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Civil War Chapter Summaries

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Although society has been brought to believe that soldiers in the Civil War, both North and South, were mere illiterate followers, not knowing what the war was about or who they what they were fighting for, James McPherson argues otherwise; contradicting popular belief. Throughout the use of primary sources, the author emphasizes the moral and ideological factors in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Inside these primary sources, the reader can look through the mind of the soldier and discover their real motives of fighting in the war through the medium of the letters exchanged to friends and family. For the duration of the second chapter, McPherson focuses on the underlying reasons as to why the Union soldiers fought with great force and determination through the course of the Civil War. The Unionists believed in conserving the democracy our founding fathers had established hundreds of years ago. They strongly thought that the man who did not give his hearty support to their country is not worthy to be a descendant of our forefathers. Tied in with the establishment of the Unites States, the …show more content…

Nationalism was a big factor, both Union like Confederate soldiers believed in making their fellow founding fathers proud of what they had become. The book portrays the Confederate soldiers as proud of being “rebels”, quoting names like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as examples of “rebellious” men in their time period. The Unionists stuck to their idealism of preserving the union, making nationalism more prominent in their area. Both sides also appealed to what the United States was founded on, freedom and liberty. The Unionists believed that they should conserve the government which granted everyone liberty. Confederates believed that the government established was the actual problem, rebelling to restore the real liberty that our country was founded

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The Civil War. Louis P. Masur’s book, The civil War: a Concise History, Is a book that gives an overview of the civil war from 18 to 1800, Providing multiple causes an consequences that emerged from the war. The book begins by reviewing the origins of the war. Chapter one covers the issues between northern and southern states and the tension over right and slave possession. The tension created a conflict that raised a number of political, social, and military events that then proceeded into a battle to abolish slavery from the colonies.

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299 Words | 2 Pages

In Makers of America: Billy Yank and Johnny Reb, it was interesting to learn that Union and Confederate soldiers shared a common commitment to fight for the cause of liberty, independence, and republican government. However, their interpretation of liberty, independence, and government are very different. The societies from the Union were more literate, intellectual, practical, and efficient. Therefore, they abolished slavery because they think it was immoral and favored a strong central government to make things efficient. The societies from the Confederate were more emotional, religious, and personal.

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156 Words | 1 Pages

In chapter one of What They Fought For, I learned about the letters and diaries of the Confederate soldiers. The themes of the letters were home-sickness, lack of peace, and the defense of home against their invading enemy. The thought of soldiers fighting for their homes and being threatened by invaders, made them stronger when facing adversity. Many men expressed that they would rather die fighting for a cause, than dying without trying and this commitment showed patriotism. Throughout the letters, soldiers claimed their reason for fighting, was for the principles of Constitutional liberty and self-government.

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80 Words | 1 Pages

Hahn discusses how blacks exploited the Civil War. Slaves were leaving their owners and enrolling in the Union Army. This made slavery a key issue of the conflict between the North and South. The post-war period was filled with confusion and chaos.

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997 Words | 4 Pages

Even though McPherson’s discoveries are different from most historians, he proves his thesis with strong arguments, supportive evidence, various sources, and clear information prior to and after the Civil War. By investigating events in chronological order, McPherson allows readers to learn exactly how and why men became motivated to become soldiers in the Civil War. Once McPherson set the scene with information prior to the Civil War, he began to examine the different categories of motivation for men from both sides who enlisted in the Civil War. Traditionally, historians say duty, honor, and strong beliefs are what caused men to become soldiers

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1091 Words | 5 Pages

Southern soldiers viewed the confederacy as their country and were compelled to fight for the safety of it. Confederate soldiers enlisted to protecting their native lands from what they understood as invaders. The Confederacy sentiments of the Union was they were imposing upon the southern way of life. For instance, a young soldier from Kentucky wrote “sink or swim, survive or perish” (McPherson 11). The average Confederate soldier felt that they the Union was trying to destroy the legacy of the founder fathers by enslaving them and reversing the actions of the American Revolution.

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474 Words | 2 Pages

James M. McPherson is an American Civil War historian and also a Pulitzer Prize winner for Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. This book is packed with details but mostly about the political movements that initiated and supplemented the war efforts on behalf of the Union and Confederacy. McPherson's prose is easy to understand and he is not ever at a loss for words. This book is very long and is geared towards to the nation of readers who relish data and text about the Civil War. Along with the political overtones, he does not neglect the military details and reflects on the social aspects of the people who lived through this time.

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75 Words | 1 Pages

Works Cited Civil War Times. Curiosities. June 2003. 42,67. Web.

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228 Words | 1 Pages

McPherson addresses an issue/problem people have had when we talk/write about the Civil War. That problem is what was both sides truly fighting for. This war broke up the Union into two parts, North and South. Without the war happening, America would not be same America as today. We as Americans need to know the real reason why in 1861, the North and South went against each other and that was because of slavery.

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1063 Words | 5 Pages

The living legacy of the United States Civil War is a complicated time in American history one finds difficult to describe. The ramification of the war prior, during and after still haunt the current citizens who call The States their home. Tony Horwitz’s book Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War looks at the wide gap of discontent that still looms in the late 1990s. For some southerners, the Confederacy still lives on through reenactments, stories and beliefs. For others in the South, reminders the land was dedicated to the Confederacy spark hatred and spite.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore, "most Southern volunteers believed they were fighting for liberty as well as slavery" (McPherson, p. 20). The southerners fought for their independence and the right of their state unlike slavery being the cause of Civil War as has been highlighted in the history The Southern soldiers were strong in their belief that fighting is the only way through which they could actually preserve their Southern nation and if they backed off from the war they would "no longer have a country worthy of the name" (McPherson, p. 99). Southerners refused that they fought for slavery as they strongly believed in preserving the honor and culture of their Southern

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347 Words | 2 Pages

1. Chapter 11 of 1 Kings describes the reason for the Israelite civil war differently than does chapter 12. What is the benefit of juxta-positioning these two chapters? There are many benefits of juxta-positioning the Israelite civil war in Chapter 11 and 12 of 1 Kings. First, the different motives for the conflicts demonstrate the variety of ways humans can sin and betray God.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

In February 1861, a new government was on the horizon in the United States, known as the Confederate States of America. Composed of seven states from the South, this new government looked to separate from a union that they felt was tipping in power towards those who wanted to threaten the rights of the South, especially slavery. Similarly, in early 1775, colonists were preparing for revolution against a power that they felt oppressed their rights and wanted to take away their liberties. However, the Civil War was a not a complete representation of a second American Revolution. The Civil War was more than an unsatisfied party rebelling against a larger power, but a clash between two vastly different ways of life.

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890 Words | 4 Pages

In Punitive War: Confederate Guerrillas and Union Reprisals, Clay Mountcastle provides a detail account on how the Union’s attitude and actions changes during the Civil War due to the guerrilla actions against them. The point of Punitive War is not to illustrate the guerrilla actions, but focuses on the Union Army’s response the aggression. The purpose of this study is to educate those interested in military history, such as Officers in the United States Army or simple college students, on how guerilla warfare can and will frustrate a large, professional military force. The message Mountcastle is trying to get across is that guerrilla warfare did had a huge effect on the Union Army’s action and that the true value of this aggressive behavior

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777 Words | 4 Pages

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” -Abraham Lincoln. The American Civil War, which occurred between 1861 and 1865, pit brother against brother in a fight for freedom: both slaves and Confederates. Southern agricultural states seceded from the industrialized Union in the North.

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