Civil War: Chapter Analysis
Throughout America's life as a country, we as a nation have gone through many troubling times. March of 1865 is very important to us as a country because many outcomes could have came out of this month; such as having slaves in our present, or having a our nation split in two and higher taxing. Throughtout this book, four major points are reviewed with its various important actions that shaped this country. The war can be viewed in several different ways: as the final, a violent phase in a conflict of two regional subcultures, etc.
However you interpreted it, the Civil War stands as a story of great heroism, sacrifice, triumph, and tragedy.
The first chapter is about how important tactical decisions can win a country and a war. With …show more content…
nervous Abraham Lincoln and anxious Robert E. Lee one may think it shaped our government and gave today's generals important tactical excersises that continue to win wars to this day. As histiorians continue to preach about the wrong ideas when other questions need to be asnwered instead of it being repeated. As historians try to give evidence, they tend to not handle it the way they should. Historians try to win over an audience, they over use their source of information way to much. When reading this book, it seems as Jay Winik definitely over uses or streches his evidence or material way to far. And giving off way to many different ideas for the Civil War. In the book he states over and over agian that this was the most cruical point in the Civil War, or even in Americas history ever. He writes in the book "April 1865 is a month that could have unraveled the American nation. Instead, it saved it. It is a month as dramatic and as davastating as any ever faced in American history and it proved to be perhaps the most moving and decisive month not simply of the Civil War, but indeed, quite likely in the life of the United States." Every author or writer is entitled to their own opinion just like everone else. I understand though, he thought the south was going to get victory with his points. However he doesn't realize that his points start to come unclear or not right when he doesnt understand certain things about the confederacy. There were a lot of things that went into the war and it doesn't seem as Mr. Winik put that much into his thoughts. While he writes he puts more favor into the southeren side of the whole situation. And he still reconized the south even though there were Confederates knowing the end was near. And when I say that im not just meaning any condfederates, i'm meaning the most devoted, willing to die just to win, knew the end was coming. Then in the fall, on November 8th, 1864, came with Lincoln's reelection.
Northern voters overwhelmingly encouraged the leadership and policies of President Abraham Lincoln when they elected for his second term. "Lincoln had managed to win the necessary electoral college, getting a handy 180 votes, and carrying all but one of the free states. But this was misleading: he won only because it was a four-way race, and the Southern vote was split amoung two other candidates who had denied Douglas the chance to run as the only true 'national candidate'."1 With being reelected Lincoln was faced with many challenges. Surprisingly after this, major things happened with both sides of the war. The south's military started to decline and the north was exhausted. As Jay Winik said in the book the Confederates we "as aggressive as ever," but if that would be true (which it is not), the south wouldn't be facing a decline in the numbers for their …show more content…
military.
I give Winik points though because he understands how slaves loved freedom and resisted the confederacy. But if he would of connected this to the problem and to the confedrates military on the Southeren homefront, Jay would of got more reasonable conclusions and not so dramatic for the last month of was. If wini would of had a more understanding of the dissent of the Confedrates he would of had an easier time getting a more realistic ending. He would of ended up getting more details into his discussion of civilians cries for relief, and not a dramatic rise of growing in affection of
-----------------------
1Winik pg. 239 non-slaveholders. Jay Winik just didn't get whawt other observers saw when the last month of was came when it was an ineviable fall for the Confedracy.
When Winik tells the story he tries to tell it from a more firmilar side. He tries to tell it as if the reader witnessed the month and all of the resolutions of the historical issues with the country, and race, and republism, and the identity of the region against authority of the nation. Supremacy was established when the war destoried slavery, economics, the social, and the political system that supported the ruling class in the south. This isn't anything new but Winik makes a better case then most historians did, he places the Civil war into a more international setting, showing how other countries were becoming more moden during the same time. Just like the United States, the only way we became nation-states was because of war, not because of some stupid laws or anything like that, but because we had to fight through all of the problem we had.
Winik dominated when he was going towards the student perpective field anf offering a seasoned Civil war approach.
