The Making of a Confederate

The romanticized version of the Civil War creates a picture of the North versus the South with the North imposing on the South. However, after reading “The Making of a Confederate” by William L. Barney, one can see that subdivisions existed before the war was declared. The documents analyzed by Barney primarily focus on the experiences of Walter Lenoir, a southern confederate and a member of the planter elite. His experiences tell a vivid story of a passionate and strongly opinioned participant of the Civil War as well as demonstrate a noticeably different view involving his reasoning when choosing a side. Between analyzing this fantastic piece of literature and other resourceful documents from “Voices of Freedom” by Eric Foner, one can get a better idea of what the conflict was about, where the Confederacy originated from, the cause for the secession, and how Americans experienced the war and understood its meaning. When America was born, there was a division between the North and the South. As people immigrated to the colonies for a new beginning, individual perceptions of freedom began to split the North and the South. The South was rich and fertile. The people desiring land moved to this area with a strong sense of independence. These people wanted to be governed more by their state and less by the federal government. Having less federal involvement in their lives protected this independence. The huge cotton plantations formed required a large amount of workers. Once slaves had been utilized to compensate for this demand, an extensive economical system developed and the South became dependent on slavery to continue their way of life. The North, however, moved more towards mercantilism and agriculture. Using products derived from the South and participating in international trade with outside countries, the North began to expand into cities with a variety of people making up the populations. Slavery was not typically used, or at least it was

Bibliography: Barney, William L. The Making of a Confederate: Walter Lenoir’s Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2009. Print. Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom, Vol. I. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011. Print. Garrison, William Lloyd. “On the Constitution and the Union." TeachingAmericanHistory. Ashbrook Center at Ashland University. 2006-12. Web. 30 April 2013.