The Confederate States of America Essay

On January 1992 the NAACP put in affect a boycott on South Carolina to pressure the state to remove the Confederate flag off of its Statehouse in Columbia. The boycott is what initially brought life to this issue. The NAACP’s removal request is based on the fact that they, the anti-flag groups, claim that the meaning of the Confederate flag is one of hate and discrimination. On the other hand, there are other groups that believe differently whom are called the pro-flag groups. They claim that the Confederate flag is a sign of heritage and should stay on South Carolina’s Statehouse. Anti-flag articles are more likely to be found published in well-known Liberal magazines, when credible pro-flag articles were hard

The American Civil War has become a point of controversy and argument when discussing key events in shaping America. The arguments that arise when discussing the war tend to focus on whether the Confederate was constitutionally justified in seceding, or whether the North had the right to prevent the secession. However, when discussing the America Civil War and the idea of separation, it is important to be mindful that separation did not simply end at the state level. Letters written by Jesse Rolston, Jr. and Jedediah Hotchkiss portray two significantly different attitudes toward the war, despite the fact that the writers both fought for the Confederate States and give accounts of the same battle, one of which ended in the Confederate’s favor. When examining the documents, both writers express different viewpoints on life on and off the battlefield. This significant difference represents a division amongst the Confederate army.

The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.

Tensions between the North and South had grown steadily since the anti slavery movement in 1830. Several compromises between the North and South regarding slavery had been passed such as the Nebraska-Kansas and the Missouri act; but this did little to relieve the strain. The election of President Lincoln in 1861 proved to be the boiling point for the South, and secession followed. This eventually sparked the civil war; which was viewed differently by the North and the South. The Northern goal was to keep the Union intact while the Southern goal was to separate from the Union. Southern leaders gave convincing arguments to justify secession. Exploring documents from South Carolina’s secession ordinance and a speech from the Georgia

His ended his speech with a plea for the restoration of the bonds of union. The South just ignored his plea. Violence and outrage turned to belligerence in the North, which in turn had many southerners clamouring for war. At 4.30am on April 12th 1861, Confederate gunners opened fire on Federal - held Fort Sumter, situated in the middle of Charleston Harbour. The only real casualty was a horse. This gentle brawl was the start of a longer, harder and bloodier war than anyone could dream of.

The Confederate army surrendered at the battle of Vicksburg on July 4th 1863. They were sad and ashamed after prolonged violent attacks. This was the end of one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. The sad loss of Pemberton's army and the stronghold in Vicksburg on the mighty Mississippi River was very effective in splitting the Confederacy in half.

The civil war, reconstruction, and Redemption era does serve as a unique moment in American history because it shaped what kind of nation US would become. All wars are the result of social change, talks of revolution, institution of slavery and connection to power and liberation. There are many reasons that attribute to the institution of slavery becoming a big determinant in the Civil War and in American History. A consistent reason is that the states have always been dependent upon themselves and relying on their own kind to create a sense of power. The institution of slavery gave white men a sense of power in which was stripped away from them by the government. They no longer could control and have an opinion in state nor federal government decisions. Throughout all these eras of history the enslaves Africans were never seen as equal, therefore were never treated as equal. They were always seen as the black labor workers. The focus point of this paper will be the institution of slavery. After the civil war and reconstruction, America changed drastically in defining slavery and what would become of the institution.

The Battle of Shiloh took place on April 6-7, 1862 (Daniel, 1997, p. 319) in southern Tennessee's Hardin County, particularly at Pittsburg Landing (Groom, 2012, p. 41). The short answer to why this Battle took place is that the Confederacy wanted to stop the Union's advance far into Tennessee and eventually into Mississippi by a surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant's "Army of the Tennessee" before Union Major General Don Carlos Buell's "Army of the Ohio" could arrive and join Grant's forces (Groom, 2012, p. 141). The long answer to why this Battle took place can be found in the two prior Confederate losses at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February, 1862, and the consequences of those losses. The captures of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson were the first two Union victories since the beginning of the War on April 12, 1861 (Woodworth, 2011, p. 89). The Union capture of Fort Henry in western Tennessee on February 6, 1862 allowed Union forces to move 12 miles east overland to Fort Donelson

There were several reasons for the defeat of the Confederacy which included no industrial base, (Donald 1996, p. 99) inadequate transportation net (Donald, 1996, p. 99), and bickering among the generals (McPherson & Hogue, 2009, p. 365) etc., but the overriding factor was that the Confederacy never became a nation (Donald, 1996, p. 100). That is, they seceded because the Southern states believed they had the right as independent States to do so (Donald, 1996, p. 7). The South lost because they never stopped believing this. No state could depend on any other for full support of the war. The Governor of Georgia specifically prohibited his troops from fighting outside the state for many months. Many governors set limits on how many

The Southern states had seceded and the South had fired on and captured Fort Sumter on April 12 1861.

On September third of 1862, General Robert E. Lee commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to enter the state of Maryland. Lee’s army was emboldened with pride,

In April of 1861 with Virginia 's secession from the Union, Richmond, in Central Virginia, was named the Capitol of the Confederacy. The Confederate government moved the capital to Richmond. The move Just confirmed the state new identity and to make sacred the rebellion by connecting it with the American Revolution. Most important however hundreds of factories, whose output were nearly the amount that the rest of the Confederacy were bringing with them. As capital of the Confederacy, the city’s population soon grew.

The battle of Fredericksburg started on December 11th and ended on December 15th 1862. The two generals that were a part of this war was general Robert E. Lee and general Ambrose Burnside. Burnside had a plan to cross the Rappahannock river at Fredericksburg in mid-November and race to the confederate capital of Richmond before lees army could stop him. But before Burnside could do that they had a problem which were pontoon bridges which gave lee enough time to move his army. They finally had time to build the bridges while they were under fire. While all that was happening the Union troops prepared to assault Confederate defensive positions south of the city and on a strongly fortified ridge just west of the city known as Marye's Heights.

The Southern states had seceded and the South had fired on and captured Fort Sumter on April 12 1861.

Immediately after confirmation of the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, the legislature of South Carolina convened. In a unanimous vote on December 20, 1860, the state seceded from the Union. During the next two months ordinances of secession were adopted by the states of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.