Goals of War: Are each side’s goals explained & how they changed or are achieved? How are goals presented & by whom?
2/27/12 Charlie Firer
By making the discussion of secession a key part of the first episode of the documentary, Ken Burns clearly notes the importance of states' rights as well as slavery. These are two of the most important considerations regarding the goals of both the north and the south. For example, when South Carolina felt the federal government had overstepped its authority and decided to leave the union, six other states soon followed, and the south began to gain an edge in one of their main goals of the war. Additionally, the election of Lincoln was viewed by the south as the straw that broke the camel's back. It was a tipping of the scales in terms of power in the United States, and many of the southerners felt greatly threatened by this imbalance. It is important to remember, however, that for the north, the election of Lincoln was a major step forward. Lincoln provided a sence of security for northerners and helped slowly decrease slavery. In a few of his most famous words, Lincoln asserted his position regarding the separation of the union. "A house divided against itself cannot stand". As noted in the video, Lincoln was steadfast in his decision to keep the union together, but his ideals regarding the end of slavery became more and more aggressive as his time in office continued. Doubtlessly, this was due to the realization that the slavery issue would be crucial to turning the tide of the war, as he stated that "If he could end the war and save the union by freeing none, all, or some of the slaves he would do it". Perhaps it was prudent of the South to note that the days of slavery were numbered by the leverage the institution gave to president Lincoln, whether it was alive or dead.
Ken Burns opens the first video of the series with many powerful images of slavery in the United States. It is often a misconception that slavery is the only cause of the war. This video presents the cause of the Civil War from a confederate point of view, and reminds us that there is always another way to view any historical event.
3/3/12 Charlie Firer
In part two of Ken Burn's Civil War documentary, A Very Bloody Affair, writer Shelby Foote tells the story of a small Union squad coming upon a single ragged Confederate soldier who seemingly has no interest in the constituion and did not own any slaves. The Union army officer asked the Confederate soldier, "Why are you fighting anyway?". The soldier responded saying, "I'm fighting 'cause you're down here". This story is a shining example of how the goals of the war are often lost among the bloody battles and intense warfare. Additionally, the passage acts as a reminder that not all southern citizens shared the same values. Just because the majority of the southerners fought to gain independence and the right to own slaves, does not mean that all southerers fought for those reasons. Indeed, many poor southerners often felt betrayed by the upper class, as they were not fighting becaus they could afford exemptions. Thus, the war took on a rich man's war, poor man's fight quality very quickly.
The passage could also be looked at from a different point of view. For instance, the Confederate soldier might have so much pride in his southern lifestyle that even if he does not share all the same values as most other southerners, he still recognizes the same end goals of the war and is willing to put his life on the line in order to achieve them.
3/6/12 Charlie Firer
Now that the war had begun, Lincoln realized that attempting to return the union to its original state was a lost cause. Therefore, Lincoln decided the union must be changed, and in pursuit of the northern goal of abolishing slavery, he turned to emancipation (the demand for civilization). This is especially intriguing because on August 22 1862 Lincoln had stated that his goal in the war was saving the union, not saving or destroying slavery. Lincoln did not care whether saving the union meant freeing no slaves, all slaves or some slaves, he would do it.
During the progression of the war, northerners pressed further and further into southern plantation land. As the slaves became curious of the northerners, they made nuisances of themselves to local commanders, and in doing so, made a figure of themselves to the congress of the United States. Since congress was now controlled by republicans, they forbid the army from returning slaves to masters and eventually outlawed slaver in the territories, reversing the Dred Scott decision. The north was making strong headway in its pursuit of abolishing slavery. As George Templeton Strong put it, “John Brown’s soul is marching on, with the people after”. From this statement, and the facts provided in part three of Ken Burn’s documentary, it would appear that one of the North’s major goals of the war was coming to fruition. It would be up to the south to retaliate in order to preserve their chance of realizing their own goals.
