Broderick Perlman December 10, 2014 Professor Padgett History of the Civil War Final paper Research Paper The dictionary defines a leader as “the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country.” It takes a great leader to make a country run smoothly, properly and have it be as successful as possible. Abraham Lincoln was that great leader, he was able to command respect, think rationally about all decisions and lead his nation to great heights in the mist of such a terrible tragedy. Unfortunately the south did have such a leader to run their country in the time of the Civil War. Jefferson Davis was an inept leader that sealed doom for his nation in the most important war of all time for the confederacy. Although he was very …show more content…
As a new nation it was time to choose a leader to run this country. In 1861 senator Jefferson Davis was promoted Major General of the Mississippi army. However, he needed for greater things. Jefferson Davis at this point had such a decorated resume that he seemed like an easy choice for a candidate to begin to run this new nation. He was willing to do whatever his country needed of him. The election was held and he won by a majority. After receiving this honor he did not show jubilation, but rather concern for the years ahead for him. Early in to Davis’s presidency he was already facing the toughest choice of his life. Fort Sumter was up in the air for who was going to control it, the North or the South. Davis has to decide whether or not to use military force to take it and potentially start a war between the North and the South. He thought it would show weakness to not use force to take it and thus started the Civil War. Davis quick thinking realizing how brutal the war could possibly immediately assigned one of the best generals in the world at this point, Robert E. Lee, to lead the troops if the South. From that point on most the military strategy came either Davis himself or from Robert E. Lee with very few others making any impact on the strategy. Davis ended up becoming consumed with power and started making bone headed decisions. He chooses to ignore Robert E. Lee’s advice and tried to defend every part of the south with the same amount of effort. This ended up spreading his forces much to thin and made them very vulnerable to any sort of attack. “Throughout the devastation, although not without objection, Davis maintained his position as the military and civilian leader of the Confederacy” . “As President of the Confederacy, Davis orchestrated a war effort that resulted in the death of at least 620,000 Confederate and Union soldiers and an
The Civil War was provoked for several reasons which included industry, slavery, and territorial disputes among the Northern states and Southern states of the newly established United States. The first recorded engagement of war between the North and South is documented to have taken place on April 12th, 1861 at The Battle of Fort Sumter. This was the starting point of a war that would claim over 600,000 American lives in a relatively short span of 4 years.
After the defeat at Fort Sumter there were some northerners that tried to get Lincoln to let the south go. When deciding weather to take Fort Sumter by bombardment, one of Davis's ideas was a bargain with Washington , maybe purchase, for the peaceful turnover of the fort and other federal holding in the seceded states. Thinking Confederate independence was inescapable, Davis prayed that they would slow down long enough to recognize that they could save millions of dollars and many lives by stopping this. He believed that the honor of the Confederate States of America (CSA) would be reestablished if everyone seen Davis challenge Lincoln successfully. While dealing with all of this he still was ready to take Fort Sumter. Davis just wanted peace and to be left alone. The South was fighting a defensive war, which gave it inherent advantage.
I chose the Civil War because I enjoy the history of the United States. I thought the Civil War be an interesting topic since it was a big part of slavery. The Civil War changed our history so I think that is why people find it such a popular part of history, and most likely the reason I enjoy learning history. A bonus was that I already knew three things about the Civil War era. Abraham Lincoln was also the first president who declared he was going to get rid of slavery. If the Union didn't win the war, I believe we would still have slavery. Also, that the Union and Confederate each had their own president.
The Civil War split the nation in half. It tore apart families, and Union soldiers against Confederate soldiers for four miserable years. From the first shots fired at Fort Sumter 1861, and ending with a unanimous Confederate victory in 1865. All in all 630,000 people died and many thousands wounded. The deaths in the Civil War totally surpassed the death totals from any other war (1). For those managed to survive the up hill battle just began, they faced many unknowns in a world moving in an uncertain direction. With the north beating the succeeded south in the war, politicians faced a hard task of reuniting the divided country. With reconstruction now in affect, both northern workers, and southern farmers now face many new obstacles and
The Civil war was not inevitable; it was the result of extremism and failures of leadership on both sides. This war was long forthcoming; we see this conflict as a nation divided or as Lincoln put it a house divided (Doc 4). It was a conflict between pro-slavery southerners and anti-slavery northerners. Both sides felt strongly about their position, leading to neither side backing down. However, this war could have been avoided through a compromise of stronger leadership and less extremism.
take about hundred years later after the Civil War (1861-65) for the United States’ government to pass the Civil Rights Bill in 1964 recognizing the black community’s rights? Basically, the Civil War was about fighting for what kind of labor force was going to prevail. The north represented for a free labor economy while the South fought for the preservation of slavery. As Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor stated that the “wealth and power were not equally distributed in Southern society” (Yamahtta). While a small white proportion owned slaves in the South, the rest contributed in the southern society by maintaining order. In the North, free blacks were an obstacle for whites since they were constantly competing with each other for occupations. As a result, the
If you were a general for the confederacy you had to be able to command many people. Document 4 said, “The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one” (Document 4). The Union generals had to be okay with being in charge of nearly double what the Confederate generals had to. Because the troops were so much bigger people thought the north would easily be able to take the win, but that is not exactly what happened. The Confederacy put up a bigger fight then the Union expected, plus at the beginning of the war the Union had some mediocre at best generals.
