing a side. Between analyzing this fantastic piece of literature and other resourceful documents from “Voices of Freedom” by Eric Foner, one
The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history, the Civil War started in April 1861. Some of the groups that were in the Civil War were the Unions, Confederates, and the Cherokee Indians. They all had different ideas on how to live their lives, some thought that what one side was doing was
Charles B. Dew, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (University of Virginia Press, 2001).
As a pivotal point in our nation’s history, the civil war holds a special fascination in the land and minds of the American people. It was a war entirely fought by Americans, often dividing families and even brothers against brothers. The American civil war was unforgettable. It was fought between the United States of America and the Southern slave states of the nearly formed confederate state of America under Jefferson Davis.
For many years, historians debated over the reasoning behind the American Civil War and the factors that facilitated the tensions northern and southern states experienced during years prior. In an attempt to end the debate, Charles B. Dew explains in his book, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War, the Southern state’s motives to secede from the Union were primarily slavery, racism, and white supremacy which can still be traced within today’s culture through social media and their projection of beauty. Through the compilation of speeches, letters, and political documents made and perpetuated by secession commissioners, Dew provides insight to the misconception Southerners had about motives and how these misconceptions led into conflict.
The Civil War of 1861-1865 is a monumental piece of United States history. The brutal and barbaric war lasted only a mere 4 years, but drastically changed the course of history and determined whether the nation would abolish slavery or remain a tainted hypocritical nation of bondage.
The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history. Before the Civil War happened, every problem was trying to be resolved so that the outcome wouldn’t have been a war. For example, the compromises helped avoid the constant bickering between the North and the South. Many factors led up to it such as slavery, the abolitionist movement, and the acquirement of land. The acquirement of land was always a dilemma.
The civil war was a turning point in American history. A disagreement happened not to long ago. The North and the South didn't agree on something, which was slavery. Everyone felt that war was the only way to settle their differences. The Civil war has changed the America we all know today.
On March 21, 1861, Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, delivered the truth as he saw it in his famously controversial “Cornerstone” speech to educate and prepare the people of the Confederacy for the war he once fought hard to avoid. Even though there is no “official” version of the speech, it was reproduced by many newspaper reporters who were present, and published in several newspapers. In his speech, Stephens analyzed what he believed to be the reasons for the revolution and the crucial differences between the ideologies and culture expressed in the constitutions of the Confederacy and the United States; focusing greatly on the disagreement over the enslavement of African Americans. Stephens speech gives great insight into the inner thoughts and beliefs of the Confederacy. The title, “Cornerstone Speech”, comes from the memorable line: “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.”(Stephens, par. 10). Due to the speech being given a few weeks after Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, and Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida all seceding, it is commonly recognized as a major event that led to the fires shot at the United States Army at Fort Sumter, starting the civil war. However, it
The Civil War changed American’s forever because they fought for what was right. They wanted slavery to end and so they made it happen. They thought that if they stopped slavery we would live in peace with the colored. President Lincoln wanted to also stop it because it wasn’t right for the slaves to be treated badly.
The Civil War started many changes in America, not just ending slavery. It was the spark that started to change almost everything in the United States. It started the end of slavery and racial discrimination, it made railroads a main mode transportation, and it gave the United States the knowledge that fighting isn’t always the best answer.
The Civil War was a time in history where heroic and patriotic events were displayed from both the Confederate armies as well as the Union armies , based upon their disagreements. The men who fought in this war fought for a very special reason. To protect their country
On January 11, 1861, the state of Alabama seceded from the Union. The secession movement was characterized by a continuous development from the time of the Wilmot Proviso until the final separation. As northern attacks on the institution of slavery began to mount, beginning with the controversy over the admission of Missouri as a slave state in 1819-20, proslavery extremists in Alabama and other Southern states increasingly referred to secession as their ultimate defense to protect their region’s society and economy.(“Secession”, 2011)
Civil War is the dominant affair in the history of the American perception. Revolution happened between 1776 and 1783; it created the United States, whereas a civil war of 1861-1865 it would be deciding what kind of country. North American’s victory in the war is conserved in this country as one nation and the finished from the beginning of the institution of slavery. The country has almost as many American soldiers as killed in all other wars combined champion - but this achievement has been at the cost of 625,000 lives. The American Civil War was the largest and most damaging encounter in the Western world between the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 and 1914 the start of World War II. Since the Civil War through the power of the government to ban slavery in the region that had not yet begun to compromise the difference between the states free of slavery.
The Civil War was a major part in American history. The era has influenced Americans in many different ways. Some good and some bad. The two main parts of the war that was fought was east of the Mississippi and west of the Mississippi. If either side was to secure Victory control on both of these fronts was vital. In March of 1862 the Union forces jacuzzi Western Front at the Battle of Pea Ridge.