Mark Maurer 3/7/12
As stated in episode 1 Lee did not agree with secession or slavery but fought to defend both. This is an example of just how far the allegiance went for a southerner to defend his heritage. Lee sided with his state because of his love for it and the way of life he grew up with. The goal of the war for Lee was not to defend slavery but to instead defend the way of life that he grew up with and his state. This harkens back to what we talked about at the beginning of the semester. It was discussed that the south was fighting to defend slavery and their way of life. Lee was fighting for slightly different reasons but was essentially to defend a way of life. Quick look at Lee
Mark Maurer 3/7/12
In episodes 2 and 3 Shelbe Foote brings up a story of a southern solider had to the question "Why are you fighting?" The story goes that when asked this the solider responded that it was because the Union Soldiers were "here" meaning in the south. This reveals a simple goal of a southern soldier's perspective. The southern foot soldier was fighting to defend their home. The way of life was obviously still important but at that time the southern soldier was fighting to defend everything he knew, his home.
Mark Maurer- 3/7/12
In episode 3 Lincoln said that emancipation gave the war a better meaning. It was stated at the beginning of the semester that getting rid of slavery was a goal of war. This is a complicated and possibly bold statement especially when looking at the other historical events. At the beginning of the war it was obvious that Lincoln and the majority of republicans were trying to stop the spread of slavery. So to say from the beginning of the war it was a goal to get rid of slavery is partially false. Although, it could be a said that in the end a goal of the civil war was to end slavery.
Mark Maurer- 3/7/12
It was stated in episode 4 that the emancipation did nothing to free them but only to allow the colored people to fight in the war. Barbara Fields stated repeatedly that the black people were already free before this and this simply finally allowed them to fight for what they felt was right. This is an interesting thought for Barbara Fields because it gives all the African Americans who fought in the civil war the goal of fighting for the end of slavery. The emancipation finally gave the African Americans the opportunity to fight for the freedom of others.
Mark Maurer- 3/8/12
Ken Burns presented a look at the possible goals of the war from a very interesting perspective especially in how he presented how Lincoln looked at it. Burns would always remind the viewer that it was not Lincoln's goal to end slavery. He said this at very important points in the documentary especially when the emancipation was presented. He reminded the view when if Lincoln had to pick the top priority of the civil war he would pick conserving the Union. This brings the idea that possibly the emancipation was used more as a tool than just a push toward the moral right. It could even be said that the emancipation was used to stave of foreign interests.
Mark Maurer 3/8/12
Baraba Fields looks at the goal of the war from a Fredrick Douglas point of view. She stated in the first episode that the war was from the very start was for the end of slavery. She even went as far as to say that even though the politicians did not feel this way the African Americans of the time knew that the war was to end slavery. This is a very interesting perspective to look at when considering the goals of the war especially in modern day. This following link shows the difference that some African American civil war scholars feel toward the civil war. When watching the civil war I would like to suggest on looking at how you were taught in grade school and are being taught now and see how it differs with this gentleman. Link
3/9/12 Charlie Firer
Emancipation Proclamation
Barbara fields states in episode 4 that those who were most effected by emancipation did not receive it as news because they knew before Lincoln that the war was about emanciaption proclaimation. The distressing issue is that emancipation proclamation did nothing to get them their freedom. It simply said that they had the right to put thier bodies on the line if they had the nerve to believe in it; and many of them did have the nerve to believe in it, but suffered from that. Even though emancipation finally gave African Americans the opportunity to fight for their freedom and ended slavery, the news was received in a much different way in the North. By accomplishing one goal of the war, the north seemingly distanced themselves from ever accomplishing their other goal of keeping the union together. By pulling the African Americans out of the south, the southern way of life would be forever changed and therefore made it that much harder for the north to save the union.
3/9/12 Charlie Firer
Also discussed in episode 4 was the fact that many northerners did not want the war to be changed to a war over slave liberation, and they felt that emancipation proclamation did just that. It is also interesting to note that emancipation proclamation ignited an anti-war movement in the north. This account leads me to believe that many northerners did not view the abolishment of slavery as an original goal of the war and helps to support the claim that many northerners did not want the war to become a war of slave liberation. Such sentiments tend to become lost to history in the face of ideas supporting the war as a grand crusade against slavery. Feelings were so strong toward emancipation that the men that deserted the 138th Illinois stated that "They would lie in the woods until moss grew on their backs, rather than help free the slaves". On the other hand, emancipation proclamation gave some men fighting for the north a cause that ennobled their efforts. Some units even took up the motto "For Union and Liberty".
Just for fun: This video is pretty amazing - where else can a defeated army show off their old war cry (in the nation in which they were defeated). Mr Lese
Rob Skalecki
Part 1: The documentary made clear that the main goal of the war at the beginning for the North was to keep the union unified. On the other hand, the southerners wanted to establish their legitimacy of being a new nation. They wanted to be taken seriously. This theme is evident throughout part 1 of the documentary. It was almost as if both sides were not originally fighting for significant causes. The south just wanted to be taken seriously and the north wanted re-unification. The issue of slavery was kept hidden.