The overall reason of the Civil War was through the separation between the South and the North. The North was industrializing at an incredible rate. The South was resisting industrialization in favor of their plantation lifestyle. The North was modernizing much faster which accelerated "enlightened" thinking. There were tens of thousands of railroads built in the U.S., with over 90% of them being built in the North. Both the North and the South believed in a different type of lifestyle and economy. Although, Fort Sumter was the main cause of the Civil War, root causes are the reason that the Civil War developed such as the debate of slavery, Industry vs. Farming, and election and presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
When the Civil War erupted at the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861, fighting was mainly driven by political tensions, all of which ultimately spawned from the question of slavery. During the Antebellum Period, the United States experienced a gradually intensifying sectional conflict that threatened the unity of the nation. Compromises between the North and South had become futile. Contrary to popular belief, the goals of Lincoln and the North did not involve the emancipation of slaves and restoration of equality and the opportunity of prosperity for all Americans. Most Northerners fought to preserve the newly split Union, while Southerners fought to protect what they believed to be inalienable states’ rights. Ultimately, precarious African American
In 1861, a Civil War broke out between the Union States and Confederate States of America. Many influences led to this battle, but there were 3 main disagreements that initiated the Civil War. The debate in the North and South about slavery’s cruelty and ethicality was a primary cause of the war. Another main cause was the fairness of the decision of the state’s rights and the fairness of the rights that the states had. In addition to the other 2 controversies, the allowing and wanting for states to disjoin the Union was another cause.
Reconstruction in the south began after the Civil War. As a part of the reconstruction, freed slaves were rewarded for their loyalty to the Union by having land distributed to them. This gesture was believed to be the catalyst for allowing the newly freed men to better their lives and provide them with opportunities that they had not previously imagined. They were now considered United States citizens, and therefore, expected to benefit from all of the rights of this new citizenship. The reality, however, would prove to be not nearly as promising as the dream. Land ownership was important to their development as new citizens, as it would provide them with the opportunity to establish their own homes, and benefit from their own labor.
Perhaps the most important factor that led to the Union’s victory at Fort Donelson was the lack of effective leadership on the Confederate side. Of the four general officers present at the fort, only General Buckner had any military experience; a West Point graduate and friend of General Grant. The overall commander, General Floyd, was a political appointee. Prior to the war, he was the Secretary of War under President James Buchanan. The Union, on the other hand, had General Grant. Grant was known for his uncanny approach to war
On February 18, 1861, the provisional Congress of the Confederate States made him provisional president. He was elected to the office by popular vote the same year for a 6-year term and was inaugurated in Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy, on February 22, 1862. Davis failed to raise sufficient money to fight the American Civil War and could not obtain recognition and help for the Confederacy from foreign governments. He was in constant conflict with extreme exponents of the doctrine of states' rights, and his attempts to have high military officers appointed by the president were opposed by the governors of the states. The judges of state courts constantly interfered in military matters through judicial decisions. Davis was nevertheless responsible for the raising of the formidable Confederate armies, the notable appointment of General Robert E. Lee as commander of the Army of Virginia, and the encouragement of industrial enterprise throughout the South. His zeal, energy, and faith in the cause of the South were a source of much of the tenacity with which the Confederacy fought the Civil War. Even in 1865 Davis still hoped the South would be able to
When leading a country in war is a completely fatal choice, you would think the president would pick the strongest, most intelligent person to lead our country into victory, right? Well that wasn’t the case for the Civil War in 1861-1865. You may have heard of all the bad generals from Braxton Bragg, to Benjamin Butler, and you’ve probably heard of George McClellan, a field commander, and not a good one to say the least.
The American Civil War, which began in 1861 to 1865, has gone down in history as the one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the United States of America, thus far. At that time, questions had arose wondering how the United States ever got so close to hitting rock bottom, especially being that it was a conflict within the country itself. Hostility steadily grew through the years dividing the nation further and further, and finally leading to the twelfth day in April 1861 in Fort Sumter, North Carolina. The American Civil War was an irrepressible battle and aside from the obvious physical effects of the war, the disagreement over states rights, the act of slavery, and the raising of tariffs played crucial roles in the