Isaac Murphy: The American Civil War

The analysis of how the Southern States lost the Civil War is based on three articles, each with a different perspective. According to Died of Democracy by David Donald, the Confederates were defeated because of internal challenges facing the 11 Sothern States seeking independence. Some of the challenges facing the Confederate States of America included a predominantly agricultural economy and slave revolts. In Why the South Lost by Beringer et al., the authors argue that the Confederates lost because of their weak nationalism, which was constantly undermined by the feelings of guilt over slavery. Confederates’ nationalism had shallow foundations, which caused the Southern to lack the will to fight for their nation. In the Blue over Grey: Why the North Won George Frederickson articulates that the North prevailed over the South because the North’s social system was more adaptive to the changing present. From the accounts of the war, it is clear that Southern States had the will to fight for their ideologies and social system. The Southern society was less innovate and adaptive; however, the internal challenges facing the Confederates states of America is the best explanation for why the South lost the Civil War.

James McPherson was born on October 11th 1936, he is an American Civil War historian. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom, his most famous book. McPherson was the president of the American Historical Association in 2003, and is a member of the editorial board of Encyclopedia Britannica. In his early career McPherson wanted to leave a legacy as being known for the historian who focusses on more than one point. Through skillful narrative in a broad-ranging oeuvre of essays and books, McPherson has succeeded in telling both stories, combining social, political, and military history to reach a broad scholarly and popular audience, emphasizing all the while that the Civil War constituted a “second American Revolution.” Examining thousands of letters and diaries written by soldiers to gather a better insight and understanding, McPherson argued that deep political and ideological convictions about liberty, slavery, religion, and nation were the fundamental reasons that men on both sides enlisted and fought. McPherson’s views on the Civil War are broad in comparison to many other writers, he believes there are multiple causes to the war but that the underlying cause was slavery and that Southern states used the saying “States’ Rights” to justify their actions of slavery and secession. It became a psychological necessity for the South to deny that the war was about slavery that they were fighting for the preservation, defense and

Each of the persons ,John Brown, Stephen Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln, with their own niche roles contributed greatly to the coming and the inevitability of the Civil War. Lincoln being chief among these people in respects to importance to the coming of the Civil War was a huge catalyst to the civil war through his election to presidency without the votes of a single southern state, and his debates with Stephen Douglas. Douglas was another large part of the fruition of the Civil War through his Compromise of 1850, and the Douglas-Lincoln debates which lead to Lincoln winning the election. John Brown while not contributing to the coming of the war as Lincoln or Douglas still played his role by becoming a martyr for the Republican-Abolitionist cause. Each person while contributing unique aspects to the onslaught that was the Civil War had one thing in common, they all progressed it 's coming heavily making the Civil War almost inevitable.

The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."

Robert Gould Shaw, born in Boston into an abolitionist family, naturally sided with the Union in the Civil War. He had received an education from Harvard prior to entering the family business and when the secession of the south began his sense of duty required him to join the Union. Shaw was a natural leader and quickly was promoted from Lieutenant to Colonel. As a man who proved his worth as a military leader and his family open support for the integration of freed black slaves into the military, it is only fitting that he obtained a command leading the first all-black unit the 54th Massachusetts regiment. This command defined his military career and earned him the respect of his troops and the African American community well beyond his

Lewis Addison Armistead was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He participated in the Mexican American War, the Mojave War, and the Civil War. Armistead’s heritage included great participation in the military of the United States and ties to Virginia during the colonial period.

James Ewell Brown Stuart or J.E.B. Stuart is known for his military expertise on both the Union and Confederate sides during the Civil War. Coming from a family of famous military commanders, Stuart grew up with the knowledge of war and combat. He served under Robert E. Lee, and was involved in many important battles leading up to the start of the Civil War. He eventually follows his commander and became part of Confederacy. Stuart really helped the Confederates, not only by commanding army regiments but also by attaining information during reconnaissance missions. His missions helped them win several battles but in the end not following orders was the death of him.

It was a dark and wet June evening in 1863 when Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart (J.E.B. Stuart) received the order. Maintain contact with the enemy, harass and impeded the northerners if they attempt to cross the Potomac River, and guard the Blue Ridge’s mountain passes. If the enemy attempts to cross the river, cross first and stay on the Confederate’s right flank. The orders were clear enough for execution. General Robert E. Lee often issued orders that gave his trusted subordinates the leeway to conduct operations as they saw fit. Only this time, not even the strategically talented General Lee could predict the necessity of having Stuart’s Cavalry support the Army of Northern Virginia’s advance from the front and flank while maneuvering into Gettysburg.

Some people argue there should not be statues honoring “traitors” such as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis, who fought against the Union. Victors of wars get to write the history, and the history they write often does not reflect the facts. Let us look at some of the facts and ask: Did the South have a right to secede from the Union? If it did, we cannot label Confederate generals as traitors.

When one thinks about the American Civil War that waged from 1861-1864, the question at hand begs to be asked: what could the Confederacy have done to win the war? Ideally, according to Robert G. Tanner in his book Retreat to Victory? the idea that the south might have won the war had it used a different strategy might be impossible to answer. That being said, Tanner argues that amongst many theories that have developed over what the Confederacy could have done to win the Civil War, the strategy commonly referred to as Fabian would not be a prosperous endeavor by the Confederacy due to the southern geography, people and most importantly through the Confederacy’s generals.

On the eve of the Election of 1864, God won't let Master Lincoln end this war until he does the right thing. Master Lincoln's needs to punish de south we ain't gettin justices until dem slave owners are punish. I'm negro women but this negro woman ought to tell master Lincoln that compromise would mean that all the suffering, and sacrifice of the past three and half years would be all in waste. Let Dem slave own would prevail.

In, “Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution”, James M. McPherson analyzes the Civil War and how Lincoln played a role in affecting the outcome and development of the war. McPherson not only portrays Lincoln’s role, but also his strategy and ability to unite a nation that was on the verge of collapsing.

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

In the Civil War the North had many advantages over the South. The South was outnumbered, out supplied, and pushed into a corner using military tactics. Many things changed because of the Civil War. The military tactics used by the North changed how war was fought from then on. Many changes were made politically; some were only temporary, while others were permanent. After the war was over, the country was reunited and the image of the soul and duty of our country redefined.

In 1861, a horrific war began. Nobody had any idea that this war would become the deadliest war in American history. It wasn’t a regular war, it was a civil war opposing the Union in the North and the Confederate States in the South.. The Civil War cost many people’s lives on the battlefield and beyond. In addition it cost an extreme amount of money for the nation which possibly could have been avoided if the war had turned to happen a little differently.