Rob Skalecki
Part 1:
The goals of both sides were neither seen nor achieved within the first conflicts of the war. Both sides seemed to think that the war would be very short and that their respected side would prevail. However, it became clear after Bull Run that the war was more hellish than thought of before. The poster boys of each side were the presidents. Lincoln was fighting for the preservation of the union and Davis was fighting for the preservation of the south and the stability of the confederacy. Their goals would not come as quickly or as surely as they thought before the war started.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 2:
Once again, the interest and goals of the north and south veered away from having anything to do with slavery. Both nations wanted to preserve what they already had. Lincoln took much criticism and little praise, yet as a viewer, it was easy to see how right he was about his time and his quotes uncannily foreshadow America’s future. Lincoln was the head of the Union’s goals. It seemed like he took a position of complete authority over all the union as he acted almost as if a monarch. On the other side of the country, Jefferson Davis was doing the same. The south was determined to keep fighting for their land and ideals.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 2:
At this point, the war kept raging on. The battle of Shiloh only proved that the war would not be short nor easy. The massive casualties caused at one battle had never been seen before in any previous war. So much destruction was caused due to the outdated tactics in combination with the modernized weaponry; this accounted for the blood bath. For the North, Lincoln’s goal was to take the Mississippi river and cut off all confederate supply in the west. From there, he would focus on Richmond and other important cities. Lincoln’s goals were accurate, yet it was clear that General McClellan would not move his troops. He was constantly overestimating the southern forces. On the other hand, southern general Grant advised Davis to hold Richmond at all cost. Both sides’ goals were focused on the occupation of the southern capitol.
Nick Stephan
Post 1
Looking through the lens regarding the goals of the war, episode one provides some good insight into the causes of the civil war. The first, and most notable goal is whether or not slavery should be allowed. In the North's view, slavery is wrong on every level, and should not be considered legal within the U.S. To the South, slavery is a necessary evil, they might not think it is the best policy, but they need to keep it to survive. This is why the South fought so hard to keep their way of life. At the start of the war, the North's goal was not necessarily complete abolition, but as the fighting intensified, the resentment towards the South grew and along with it the idea of slavery. The South's goal stayed relatively the same throughout the war, to preserve and defend their way of life, which would fall apart without their system of slavery.
Nick Stephan
Post 2
Another goal that was emphasized throughout episode one was succession. As the war broke out around the nation, the North's original intent was to reunify the United States. Since the first cannon shot hit Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln had to deal with the massive task of reuniting the Confederacy with the Union. The South's goal for succession was to start their own independent nation, where slavery and their Southern style of living is free from Northern humiliation. As the war progressed, the North incorporated abolition into its' set of goals, but never lost sight of why they started the war, to reunite the glorified United States of America.
Nick Stephan
Post 3
In episode two, A Very Bloody Affair, the war is in full swing and both the North and the South are experiencing the hardships of a prolonged conflict. In terms of the North, reaching their main goal of rectifying the Union, it was a very rocky start. General Grant's victories at Forts Henry and Donelson started the ball rolling and helped the Union army gain some momentum to barrel through the atrocities at Shiloh and come out on top of the Confederacy. The only real problem that was halting Northern advancements was General McClellan's refusal to attack both Yorktown and Richmond for the fear of being outnumbered. The South, on the other hand, has their own set of challenges they need to overcome. The resources in the South were being pulled very thin and it was starting to show on the front lines. This episode mentioned that the South had to start using thorns as hypodermic needles which shows how the lack of resources was directly impacting the Confederates supplies. Another issue that hindered the South from achieving their goal of forming their own independent country was the lack of morale. This was due in part to the Confederacy issuing the statement that made any person who owned twenty or more slaves exempt from the draft. This turned the fight into a "poor man's war", which made the soldiers really question what they were fighting for. http://www.civilwarhome.com/macbio.htm (Link to General McClellan's biography)
Nick Stephan
Post 4
In episode three, Forever Free, the North continued to fight on to preserve the Union, but was faced with a new challenge, Europe. Lincoln now had to balance both the war at home and the foreign powers of England and France, who could easily shift the tide of battle. The North also had to overcome extreme losses taken at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run and Antietam, and the stubbornness of General McCellan if they wanted any chance of accomplishing their goal of resurrecting the Union. With the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the reinstatement of General Grant, the North's new found spirit helps them carry on and fight for the goals Lincoln has set.
