Civil War Chapter Summaries

McPherson in his book, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War has identified that regardless of all other issues, the most significant factors that became the motivators for the people to join the army were a combination of duty, honor and patriotism. Both the ideas of duty and honor were "powerful motivating sources" (McPherson, p. 5) for the soldiers. As compared to what others believed, ethnic hatred and religious fanaticism were not the issue but the confederacy valued personal honor more than their lives. McPherson (p. 77) believes that "personal honor is the one thing valued more than itself by the majority of men. " The Union soldiers spoke of duty while the Confederate soldiers spoke of honor that motivated them to risk their lives.

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.

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.

Gerlyn Hinahon Period 1 Civil War Project Events That Led Up to the Civil War The Constitution (1787) Signed on September 17, 1787 Based on one major principle Popular Sovereignty Bill of Rights: First 10 amendments to Constitution that granted freedom of speech, religion, press, and protection from unreasonable search and try by jury Protected Unalienable Rights Proposal and Ratification George Washington was the the first president under the Constitution The people(citizens) have the power in government Separation of Powers It bans the importation of slaves starting in 1808 (Fugitive Slave) and avoided slavery Southerners didn’t like it because they supported slavery Three-Fifths Compromise (1787) Plan offered to add slaves to the population

James M. McPherson’s For Cause & Comrades analyzes and discusses the different reasons why men fought and died in the Civil War. McPherson uses the journals and letters of 1076 soldiers, 647 from the Union army and 429 from the Confederacy. Using these first-hand accounts of the war, McPherson aims to answer the question of how and why soldiers participated in the war. McPherson’s thesis contends that “Duty and honor were indeed powerful motivating forces.

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

The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

The utter contempt and loathing for the venerated Stars and Stripes, the abhorrence of the very words United States, the intense hatred of the Yankee on the part of these people.” The South perceived the North as a tyrannical power, and South Carolina’s secession emphasizes the relationship between the right to revolution and separation from the Union paying homage to the American Revolution. The Union’s defeat furthered the