His stories were intened for national standards, let alone international ones were impressive. He uses first hand knowledge on why 20th century Civil wars followed. And why a cycle of endless bloodshed occured. In the case we found a surprising split for the United States of reconciliation immediately after the Appomattox. The survival of the United States as one nation was at risk. We come to find out in Winik's writing from the book that Reconstruction isnt easy, he writes "Yet Reconstruction is complex, it is nuanced, and , to later generations almost wholly baffling and prone to being misunderstood.The popular conception is that Reconstruction was to commence at war's end."2 Acknowledgeing the awful, violent, bitter political fights that accured and continued during the Reconstruction - over the four million freed slaves status particulary - and an entire nation was released from the oppressive weight of slavery. We believe that when Abraham Lincoln pleas for his second inaugral address, hoping for compassion and forgiveness, Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman generously gives in terms, but Robert E. Lee use guerilla warefare as a refusal which created an atmosphere that ultimately led to a lasting peace. Because this was where and how Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appmattox Courthouse, ending the American Civil War. As
reading I can see why Lee wanted to use "guerrillaism," in my mind its a great technique when the weak have to try and go against the strong. "The strategy is to pit one man against ten, but the tactic is to pit ten men against one."3 As I read through what guerrilla warfare was I came to understand finally why everyone though General Robert E. Lee was such a great leader and if I was in that time frame I would definitely be on his side. Then as I kept reading I finally got to chapter called "The Meeting". When Lee goes and surrenders to Grant, but as I was reading the beginning of this chapter I read one of the best things any man could say right before he surrenders, Winik writes "he hurled his men into battle like giant hunks of fresh meat, knowing that everything depended upon the force of arms; he has endured slander and calumny when the situation seemed hopeless to nearly everyone except himself and Abraham Lincoln;"4 and than also right below that, "and even in the grimmest of hours,
----------------------
2Winik pg.208
3Winik pg.147
when Northern defeat seemed possible, when there appeared to be no other choice but to make an imperfect peace with the Confederacy, when the sheer costs of wat no longer seemed worth it,"5. I have no idea excatly why these two quotes grabed my attention so much, I had to read them a couple of times to totally understand them. As I kept reading them over and over again though, I kept getting goose bumps and the chills.
The final month of war didnt make the nation whole, while Winik was correct the magnasmimous gestures did make the American experience exceprional. Then the Federal government returned back to the nation to rule the south to the white in the 1870's the United States became involved in the Spanish-American war. Before nothern and southeners came together as Americans, the recostruction had to be filled with lots of violence, econimic exploration, political fruad, and tortuous road travel by others wracked the Civil War.
-------------------------------------
4Winik pg.173
5Winik pg.173
However you interpreted it, the Civil War stands as a story of great heroism, sacrifice, triumph, and tragedy.
The first chapter is about how important tactical decisions can win a country and a war. With …show more content…
nervous Abraham Lincoln and anxious Robert E. Lee one may think it shaped our government and gave today's generals important tactical excersises that continue to win wars to this day. As histiorians continue to preach about the wrong ideas when other questions need to be asnwered instead of it being repeated. As historians try to give evidence, they tend to not handle it the way they should. Historians try to win over an audience, they over use their source of information way to much. When reading this book, it seems as Jay Winik definitely over uses or streches his evidence or material way to far. And giving off way to many different ideas for the Civil War. In the book he states over and over agian that this was the most cruical point in the Civil War, or even in Americas history ever. He writes in the book "April 1865 is a month that could have unraveled the American nation. Instead, it saved it. It is a month as dramatic and as davastating as any ever faced in American history and it proved to be perhaps the most moving and decisive month not simply of the Civil War, but indeed, quite likely in the life of the United States." Every author or writer is entitled to their own opinion just like everone else. I understand though, he thought the south was going to get victory with his points. However he doesn't realize that his points start to come unclear or not right when he doesnt understand certain things about the confederacy. There were a lot of things that went into the war and it doesn't seem as Mr. Winik put that much into his thoughts. While he writes he puts more favor into the southeren side of the whole situation. And he still reconized the south even though there were Confederates knowing the end was near. And when I say that im not just meaning any condfederates, i'm meaning the most devoted, willing to die just to win, knew the end was coming. Then in the fall, on November 8th, 1864, came with Lincoln's reelection.
