Freedom In The Civil War

The definition of freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint (Oxford Dictionary). For various people, freedom seems to be a gift given by our soldiers; others believe freedom remains to be a given right given by god, as the constitution says. People go through their lives, living day to day, not necessarily understanding the freedoms they have been given; by those who fight for us, give up their lives for us, and live for us. Whether it’s at war or at home, whether it’s the soldier that suffers or the family, and whether it’s the mind that breaks or the body. The price of freedom is pain and sacrifice paid by the soldiers of the United States.
In WWI, there was 120,00 deaths, in WWII there was 405,000 deaths, and in the civil war there were over 500,000 deaths. As one of the numerous confrontations for freedom, the civil war was fought hard and fierce. Both sides fought for two, however different reasons, the south thought that having slaves was their right as an American. That with the Emancipation Proclamation the President had unlawfully taken away their right of
private property. The north fought for the union of one country, and a line taking from the Pledge of Allegiance states what they fought for perfectly, “One nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Another war that America fought for freedom was the revolutionary war. Many subjects come into play when talking about, why we fought this war. There was taxation without representation, no free trade, oppression, destruction, but the main reason is colonial’s beliefs about their rights. And how they thought they were being infringed and they wouldn’t stand for it and fought for their freedom to be their own country.
As I said before in the civil over 500,000 thousand people lost their lives. That means over 500,000 letters sent home to families to tell them their sibling, father, or significant other is dead and not coming back. What if that one person was their only source of income, what if that one person was the only family they had left. War can and is devastating. For instance in World War II a woman named, Amy Beechey, lost 5 sons. September 15th, 1915, April 17th, 1917, October 10th, 1917, November 30th, 1917, and December 29th1917 were the dates of all her sons’ deaths and four of them were in the same year. In April 1918 she was presented to King George V and Queen Mary. However when the Queen commented on her great sacrifice, she responded: ‘It was no sacrifice, Ma’am. I did not give them willingly.’ She paid a price that was destructive in its own means and devastating to not only her but also her family.
Most people would say that it is natural to feel fear.
Fear triggers many changes in the body to defend against what is causing the fear or try to avoid the object causing the fear. But when having post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) the reaction to fear is changed or impaired. Those diagnosed with PTSD may feel terrified or stressed when there is not anything around to be feared. Most soldiers think as soon as they get back home all they have to do is heal and put the war behind them but most of them cant. Many soldier whether they wish to or not bring back a piece of the war with them. Many cases in PTSD the individual has recurring distressing memories, flashbacks, upsetting dreams about the incident, or certain reactions to something that reminds them about the incident. In addition to the individual suffering from PTSD the family also
suffers.
Freedom has a high price and whether it’s by choice or by force it has to be paid. Whether people pay that price with their mind, body, family, or lives. The war for freedom has been fought many times, and will still be fought in the future. All around whether in America or in some other country people’s rights are being infringed and someone will stand up for that right and fight for it.