Stephanie McCurry, in her revolutionary book Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South, claims that her book is about “politics and the power in the Civil War South, about the bloody trial of the Confederacy’s national vision, and about the significance of the disfranchised in it.” Choosing to examine both yeoman/poor white women and enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy, McCurry’s book distances itself from the historiography focused on answering the question of “why the Confederacy lost the Civil War.” Instead, McCurry focuses more exclusively on the effects of the Civil War and how war changed both the United States and the world, most notably in Cuba and Brazil. Conjecturing as her primary thesis, McCurry argues that “the power that counts in politics, is often exercised brutally, and almost always wins, but that once in a long while – as in the Civil War South – history opens up, resistance prevails, and the usually powerless manage against all imaginable odds to change the …show more content…
This includes poor women as they escalated on the political scene during the war, allowing more women to take on new positions within the state and federal governments. On the other end of the spectrum, African-Americans were increasingly hostile to the idea of fighting and/or working for the Confederacy, which would eventually lead many African Americans to flee plantations. This damaged Confederate society as well as accelerated the end of the war. Addressing past historiographical authors and works, McCurry notes that “developments in the C.S.A. are of little significance in the drama of emancipation it plots,” and this speaks to the boldness of McCurry in expanding the story to include new voices. Building upon this, the author makes excellent use of sourcing, choosing to rely principally upon primary source
Mary Boykin Chesnut was a prominent member of the upper-class society in the South during the Civil War. She was married to James Chesnut, the general of the South Carolina reserves. Mary Chesnut is the author of her Civil War diary which details the society of Southerners during the war. She had access to a great deal of information through her husband, and she relays this information through her diary. Chesnut’s diary gives insight into pivotal events during the war and details her own opinions about the Civil War.
What This Cruel War Was Over is a book written by historian Chandra Manning. The book takes the reader from the start of the Civil War, the Union surrendering Fort Sumter in chapter one, to the end of the Civil War, with General Lee’s surrender and the aftermath of the war, in chapter six and the conclusion chapter. Throughout the introduction, six chapters, and conclusion, Manning brings to life what is happening on the battlefields and in the political arena. She also brings to life what is going on in the minds of both the Union and Confederate men and slaves. Manning adds a depth to her book by including photos and drawings at the start of each chapter to foreshadow the upcoming chapter and give life to the events that are about to unfold.
An African-American social reformer, and an abolitionist, named Frederick Douglass once said, “I did not know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.” With these words, Douglass justifies that slavery is lack of freedom. It’s the horrifying feeling as if slaves were being tied up in one place, and the only time they could move is when their owner says so. In this book called, Coming of Age in Mississippi, written by Anne Moody, who happens to be the main character, is about her own autobiography growing up in a community where Negroes did not have the audacity to speak up. Moody’s life consists of many obstacles that impacted her to become a brave person and a successful activist.
Did Lincoln free the slaves, or did they free themselves? Many people would debate that Lincoln freed the slaves. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, stating all slaves in the rebellious state were free. This may have led to the slaves being freed.
During the 18th century, Southern slaves commonly practiced ways of everyday resistance towards slavery. From stealing their owner’s property, faking illness, or just complete arson, slaves’ actions of resistance were geared mainly towards hurting their masters and challenging his authority. One act of resistance that began increasingly common in the 1830s was slave flight. Running away became so popular for slaves during this time because slave revolts were pointless, and slaves began to escape to places like the Northern U.S., Canada, and Mexico, so they could receive their freedom. “The Political Significance of Slave Resistance” by James Oakes is a detailed examination of the political influences of the slave resistance in the American
They enjoyed a brief decade of political relevance (The Civil War (1861-1865))”. The South had survived and blacks were now a part of society and relevant in the everyday average life. This however would have to change along with the social standard for blacks if the south wants to survive as
Worse than Slavery, by David Oshinsky, is a novel about post-Civil War America, and the life it gave free African Americans in Mississippi and other parts of the South. Oshinsky writes about the strict laws and corrupt criminal justice system blacks faced after they were freed, and while the contents of the book are not typically read about in history textbooks, it is important to understand what life was like for the freedman. Anyone interested in reading his book would profit from it. With the end of the Civil War came the destruction of the old system of slavery. Many white Southerner’s were outraged, but were forced to accept the newly freed blacks.
The American Revolution can be seen as one of the most significant events of the eighteenth century. It marked the first of any revolution that succeeded in declaring independence and differentiating themselves from their former parent nation. Although the American revolution is often referred to as a revolutionary movement, the extent to which it can truly be characterized as “revolutionary” is arguable. When examining the different parts of the revolution, as well as the various effects on the people in America, it becomes apparent that the benefits of equality were unequally distributed among the American people. In fact, inequality specifically affected groups such as African-Americans, Native Americans, and women.
African Americans had an extremely pivotal role in the outcome and consequences of the Civil War. This group of people were enslaved, and forced to work in horrible conditions, for the whole day, without pay. Slaves were one of the main causes of the Civil War. The issue of Slavery, which resulted in the eventual economic and social division between the North and South, caused the creation of the Confederate States. African Americans did not only unintentionally cause the war, but they also effected the outcome of the war, and the eventual consequences the nation would face after the war.
Sources Analysis Freedom During the Reconstruction era, the idea of freedom could have many different meanings. Everyday factors that we don't often think about today such as the color of our skin, where we were born, and whether or not we own land determined what limitations were placed on the ability to live our life to the fullest. To dig deeper into what freedom meant for different individuals during this time period, I analyzed three primary sources written by those who experienced this first hand. These included “Excerpts from The Black Codes of Mississippi” (1865), “Jourdan Anderson to his old master” (1865), and “Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing” (1872).
Now this is the story all about how America got flipped turned upside down and I'd like to take a minute Just sit right there and tell you how our country fell into despair In South Kentucky born and raised in the oval office where i spent most of my days Stressin' out, signin', speakin' all cool and all playing some fives outside of school When a couple of guys who were up to no good Started seceding from my neighborhood Thought I was gonna abolish slavery and they got scared the Confederates started a war without a care My initial reaction when they came near I can see now that the preparations for war was clear If anything I know they can't compare
How southern whites and freed people (black former slaves) define and contest different understandings of black freedom in the years immediately following the Civil War? Introduction Before the civil war, there were a number of grievances that had prompted the victims to take to the streets and wage a serious war that led to liberation. This war was facilitated by the fact that, the former slaves felt that the law was discriminative.
In the book “The Free State of Jones”, by Victoria Bynum, the war between the Union and the Confederacy was described. Not only that, but the author reveals many things about the war that is not widely known, or largely mistaken for something else. The style this book is written is not fiction, as it has raw facts splattered across the pages. One of the main topics that is covered in this book is slavery, and how the South contributed to it. Tying to that, the main character’s relationship with an African American woman is also mentioned.
Hahn discusses how blacks exploited the Civil War. Slaves were leaving their owners and enrolling in the Union Army. This made slavery a key issue of the conflict between the North and South. The post-war period was filled with confusion and chaos.
African-American historian W.E.B Dubois illustrated how the Civil War brought the problems of African-American experiences into the spotlight. As a socialist, he argued against the traditional Dunning interpretations and voiced opinions about the failures and benefits of the Civil War era, which he branded as a ‘splendid failure’. The impacts of Civil War era enabled African-Americans to “form their own fraternal organizations, worship in their own churches and embrace the notion of an activist government that promoted and safeguarded the welfare of its citizens.”