Northern voters overwhelmingly encouraged the leadership and policies of President Abraham Lincoln when they elected for his second term. "Lincoln had managed to win the necessary electoral college, getting a handy 180 votes, and carrying all but one of the free states. But this was misleading: he won only because it was a four-way race, and the Southern vote was split amoung two other candidates who had denied Douglas the chance to run as the only true 'national candidate'."1 With being reelected Lincoln was faced with many challenges. Surprisingly after this, major things happened with both sides of the war. The south's military started to decline and the north was exhausted. As Jay Winik said in the book the Confederates we "as aggressive as ever," but if that would be true (which it is not), the south wouldn't be facing a decline in the numbers for their …show more content…
military.
I give Winik points though because he understands how slaves loved freedom and resisted the confederacy. But if he would of connected this to the problem and to the confedrates military on the Southeren homefront, Jay would of got more reasonable conclusions and not so dramatic for the last month of was. If wini would of had a more understanding of the dissent of the Confedrates he would of had an easier time getting a more realistic ending. He would of ended up getting more details into his discussion of civilians cries for relief, and not a dramatic rise of growing in affection of
-----------------------
1Winik pg. 239 non-slaveholders. Jay Winik just didn't get whawt other observers saw when the last month of was came when it was an ineviable fall for the Confedracy.
When Winik tells the story he tries to tell it from a more firmilar side. He tries to tell it as if the reader witnessed the month and all of the resolutions of the historical issues with the country, and race, and republism, and the identity of the region against authority of the nation. Supremacy was established when the war destoried slavery, economics, the social, and the political system that supported the ruling class in the south. This isn't anything new but Winik makes a better case then most historians did, he places the Civil war into a more international setting, showing how other countries were becoming more moden during the same time. Just like the United States, the only way we became nation-states was because of war, not because of some stupid laws or anything like that, but because we had to fight through all of the problem we had.
Winik dominated when he was going towards the student perpective field anf offering a seasoned Civil war approach.
His stories were intened for national standards, let alone international ones were impressive. He uses first hand knowledge on why 20th century Civil wars followed. And why a cycle of endless bloodshed occured. In the case we found a surprising split for the United States of reconciliation immediately after the Appomattox. The survival of the United States as one nation was at risk. We come to find out in Winik's writing from the book that Reconstruction isnt easy, he writes "Yet Reconstruction is complex, it is nuanced, and , to later generations almost wholly baffling and prone to being misunderstood.The popular conception is that Reconstruction was to commence at war's end."2 Acknowledgeing the awful, violent, bitter political fights that accured and continued during the Reconstruction - over the four million freed slaves status particulary - and an entire nation was released from the oppressive weight of slavery. We believe that when Abraham Lincoln pleas for his second inaugral address, hoping for compassion and forgiveness, Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman generously gives in terms, but Robert E. Lee use guerilla warefare as a refusal which created an atmosphere that ultimately led to a lasting peace. Because this was where and how Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appmattox Courthouse, ending the American Civil War. As
reading I can see why Lee wanted to use "guerrillaism," in my mind its a great technique when the weak have to try and go against the strong. "The strategy is to pit one man against ten, but the tactic is to pit ten men against one."3 As I read through what guerrilla warfare was I came to understand finally why everyone though General Robert E. Lee was such a great leader and if I was in that time frame I would definitely be on his side. Then as I kept reading I finally got to chapter called "The Meeting". When Lee goes and surrenders to Grant, but as I was reading the beginning of this chapter I read one of the best things any man could say right before he surrenders, Winik writes "he hurled his men into battle like giant hunks of fresh meat, knowing that everything depended upon the force of arms; he has endured slander and calumny when the situation seemed hopeless to nearly everyone except himself and Abraham Lincoln;"4 and than also right below that, "and even in the grimmest of hours,
----------------------
2Winik pg.208
3Winik pg.147
when Northern defeat seemed possible, when there appeared to be no other choice but to make an imperfect peace with the Confederacy, when the sheer costs of wat no longer seemed worth it,"5. I have no idea excatly why these two quotes grabed my attention so much, I had to read them a couple of times to totally understand them. As I kept reading them over and over again though, I kept getting goose bumps and the chills.
The final month of war didnt make the nation whole, while Winik was correct the magnasmimous gestures did make the American experience exceprional. Then the Federal government returned back to the nation to rule the south to the white in the 1870's the United States became involved in the Spanish-American war. Before nothern and southeners came together as Americans, the recostruction had to be filled with lots of violence, econimic exploration, political fruad, and tortuous road travel by others wracked the Civil War.
-------------------------------------
4Winik pg.173
5Winik pg.173