Nick Stephan
Post 5
In terms of the Confederacy, episode 3 paints the dire picture the South is in, and portrays a sense of urgency that Jefferson Davis is feeling in terms of the war. This is seen when the Confederacy cut cotton sales to Britain and France by 90% because the South knew that if Europe would provide them with aid, there would be no way the North could handle that influx of troops and supplies. The South was also slowly moving towards their goal of succession, and the admission of Robert E. Lee as the commander of the Confederate Army helped to prepare the South for the task at hand. As the Battle of Antietam came to a close, that far off goal of succession must have seemed just a little closer, but the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation put a halt on any possible European aid and turned the tables on the South.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
One of the main goals that was visiable throught the movies were the fact that the south was fighting for there home. The northerners were trespassing basically onto the southerners property. The southereners did not appericate this with all the southern pride that we have talked about they felt threatened so they had to to show opposition to this intrusion. They were basically defending the way they wanted to live their lives and did not want to change the succesful ways they had going.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
In the fourth episode of this series Barbra Fields states the the Emancipation Proclimation did nothing, but allow African Americans to fight in the war. She says that they were already a free people before the war but the proclimation allowed them to fight for what they believed in and work to gether as one to not only fight for their own freedom but also the freedom of others. This gave the Afican American Soldiers a common goal in the war which was to fight for their freedom.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
In the early conflicts of the war the goals of each army or people were not clearly visable. The perspective of all the people in the Union or the Confederacy was that the it would be a short war won in a series of gloarious battles and would be over in a couple of months. After the battle of Bull run everone saw that this would not be the case instead it would be a hellishly long and brutle war. Lincoln was fighting for the North which early on had the primary goal of preserving the Union, but as the war raged on also included the freedom of all people. Jefferson Davis was the poster child of the south as he was seen as fighting for the South and all that way of life entails, slavery, glourious antebellum, etc.
Rob Skalecki
Part 3: This part of the documentary saw a shift in the goals of the war for the North. Lincoln vowed that he would propose emancipation after a major victory was taken. Also, fear started to spread that the south would begin to be recognized as a legitimate nation by European powers. The Confederacy seemed to be more powerful than previously thought. The war was no longer considered to be a one way fight. After the battle of Antietam, Abraham Lincoln decided to propose his emancipation. By doing this, many northerners were shocked; the war had been avoiding the issue of slavery vs. abolitionism as an underlying factor, yet Lincoln brought it out as a main issue during this time. This proved to be both a good and a bad thing for the north because many northerners opposed total abolition and completely distrusted Lincoln. On the other hand, it gave union soldiers a new cause for fighting- something they had lacked compared to the south. Not to forget, the eventual permission of blacks to serve in the US military would allow a strategic advantage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVkXthLz4w
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
The southern way of of life is so prominent in the first episode, and it is clearly visable through Lee. He did not agree with the majority of southerners because he did not back or support succesion or slavery though he still fought for them. This shows the loyalty a southerner had to his way of life like the sticker on that car its Heratige not hate. Lee fell in line and supported what he grew up in. This shows that not all southerners fought or even supported what was being fought for like in the reading it states that the majority of the southern people did not own slaves. Most if not all southerners felt like they were getting attacked by the northerners who were trying to push their way of life on the southern people. The southerners would have none of that that is why Lee would not fight against his breathern.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
In the northern goals for the war we talked about sustaining the union on the first day of class and Burns also focus on it in the first episode. the tiping point in the fight to maintain the union was when South Carolina thought that the federal government over steppped its bounds. Thus, South Carolina succeeded for the United States of America followed by six other southern states. When Lincoln came to office his major goal was the maintance of the Union. This is the plateform he stood on and that was his goal throught the war, but as the war continued he realized how big of a deal slavery was to this reuniting of the union. Thus, this bace the second major goal of the civil war on the northern front.
