The Role Of Propaganda In American Civil War

Dialogue: “All person held as slaves within any state … shall be then … forever

The Manipulation of the Public by a Small Group of Southern Fanatics as the Cause of the Civil War

The United States Government used different forms of media as propaganda that played on the diversity of America, portrayed the Germans as evil, and America as the last hope for the world. The use of propaganda was necessary to gain the support of American civilians in the war effort at a time when many Americans wanted to remain in a state of isolationism, however this the propaganda created some hostility towards Germany. Argument 1: The American population at the time of WW1 was composed of several different ethnicities. People of different ethnicities were trying to prove that they were American despite where they came from.

Europeans, after the rise of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, vindicated the enslaving of Africans by depending on religious authority because they supposedly followed God’s will (notes). According to Pope Nicholas V, the African enslavement has helped the Catholic Church (source A). In a 1455 letter, he wrote, “... A large number of these have been converted to the Catholic faith…” (source A). The quote suggests the pontiff held a positive outlook on slavery, but he only supported it for the conversion of the slaves (notes). Over 100 years later, a letter surfaced from Jesuit Brother Luis Bandaon to Father Sandoval that read he and other educated Fathers from Brazil support slavery for the purpose of more conversions and labor (source B and

The Bible’s verses concerning slavery contradict other verses in several places when discussing slavery and the treatment of slaves. Ephesians 6:5-9 instructs masters to “give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.” Galatians 3:28 states that “[T]here is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Again, the Bible illustrates that slaves were equal to all others, stating “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, … whether we be bond of free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” Abolitionists undoubtedly used these quotes in order to put an end to slavery.

"That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then

Views and ideologies shifted during and after the American Revolution, taking many different forms, and seemed to change more than once over time. There were different viewpoints on rights, freedom, and liberty, and views on these things continue to change even today. However, some noticeable changes in these three foundations from then are the change in ideologies from the beginning of the era to the end, how rights were defined and seen, and how freedom and liberty are viewed based on your ideology. Changes in these foundations typically happen after a significant event or movement, such as during the American Revolution, the Civil War era, the Cold War, or even the September 11th attacks in New York. Ideology has changed in America throughout

The Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln declared that all people held as slaves within the rebel states, are now and forever free. This quote is especially important because it demonstrates the effects on society after the Proclamation was signed. Because of these effects, the focus turned from war into the societal “problems” that this Proclamation brought about. The Emancipation was a “turning point in national policy and in the character of war.” Lincoln knew that the residents of the border states would never support abolition as a war aim, therefore he did

“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free...” () was the first lines of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863 during the height of the Civil War. So, what now? All the slaves in America are free, right?

The owners of these slaves were Catholic and they force their workers to convert to Catholicism. They had no say in the matter, but to follow what their master said to them. In the other hand, many continued practices their native religion at the same time. This

The Civil War forever changed how media was consumed, especially during war times. Never before had there been such a public outcry for consumption of news and updates of what exactly was happening on the different fronts. Plenty of printing presses existed across the country, and newly invented cameras paved the way for new ways people could witness the war. News traveled more quickly as well with the use of railroads to distribute daily papers. While some areas of media stayed the same on both sides of the war, there were some differences, such as exactly how much of the media was consumed on either side. Both sides had problems with generals shutting down newspapers, however the two sides were vastly different in how they were able to handle the ginormous growth of media consumption.

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.

“That on the first day of January A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the

Christian churches were using books such as A Catechism to support the actions of slavery. This excerpt from A Catechism can show how slavery was not just pushed onto Black Americans, but also by white property owning males through religion to push the idea of slavery into the heads of Black Americans. “Q: Who gave you a master and a mistress? A: God gave them to me Q: Who says you must obey them? A: God says I must …Q: Who says that you must obey them?

Hurst wrote about Civil War battles he was in and mentions the propaganda he witnessed over a four-year span. He remarked how outlandish the Southern newspapers were. It is unusual for a general, who is amongst the chaos of the war, to notice something seemingly trivial. “We are daily in receipt of newspapers of Augusta and Savannah, and of the rural districts, which our foragers bring in; and we laugh ourselves to tears sometimes at their ‘last ditch’ literature. Half-scared to death, and yet boastful and defiant, they exhibit a rich combination of the coward and the braggart” (Hurst, 2012, p. 159). While being in the middle of the war, Hurst had a unique viewpoint that most other journalists missed, ignored, or failed to write about. It is unusual to look at the Civil War as a propagandist war, yet multiple current sources allude to that. Hurst’s realization was quite telling; now historians whom examined the press after the war are able to see the blatant transparency. “To modern readers, the acerbic tone of the era’s reporting seems more akin to partisan propaganda than objective journalism” (Davis & Robertson, 2009, p. 35). This further reiterates what Hurst picked up on and shows how both the North and South journalists wrote in a propagandist tone.