ipl-logo

Review Of What They Fought For By James M. Mcpherson

614 Words3 Pages

The book What They Fought for written by James M. McPherson is a small set of pages that focused on the reason why soldiers from both sides the Union and Confederate were risking their lives to fight during the Civil War. He claims that Civil War soldiers do know what they are fighting for unlike other historians who say the opposite. McPherson backs his claims by using letters and diaries from the Civil War soldiers as his main source to prove his statement. In the first chapter “The holy cause of liberty and independence” focuses on the thoughts and opinions of the Confederate armies. Bitter enmity and want for revenge became the drive to fight for most Confederate soldiers. The letters and diaries in this chapter were directed to loved one’s back home. They expressed their thoughts about the war and how they wished to be back home. Confederates fought for independence, for their property and way of life, for their survival as a nation. The second chapter “The Best Government On God’s Footstool” main focal points are on the Union soldier’s reasons for fighting in the Civil War. Their thoughts are different from the Confederate soldiers and is shown throughout this chapter. They thought that the Confederate army were traitors and were mainly fighting because they thought it was …show more content…

Both sides showed different opinions one trying to keep slavery while the other wanted to get rid of it. The North wanted to abolish slavery because it was against the Constitution and wanted racial equality. The Confederate soldiers were fighting for their right to have slavery and own slaves. Throughout the war they realized that the war would end much faster if they fought to free slaves. The reason and start of the Civil War was because of slavery. Abraham Lincoln knew that the only way to end the war was to end slavery once and for

Show More
Related

Similarities Between Buster Kilrain And Robert E Lee

167 Words | 1 Pages

Albeit General Robert E. Lee wore red and Private Buster Kilrain wore blue, these two men were quite similar in several ways. Each soldier was a leader in a war that they chose to fight in, in order to uphold and defend their respective ideologies. Despite those ideologies being opposite, each felt theirs was superior and in turn was willing to sacrifice his life to protect it and the way of life it afforded. Buster Kilrain and Robert E. Lee were very close in age, Kilrain at the ripe old age of fifty-one and Lee at the slightly riper age of fifty-seven.

Read More

What They Fought For Chapter Summaries

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.

Read More

Review Of For Cause And Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War

997 Words | 4 Pages

Taylor Headrick Review of: McPherson, James M. For Cause & Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. New York, Oxford University Press, 1997. In James M. McPherson’s book, For Cause & Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, he investigates Civil War soldiers’ diaries to discover why men from both sides chose to fight in the Civil War while also examining the different motives for each side. McPherson challenges traditional knowledge about the motives and mentalities of Civil War soldiers, offers new insight that differs from typical historians, and provides readers with specific details from soldiers’ journals and letters.

Read More

Analysis Of W. E. B. Dubois's Black Reconstruction In America

1591 Words | 7 Pages

African-American historian W.E.B Dubois illustrated how the Civil War brought the problems of African-American experiences into the spotlight. As a socialist, he argued against the traditional Dunning interpretations and voiced opinions about the failures and benefits of the Civil War era, which he branded as a ‘splendid failure’. The impacts of Civil War era enabled African-Americans to “form their own fraternal organizations, worship in their own churches and embrace the notion of an activist government that promoted and safeguarded the welfare of its citizens.”

Read More

Courage In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

730 Words | 3 Pages

The draft pulled them into it. They did not want to dishonor their fathers, their country and society who told them fighting is honorable. In “The Things They Carried,” it was this ‘dishonor’ that had lead them to enter the war, it was “nothing

Read More

Jethro's Ideas Of War In Across Five Aprils

557 Words | 3 Pages

In Across Five Aprils, there are many views on war talked about. People think of war in different ways, even family members think differently than each other. Since this book is Historical Fiction, the views in this book express the ways the author feels, especially on war. In this essay I will explain the author’s emotions and opinions on this topic.

Read More

Confederates In The Attic Analysis

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.

Read More

Was Abraham Lincoln's Explanations Justifiable Or Were They Off-Base?

834 Words | 4 Pages

They must fight and devote themselves to the cause for which the fallen soldier gave their lives. ("The Gettysburg Address." The Battle of

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Civil War And The Second American Revolution

1148 Words | 5 Pages

The Civil War marked a moment in American history with the metamorphosis of the meaning of the concept of liberty into one of freedom of opportunity. By examining the war between the Union and the Confederacy, James McPherson, in his book, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution, he illustrates the issues present in antebellum and postwar America. The author defends the belief that the Civil War was a second revolution through a detailed look at key issues during the time period treating employment, land ownership, and education, among others. The extension of power of the national government that resulted from the war and Abraham Lincoln’s persuasive efforts to end the divide between the North and the South, led to an expansion

Read More

Nancy Emerson's Beliefs

1054 Words | 5 Pages

Nancy Emerson lived in Augusta County, Virginia as a Confederate supporter for the complete duration of the American Civil War. Her diary, which spans from May of 1862 to November of 1864, provides a detailed and nuanced account of the life of a white, middle classed, Christian, woman living in the Civil War era. Religion influenced a multitude of Emerson’s beliefs; from her dogged support of the Confederacy to her belief that God would ensure a Southern victory. Emerson’s religion also shaped her support of slavery and Southern succession. Her religious views vilified both Northern Christians and the Union alike.

Read More

William Tecumseh Sherman March To The Sea Essay

2584 Words | 11 Pages

Sherman wanted to clearly demonstrate one thing to the people of the South: the Confederacy is a hollow shell, and its government cannot protect them. Soldiers in the Army of Tennessee experienced this when they voluntarily surrendered to the Union forces (McNeil, 1971, 14). On his way to Atlanta, Sherman repeatedly routed Confederate forces by flanking. The soldiers of the Army of Tennessee expressed great frustration with this, “Sherman’ll never go to hell; he will flank the devil and make heaven in spite of the guards” (McNeil 1971, p. 12). Desertion became a major problem in the ranks of the South.

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In Abraham Lincoln's Speech

517 Words | 3 Pages

Rhetorical Essay How would you feel if your brothers and sisters were fighting against you in a war? If they were fighting and dying for what they believed in, and you thought differently, would you consider their death your fault? This is what some families had to go through during the civil war. The north and south were fighting over whether slavery was right or not.

Read More

The Role Of Soldiers In The American Civil War

177 Words | 1 Pages

Soldiers fighting each second of their lives, tearing the skin off of each other for survival, for the survival of the United States. The Civil War has changed America for the greatest, and it wouldn 't be possible without the soldiers fighting for it. Civil War soldiers, whether you’re part of the Union

Read More

The War Prayer Rhetorical Analysis

301 Words | 2 Pages

We can further see in lines like this, “God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells” (336). As the story ends we finally see the horrible destructive outcome of war the volunteers await. The irony is that even if victorious, many of their own must die in the process. For the first time we see the other side to the initial romantic view of the soldiers. The messenger eventually says what the preacher refuses to admit.

Read More

What They Fought For The Causes Of War Essay

455 Words | 2 Pages

In the book, ‘What They Fought for’ the idea of soldiers being dedicated to their cause is stated many times, an example of this being: “The wealthy Alabama planter who married one of Mary Todd Lincoln’s half sisters and who as a captain in the 4th Alabama declared that “I am willing to fall for the cause of Liberty and Independence.” (McPherson 10) and “My country, glorious country, if we have only made it truly the land of the free …I count not my life dear unto me if only I can help that glorious cause along.” (McPherson 34) This theme of dedication is not only found in the Civil War, but also in other american wars.

Read More

More about Review Of What They Fought For By James M. Mcpherson

Related Topics

Open Document