The Civil War in the Film Glory Essay

The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.

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.

The movie called “Glory” is a historical military based story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. In the movie “Glory” we see the struggle of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who is the main character of this movie, and the supporting cast, being his regiment of African Americans recruited to become soldiers during the Civil War. “Glory”, however, Is not just a movie. It is based off of real life events in history during our Civil War, where the African Americans took their first step towards gaining respect, and freedom from oppression.

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.

Eventually, the treatment of African Americans that Harper so vehemently is against in her poem and Whitehead writes about in his novel sends the United States into a Civil War. Eleven southern states formed the Confederate States of America in which they fought a devastating four year war against the United States. The Civil War drastically changed the treatment of African Americans. The movie Glory is evidence of this. Glory is a civil war movie about the first African American regiment in the United States military. Their commander-Colonel Robert Gould Shaw- is white. The movie details the triumphs and hardships of the regiment, who at first seem to have trouble with one another and their commander, but grow to form a bond of camaraderie. The movie shows just how much hope the African American men have for their country because while they were in the army they were given no good reasons to feel as if they were Americans. They were mistreated by the white regiments and subject to worse conditions. The white men don't’ believe their capabilities, so they do not fight. Eventually their commander tells army officials , “ There's character. There's strength of heart. You should have seen us in action two days ago. We were a sight to see!” (Zwick). This leads the military to ask the regiment to lead a charge on Fort Wagner, a charge they know to be a death sentence. The most touching part of this scene is that these men are not one bit afraid to die for their country. Their

“It [drove] a deeper wedge between the northern and southern wings of both political parties,” states Robert Kagan (Document 2B). The Civil War occurred because the nation was divided. Some of the divisions were caused by their distinct economies. In addition, they were politically divided by their opposing views. Throughout the 1850s, tension began to increase because of these differences, eventually leading to the Civil War. The two most influential differences that eventually led to the Civil War were the North and the South had diverse economies and opposing political views on slavery.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Abraham Lincoln). In other words, the United States, which was split into the North and South, could not stand with the uprising of conflict. The wise words of Abraham Lincoln foreshadowed the Civil War, which would become one of the worst wars in the United State’s history. Disagreement between the northern and southern states began long before the Civil War; in fact, as far back as colonial times. The North and South were not able to accept each other’s differences and come to a compromise, so they divided. During the early years of the republic, these differences between them grew greater as their distrust in each other intensified. Throughout the time period leading up to the Civil War, the

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

It is often misunderstood when determining what caused the American Civil War. There are many key components that led to the war between the Unions and the Confederates. The many components consists of unresolved constitutional issues, the economy, slaves, politics, and cultural components.

Civil War is considered the first "Modern War" because it was the first war after the industrial revolution. More technology was invented, and modern weapons were used which lead to a great death toll and medicine. It was the war that transformed our country and it was considered the first photographed war. It began when the Second Confiscation Act was passed. It states that confederate states that rebelled against the government or committed treason were to have all their slaves freed. What made the complete shift from preserving the union to end slavery was Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation which took away slavery from the confederate stated. The Emancipation was not immediately released but encouraged for four reasons:

In 1861, the American Civil War commenced after many years of tension building between the Northern and Southern states. The main reason of the tension was said to be the debate of slavery between the North and South, and although some documents support this claim, it is false. The war had been brewing since 1607, before slavery was even introduced to the colonies that would become the United States of America. The debate of slavery did play a major part in the civil war; however it did so in supporting the true cause of the civil war. The main cause of the American Civil War was not the debate of slavery, but rather Europe’s role in the American economy.

The film, Glory is shown in the point of view of Colonel Shaw, a white officer in the Civil War and his enlistment of black soldiers in the 54th colored regiment. This film shows accurate historical facts of several memorable battles the 54th coloured regiment had fought on for the Union army. In the film, one of the most favorable characters would be Sergeant Major Rawlins. Rawlins was at first, one of the enlistment soldiers during the first few months of his enlistment. Rawlins seems to be one of the most admirable characters due to his cool and calming nature rather than the other rambunctious, rebellious natures of other soldiers such as a black soldier named Trip.

The film Glory by Edward Zwick is one of the most well-known films of all time. The film itself is solely based upon the first formal unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War which consist of all African American men. They were essentially the very first unit of United States Colored Troops. They were formally known for their courageous attempts to and actions at Fort Wagner in 1863. The film is set in many different locations such as New York, Maryland, South Carolina and Massachusetts. In each of these different locations events took place that shaped our history. For example on November twenty seventh of 1862 Robert Shaw started to train soldiers. July eighteenth 1863 the Colonel Shaw and his troops attempted to take Fort Wagner, which didn’t succeed.

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 Glory, the primary muse of the movie is reviewing the period of time that included the first idea of the Emancipation Proclamation. Many African Americans were enlisted as troop to first serve manual labor until a dedicated Colonel encouraged those to involve the men in war that they have been preparing for. The characters embodied in the film acted historically accurate compared to those that lived during the actual time period. Considering that the movie was mainly based on the growing of the colored troops that gave up their freedom to fight in war, Glory was built ideologically to pertain to a sole point. Glory displays an exclusive point of view solely from the colored soldiers as well as the officers about the prime historical event