3/12/12Charlie Firer
Even though Ken Burns tires to present the Civil War equally from both sides and without any bias, I think he fails in portraying the Southern goals. Burns focuses much more heavily on the Northerner's attempts to end slavery and thier disire to keep the Union. In comparison, there is little mentioned regarding the Confederate's desire to break away from the Union or their interest in state's rights or their economic or social differences. The main feeling I get after watching these videos is that the only reason for the South's fighting is because the Northerners invaded their land and disrupted their way of life. Hopefully, the second half of films will touch more on the goals of the South.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
I think Ken Burns presents an interesting look into the Civil War and all of its aspects. I especially found it interesting how he presents the view point of Abraham Lincoln. He states numerous times that Lincoln's focus in the war was not to end slavery it was to preserve the Union. when asked Lincoln what Lincoln would prefer he said he would not mind slavery as long as the Union reunited. He sid he wouldn't mind if it got abolished some places, but not others as long as the Union held fast. This was Lincoln's goal coming into office and it was to bad he never got the chance to enact his policies before the succesions began. http://www.forumbiodiversity.com/showthread.php?t=23630
5/8/12 Charlie Firer
I would like to focus specifically on the goal of the Confederacy during the battle of Gettysburg. In the video, Lee is described as telling his men that he considered the second day of fighting a victory. That they had accomplished their goal, and that an attack on the Union’s center would ensure success. However, Longstreet claims that “Lee’s blood was just up” and when that happens “there’s no stopping him”. Longstreet also stated that there was no sign of victorious results. Longstreet went on to say multiple times that he advised they redeploy instead of fight the Union Army head on.
I tend to side with Longstreet in this case. However, I have the unfair advantage of knowing the rest of the story. Anyway, I believe that Lee was foolhardy in thinking they had won when the number of casualties they faced was incredible. For example, when the 20 Maine beat back the Confederates and took 400 men captive even though they were outnumbered 10 to 1. In Lee's mind, he may have thought the goal was accomplished, but when looking back, the goal was not fully realized. This just proves that the goals of any battle are always met with much adversity, especially in a war were pride was one of the driving forces.
5/8/12 Charlie Firer
The siege of Vicksburg was a nail in the coffin of the Confederate Army. Gettysburg provided the turning point. Now, it was Grant’s turn to put a hurt on the Rebels. Thanks to Grant’s new nickname obtained at Fort Donelson, Unconditional Surrender Grant, Vicksburg came at little cost to the Union Army. Control of the Mississippi, and the splitting of the Confederacy in half, meant that victory for the Union was only a matter of time. Now that the Union could deny the trade and supply routes of the Confederacy, they had accomplished one of the original goals established by Winfield Scott at the very beginning of the war. The Anaconda plan was now in its closing stages.
Siege of Vicksburg
5/8/12 Charlie Firer
Although not considered a specific goal at the beginning of the war, I’m sure it was always a goal of the African Americans to one day fight for their rights alongside the Union troops. One of the results of emancipation that acted as a win-win, or somewhat of a side victory, was the fact that so many African Americans were eager to engage in battle for the Union. For many African Americans, their goal of fighting in the war was just that simple. They didn’t require any payment or specific requirements. All they wanted was to end slavery. As stated in the Ken Burns documentary, at this point, the war is nothing more to the Negroes than perpetual slavery against universal freedom. Now, they shared a similar goal to that of the entire Union: Destroy the Confederacy.
5/9/12 Charlie Firer
When Grant took over the Union Armies, he was determined to reach his goal of crushing the Confederacy no matter what the cost. Grant became he first Union general to pursue the North’s goal whole-heartedly. He made up his mind early on that from this point forward there would be no more retreats; he would continue until his objective was realized. After much fighting (and Union loses) during the overland campaign, Grant decided to trick Lee and go ahead of him to Petersburg. Petersburg was where Grant hopped to cut off supplies and destroy the Army of Northern Virginia. It was at this point that Lincoln finally realized Grant would prosper. “General Grant I’ve begin so to see it, you will succeed”. Petersburg turned out to be Grant's saving grace. In forcing Lee’s retreat, Grant also accomplished the goal every Union officer had been seeking for the entire Civil War: Destroy the Army of Northern Virginia.
