An Essay on the American Civil War

An Essay on the American civilised commove genteel War EssayThe Killer Angels, By Micheal Shaara tells the story of champion of the bloodiest battles during the Civil War The Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought for three days July 13, 1863, in and around the t possess of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This battle is con situationred to be the turning point of the war, whichever side was to win this battle would oer wholly win the whole war. The Battle of Gettysburg was non l wizardsome(prenominal) the most significant of the civil was it was the battle with most casualties in the American Civil War. One of the biggest questions nearly the Civil War is w presentfore the manpower of both(prenominal) sides fought. The answer is not as simple as gayy might think. Most people, before reading this sacred scripture in all probability thought the S unwraph fought the war simply be convey they wanted to keep their slaves. This was simply the case for a few Sout herners, contrary to popular belief only a small percentage of people in the south owned slaves. Each side, the North and the South had their own reasons, but both also had one similar cause in common for fenceing in the Civil War. In the beginning cause for the South was more about for the good to secede, and the North was about preserving the marrow. alone as the war went on, the causes to fight changed. The North then added that they were trash to free the slaves, and the South fought to keep their original decents to owning a slave.The South fought for their constitutional rights as a separate nation. These ideals unquestionably molded the substance the war was fought by the South. The Confederate states seceded from the union over the issue of states rights and the power of state governments to totally rule over its soil and decide its own issues. The South felt as if they were being controlled by the partnership government, which to felt like a extraneous governm ent. Youve gotta tell them that what were fighting for here is the is the freedom from what we consider to be the rule of a foreign power I mean, thats all we want. Thats what this war is all about. This quote that was verbalize by Armistead, expresses how the South felt about the North. The South was clearly fierce because the North, where the Federal Government was located did not k instantly what was necessary to booster the South prosper. This also shows that the war was not only about slavery.The Confederates were loosely protecting their families and property from destruction, shown mainly in the later stages of war. To go on with that, many Confederate soldiers expressed the fear of being controlled by the North. This reaction, along with wanting self-government, seemed to be the main reason that kept the Confederates spirits high throughout most of the war, fifty-fifty in venom of the Unions military advantages. some(prenominal) Southerners believing that they would have their own nation also lead to their high spirits. They were attempting to establish a in the buff nation and were put down by Lincoln. Lincoln claimed that secession was illegal, and did not want to allow the southern states to secede. Now you suppose that we all coupling a club, a gentlemens club. And then, well, after a time, several of the members began to, uh began to *intrude* themselves into our hole-and-corner(a) lives, our home lives. Began tellin us what we could do, what we couldnt do. Well, then, wouldnt any one of us have the right to resign? This quote from the book expresses how the South felt about not being allowed to secede.The Northerners reason to fight in the Civil War was to stay fresh and impact the union. The Union believed that the Southern States did not have the right to leave the Union because they were a part of America. When interpreting of theConstitution, there were 2 dissimilar iadeals on the role of the federal government. Federalists b elieved that the federal government and the executive branch needed to maintain their power for the Union to survive. The anti-federalists believed that states should keep often of their authority and power within the new nation. Preserving the union was not a very popular cause in The Killer Angels and in the unquestionable Civil War. This was mostly because majority of men didnt want to fight for a cause that didnt have a lot of stimulated connection behind it. That is why preserving the Union was not mentioned much though out the book as much as freeing the slaves. I dont really understand it. Never have. The more I think on it the more it horrifies me. How can they look in the eyes of a man and make a slave of him and then quote the Bible? and then right after that, after I left the room, the separate one came to see me, the professor. I could see he was concerned, and I consider him, and he apologized for having off completeed me in my own home.(177). Through this quote o ne can see just how important the cause for abolishing slavery was to the Northern army. They felt it was their duty to stop the oppression of blacks, in order to restore the country as a whole.As the Civil War went on, it short became obvious to most that the Union could not be restored unless slavery, the cause of the encounter was abolished. With that, the objective for the war had been changed. The issue of slavery now mattered to Union Soldiers, curiously after Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. This officially freed slaves that were being held in Confederate-controlled areas. Many people in the North opposed the emancipation, but during the second half(prenominal) of the war, many people began to change their minds when they realized that emancipation could affect Union morale in a positive way by bread and butter it, Instead of just fighting for the idea of saving the Union, the soldiers were now fighting for the cause of liberty as well.This was the f irst place on earth where the man mattered more than the state. True freedom had begun here and it would bed cover eventually over all the earth. But it had begun here. The fact of slavery upon this fabulously beautiful new clean earth was appalling, but more even than that was the horror of old Europe, the curse of nobility, which the South was transplanting to new soil. They were forming a new aristocracy, a new breed of glittering men, and Chamberlain had come to jam it. But he was fighting for the dignity of man and I that way he was fighting for himself. If men were equal in America, all the actor Poles and English and Czechs and blacks, then they were equal everywhere, and there was really no such(prenominal) thing as foreigner there were only free men and slaves. And so it was not even patriotism but a new faith. The Frenchman may fight for France, but the American fights for man gracious, for freedom for the people, not the land. (27)The cause of liberty, as defined by bo th sides, figured highly in the reasoning of many soldiers. Those of the North felt they were fighting to not only preserve the Union but to keep alive the spirit of the proclamation of Independence and of the Constitution. Lastly, and perhaps more pronounced as the War dragged on, the soldiers of both sides fought for each other. Many of us volunteered to fight for the Union. Some came mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were humiliated not to. Many came because it was the right thing to do. This is a different kind of army. If you look at history youll see men fight for pay, or women, or some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, or because a king makes them, or just because they like killing. But were here for something new. This has not happened much, in the history of the world We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to b ow, no man innate(p) to royalty. here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But its not the land. Theres always more land. Its the idea that we all have value, you and me. What were fighting for, in the end were fighting for each other. (32)The Civil War gave back Americas appellation as a country that fights for freedom, a title that America antecedently claimed to be in its constitution. The Civil War proved that the USA was a country of freedom-fighters. The major similarity between the two sides that appears in the book is how that both sides believed that they were fighting to preserve the rights of others. Soldiers on both sides believed that they were fighting for the said(prenominal) basic idea of liberty, but they interpreted it in completely different ways. People in the Union believed that the preservation of the U. S. government was most important, with lifelike rights of humans coming s econd. The Confederates, believed that the government was more a part of the worry than the solution, and that the solution (for the confederates) was to rebel. In their eyes they saw the North as commanding and controlling. Both sides also turned to nationalistic and patriotic ideas. The nationalism of the Union soldiers was more evident, because Lincoln from the very beginning of the war had been fighting to preserve the Union.With the help of reading The Killer Angels, one will certainly handgrip the essence of the Civil War and why it was fought. Both sides knew what they were fighting for and believed their causes were worth(predicate) of losing men. While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves and the redress of the union, while Southerners focused on defending their right to self-govern. In the end, the one significant similarity the North and the South had was that they were A mericans fighting for their liberties and what they believed in.