Chandra Manning And The Civil War

Beginning as a battle of army versus army, the war became a conflict of society against society. In this kind of war, the ability to mobilize economic resources, the effectiveness of political leadership, and a society’s willingness to keep up the fight despite setbacks, are as crucial to the outcome as success or failure on the battlefields. Unfortunately for the Southern planters, by the spring of 1865, the South was exhausted, and on April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the war.

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 first roar of the Civil War ended with a last gasp for air. Where in such a war more than six hundred twenty thousand men sacrificed their lives for their own belief in the abolishment of slavery (“Civil War Facts”). “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom” (Baslor). These wise words of Abraham Lincoln cleared the way of a desolate trail of violence and pain, yet he was determined to accomplish his plans of abolishing slavery and creating equality. The Civil War, began in 1861 and ended in 1865, yet it was known as one of the bloodiest wars America has ever walked through compared to other American Wars (“Civil War Facts”). After the Civil War

Despite the differences in the primary reasons for Northerners in the war, Gallagher and Manning’s arguments align on certain aspects of slavery: both argue that in order for the Union to successfully win the war, slavery needed to be abolished. Gallagher argues that many northerners realized that in order to end the war and to rid nation of conflict and threat to the Union, slavery would need to be abolished. He argues, “Without slavery and the various issues related to its expansion, most white northerners could envision no serious internal threat to their beloved union.” Similarly, Manning also argues that there was a threat to the union because of slavery, whether Northerners liked it or not: “In 1861, a large and growing number of ordinary soldiers believed that a war endangering the Union had come about because of slavery. White Southerners’ willingness to destroy the Union over slavery made the war about slavery whether an individual Union soldier wanted it that way or not.” Therefore, Manning’s argument states that there is a need for the end of slavery in order to preserve the Union.

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 was the war that divided the young American nation into two opposing sides. One side being the North, also called the Union, and the second side being the South, also called the Confederacy. The root cause of why the South seceded from the Union has been debated and argued since the beginning of the war in 1861. Most people argue that the argument, between the North and the South, over slavery was the main reason why the South left the Union. However, the issue has to be more complex than just the issue with slavery. The root cause of the of the South secession from the Union was a combination of the South’s aggravation and fear over their dependence on the North for their economic prosperity and their dependence on slavery for a highly profitable economy.

Slavery did play an important role in the Civil War, but it was not what the war was originally based on. James M. McPherson explains in his book, “What They Fought For” the reasons why the Union and Confederacy started the Civil War. This book review will analyze the author’s purpose, his main argument, the evidence used, whether the book succeeded in its goals, and whether I would recommend this book or not.

There has been much historical debate over the origins of The American Civil War, with some historians arguing that it was due to the rising Abolition Movement and others arguing that it was due to economic factors, such as the fundamental differences between the Northern and Southern economies. Many Historians tend to agree that although the war did not begin because of slavery, it influenced the events and outcome of the war itself, as the cause became one of emancipation. Historiography of the Civil War doesn’t describe the origins of the Civil War as being purely economic and frequently the view of the Civil War as ‘a crusade against the evil of slavery’ is rejected. Other factors to consider when examining the origins of the Civil War include political decisions such as The Missouri Compromise and public reactions to them, economic differences and the Abolition Movement. In my opinion, I think that race had the largest influence in causing The American Civil War due to the rise and influence of the Abolition Movement.

During the Civil War, there were two sides, the Confederate Army and the Union Army. While the Confederates fought for slavery, the Union fought for their freedom. While the

The American Civil War was a military conflict between the United States of America (the Union), and 11 secessionist Southern states, organized as the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy). It was the culmination of four decades of intense sectional conflict and it reflected deep-seated economic, social, and political differences between the North and the South. Many books have been written on this “first modern war” describing how over 620,000 men were killed. Jeff Shaara goes deeper and explores the personal conflicts of four historical figures, two from the South and two from North: General Lee, General Jackson, Colonel Chamberlain, and Hancock.

Moral over matter? The Civil War was a fight to the death on the principle of setting another man free. It was a brutal for year battle, Union VS Confederacy, Yankees VS Rebels, pledging their last measure. The Civil War is one of the most famous wars in the world. Most Civil War information focuses on the victors, the Union/Yankees. The cause of this war began with the Compromise of 1850 which tried to maintain political balance between free and slave states in Congress. However, the election of 1860 was the final straw, causing the separation of the northern and southern states. The southern states seceded because they feared Abraham Lincoln, now president, would abolish slavery thus causing the Civil War. The Civil War began in 1861 at Fort Sumter and ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. While the Confederacy had undeniably talented generals, their well known arrogance may have been the cause of their demise.

The Civil War that erupted on April 2nd in 1861 was the result of many compromises and indifferences within the United States. Some of the many known factors that resulted in the civil war were the Northern and Southern differences on the outcome of slavery, tariffs imposed on the South that went unpaid, and political factions that led to the split of the Union and the Confederate States. These factors are known, but whether they made the civil war irrepressible is arguable. Many historians have pondered the irrepressibility of the Civil war. Some historians, such as Avery Craven, argue that the war could have been avoided, while other historians such as Eric Foner, Philip Foner, and Eugene Genovese, argue that the civil war was an unavoidable

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.

The American Civil War raged on between 1861 and 1864, pitting the Northern States against the Southern States. There was great tension that had been building up for several reasons, and the biggest issue was slavery in the South. Southerners fought to keep their slaves, while Northerners wanted to eliminate the spread of slavery. These letters show the shift in gender roles, feelings toward the enemy, and the experiences the soldiers had during the war.

The Civil War was a struggle for leadership between the Northerners and Southerners as the later tried to agitate for secession from the union. Most Americans believe that the Civil war began as a result of slavery or it led to the end of the latter but these are misunderstood episodes of the American History. According to James Illingworth, the civil war began as a result of the Southerners continued quest for the end of the American Union and the fight for states’ rights contrary to the general political leanings on the issue of slavery (Illingworth). The connection between civil war and slavery was the willingness of the slaves to fight for their masters in both divides in exchange for freedom.