Click here to view an animated version of Grant's Overland Campaign Overland Campaign
Washington Roebling
5/9/12 Charlie Firer
Another perspective: Curiously, Washington Roebling viewed the Civil War as not having any objective or goal, he stated on June 23, 1864 that, “demand for killing purposes is far ahead of the supply. Thank God for the consolation that when the last man is killed the war will be over. This war differs from all previous wars in having no object to fight for. It can’t be finished until all the men on one side or the other are killed. Both sides are trying to do that as fast as they can because it would be a pity to spin this affair out for two or three years longer.” In Roebling’s eyes the only goal of either side of the war was simply to amass the highest number of kills. I tend to disagree with Roebling. After studying the war for almost a semester, I have realized that there is no way anyone would could have such incredible bravery and be willing to face such tremendous odds if they were not fully committed to some sort of end goal other than just killing the enemy.
William T. Sherman - I sure wouldn't mess with this guy
5/9/12 Charlie Firer William Tecumseh Sherman was put in charge of Grant’s second most important strategy, seize Atlanta and smash the combined Confederate armies. However, I believe he does not receive enough recognition for his actions. In my opinion, Sherman employed the same, if not harsher, strategy in waging war than Grant did, but was more successful in accomplishing his goal. Sherman was able to come away with more victories per battle, all while fighting with fewer men and less time. For example, when General Joseph E. Johnston wanted to slow Sherman’s advance and lure him into making a frontal attack in order to help swing the election against Lincoln, Sherman’s strategy was to masterfully planed, and Sherman did not allow the Confederates to accomplish their goal. In fact, they were pushed all the way back to Atlanta, where Sherman would finalize his summer campaign with a convincing victory over John B. Hood. Sherman’s success was also a victory for the Northern Political campaign. By taking Atlanta, Sherman ensured the reelection of Lincoln, accomplishing yet another objective of the North.
Mark Maurer- posted on 5/6
An interesting goal that was brought up in the documentaries is that Lee was trying to destroy the moral of the Union. Now of course this was not a goal in the over all war but it is still an interesting goal. If one looks at war it comes down to demoralizing tactics. For the Union it was to try to cause the south so much pain that they would give up their way of life. For the confederacy the goal was to destroy their moral to give up and reuniting the south and give up on saving African Americans. I just find it interesting to look at these wars from the perspective of how they were trying to demoralize an enemy. http://changingminds.org/disciplines/warfare/principles/demoralization.htm
Mark Maurer posted 5/8
Who won the war? This idea was brought up in the documentary. Of course from a purely militaristic point of view the North did win but did they truly win the war. I would argue no. Their first goal was to unify the nation and that did not even happen. The south was still very independent and maintained many of their core beliefs. Also the slaves were not truly freed. They were freed from servitude and teh instution of slavery was destroyed but African Americans did not gain their true freedom till teh 1960's. If once considers the war the 100 year time span in which the goals were met then yes they north did eventually win after 100 years but in the 4 years of fighting I would say that the Union did actually lose at achieving their goals.
Posted by Mark Maurer 5/8
The black soldiers refused pay if it was not equal to that of other white Union soldiers. This is obviously a slight forshadowing of the civil rights but it connects to the goal of the war: freeing the slaves. The freeing of the slaves for the African Americans was not to simply attain freedom froom masters but also become equals on the political and economic level. The war was filled with these type of sacrafices by black soldiers. They sacraficed the possibility of their own death even in capture. This progressed so much so that the Lincoln ended up saying that no prisoner exchanges till black soldiers are taken as prisoner not as slaves or killed. This is once again another step to achieving the goal fo the war to equal rights for African Americans. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/
Mark Maurer posted 5/6
During the elections the question of the goal of the war was once again put into question. It is unknown whether McClellan was against the war because he did not reunite the Union or because he did not fully back the freeing of slaves. Still this goal of the war stil held. Putting aside the fact that the victory by Sherman helped Lincoln there must have still been a very large portion of the North that was for freeing the slaves. If not for this Lincoln would not have won the plurality votes. Basically what I am trying to say is that the North must have still believed in the Union and freeing of the slaves even after all the bloodshed.
Mark Maurer posted 5/6
A side affect of making the civil war's goal to reunify the Union is that it made a stronger federal government. It is exemplafied in that before the war the United States was refered to with an are instead of like it is now as an is. This is a very important point made about the civil war. A major goal of the south was to preserve the rights of states. To put it simply the civil war bound the country together on a global scale. It made other countries respect the U.S. as a single entity, not a group of states. If it were not for the civil war the country would not be as unified as it is.
Mark Maurer posted on 5/6
Oliver Winfield Holmes talked about how he felt that the institution of slavery had lasted long enough and that it was that point that was driving many Union soldier. Once again this harkens back to the Goal of the War to free the slaves. He also mentioned that the south was defending this institution just as feverently as the north was attacking it. This is interesting because the soldiers of the war realized the goal of the war. This was a very real issue back then and is not just something made up by historians to simplify the war. It was a real negotiated and discussed issue even among soldiers.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
The movie brings up the idea that we have talked about a lot in class and that is who won the war, and as a northerner I would like to think that yes we did win the war, but in all honesty the only part of the war we had won was the military side of the war. In truth the south saw no change until the 1960’s in their “way of life” so I would say that according to the goals of the war the south won.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
During the war the North used black soldiers and these soldiers obviously required payment, but they would refuse anything that was not equal to that which the white soldiers had been getting. One of the goals of the war after the Emancipation Proclimation was was to free the slaves, and freeing slaves not only meant freeing them from their services, but also that they be free both economically and politically aswell by being treated as equal CITIZENS. The black soldiers refusing the wages also shows the early steps into the civil rights movements which wouldn't come for another 100yrs. Lincoln even imposed sanctions saying prohibiting prisoner exchanges until blacks were treated as equal prisoners.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
The second half of the series highlights the battle of Vicksburg. This was a seige it took numerous months of planning and preperation for the Union to finally break through and stave the rebels into an Unconditional surender. This was not only a keep battle in the progression of the war in the west, but on further investigation we see that it also follows through on General Scott's original plan of attack. The Anaconda plan which was to blockade all of the Confederacy and divide it in half down the Mississippi River and with the capture of Vicksburg the Union had succeeded now that the REbels were divieded they could be conquered.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
Obviously one of the Goals of the war for the North was to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia, and when Grant took control of the Army of the Patomac. He was determined to be the one that achieved this goal. He be came Lincoln's star general when he took over because he adopted a policy to never retreat. Even when the Union got destroyed in battle General Grant would still push forward constantly on the offensive. He finally achieved this goal of the war at the battle of Petersburg when he fianlly drove back Lee's army in defeat.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
Once the war had started the documentary brings to light that General Lee had a goal in mind and it was to demoralize the troops in the Army of the Patomac. After I heard this in the documentary it brought to light many incidences where you can see Lee doing this. For example after many battles most notably Antietam, Lee would have his army line up again almost saying that yes we know that we have been ripped to peices, but we still think that we are better than you and can destroy you. This is very interesting becuase until Gettysburg the Union Army was almost to scared to do anything, but stand and watch. I think that mind games in the War were crucial to the fighting and the outcome of the early battles.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
After securing Vicksburg the next goal that the Union Generals wanted to accomplish was to push the Confederates east. This was left up to William Tecumseh Sherman who took over after Grant was made theGeneral of all the Armies of the Union. Sherman was given a force that numbered 90,00 men and he took those men and marched to the sea. THis march to the sea was not only an astonishing military feat, but also secured the re-election of President Lincoln who continued the war effort. I believe that Sherman was one of the most important generals in the war second only to Grant for the Union and Lee for his superior Tactical abilities. http://www.history.com/interactives/shermans-march
Rob Skalecki
Episode 5
The Goals of the war at the start of part five are very complex. At the beginning, the South under General Lee were pushing north to attack into northern territory. Lee wanted to move north to put pressure off of major southern cities, and he believed that a victory in the north would always the south direct access toward any major northern city. Therefore, a conflict ensued in the small town of Gettysburg. Before and during the battle, the North wanted to hold their ground and ultimately defeat the southern advance. With the help of the high ground, superior numbers, and interior lines, the north was able to accomplish its goal. The Rebels were sent retreating south. Lincoln’s goal was to follow up and attack the south again to hopefully land a blow to end the war. Yet, Meade refused and waited almost two weeks before going back into conflict with the south.
Depiction of the Rebel retreat after Gettysburg
Rob Skalecki
Episode 5
After Gettysburg, the Goals of the war for both sides were greatly altered. The North would go on to capture Vicksburg and then win battles at Chattanooga and Chickamauga. The North was able to see victory with their success. The South, on the other hand, retreated from the North and took on defensive positions throughout the rest of the war. The North was determined to beat the south quickly and a draft was put in place. However, all the northern success did not necessarily mean support of the citizens. Draft riots began to happen about the country and “peace” was the first word on the minds of many northern people.
NY Draft Riots
Rob Skalecki http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWySCrYQZuo&feature=fvst interesting cold harbor walk-through
Episode 6
Part six put an emphasis on the North’s leader (Grant) and the South’s leader (Lee). The goals of Lee and the confederacy had stayed much the same –force the north to attack and wait until they lose the drive to wage war. However, Grant was very opposite of that. Grant wanted the North to simply, out bloody the north and force them to surrender due to their lacking numbers and failing economy. Grant’s strategies were most evident at Cold Harbor where Confederates shot down about 7,000 union soldiers in five minutes. But Grant wouldn’t retreat. The North’s goal was to move on and keep fighting until the south gave up.
Rob Skalecki http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwEnimeUeLY
Episode 7
The biggest goal for the north in episode seven was to keep waging war with any means possible. With this said, the North authorized black soldiers to have equal pay. The meaning of the war in the north had changed from unification of the states to total emancipation. During this time of 1864, Lincoln was running for president against McClellan with the political platform of an end to the war, total emancipation, and reconstructing unification. McClellan just wanted peace. Also, the Northern goals changed to a more aggressive total warfare that Grant and Sherman envisioned. Sheridan swept the Shenandoah and Sherman started his march to the sea. The south kept its goals of defense and wanted to try and wait for a different northern leader to negotiate peace terms. Yet, Lincoln won the election.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 8
The goal in the north waged on as the war continued… total destruction carried on. Sherman continued his march and eventually captured Savannah. The south was holding onto any last glimpse of hope that they could. There fall was becoming evident, especially with the capture of Petersburg. Richmond was to be next. The Northern goal became victory and the goal was in reach. The South was lacking the soldiers to fight. Lee decided to surrender at Appomattox. The North was greatly enthused.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 9
The last episode brings the war to a conclusion. The South and North now have very similar goals. Unification and reconstruction between Lincoln and the south are the two main strives. Forgiveness goes along with both. Not all southerners are as quick to forgive the North yet. Jefferson Davis tries to flee to Mexico. More notably, John Wilkes booth and his crew hatch assassination plans on Lincoln and other Northern authority figures. Lincoln is assassinated by Booth and the reconstruction hope and pardon that Lincoln would have brought to the whole nation was gone. No Longer were there goals to the North and the South. Now, there were goals of the whole country. The United States were united one again and faced their goals as one.
Nick Stephan
Episode 5
Looking through the lens regarding the goals of the Civil War, episode five provides a description of the turning point for the Union and the high-water mark for the Confederacy. As the war rages onward, the goals each side needs to accomplish are becoming much more important, but increasingly more dangerous. The main battle that was discussed in this episode was the bloodbath that came to be known as Gettysburg. After the battle had commenced, the North’s goal was to keep themselves between Lee’s troops and Washington at all costs. As expected, the South’s main objective was to punch through the Union lines, and take this rare opportunity to deliver a devastating blow to the North on their own turf. For the first two days of Gettysburg, the South had the upper hand, and were slowly pushing the North back. Unfortunately for the Confederacy, the implement of Pickett’s charge was the one downfall that helped the Union rebound back on top.
Nick Stepahn
Episode 5 continued
Another goal that was discussed in episode five was the North’s need to conquer Vicksburg. It was the last Confederate stronghold, and a roadblock for any Union success. The way the video portrayed the battle; there was no considerable way for the Confederates to win after the forty-eight day relentless assault by General Grant. A third, but very important goal that was also stressed in this episode was the aid for injured soldiers. In this rare case, both the North and the South are striving for the same thing, to keep their soldiers alive. To accomplish this, the North started the “Sanitary Commission”, which eventually led to Clara Barton forming the Red Cross. In the South, these soldier aid commissions were much more scattered and not nearly as well funded as their Northern counterparts. Either way, both factions did what they could to prolong the life of their vital soldiers.
Nick Stephan
Episode 6
In episode six, Valley of the Shadow of Death, the North had just appointed Ulysses S. Grant to Lieutenant. Grant’s main goal, to win the war, was not more crucial than ever, especially due to the fact that the presidential elections were right around the corner for Lincoln. Grant’s first goal was to get through the Wilderness, but unfortunately Lee had other plans. The problem for Lee was that even though Grant technically lost, he still continued to push forward, determined to achieve his goals. He continued to try and get around Lee’s right flank, but was unsuccessful, which led to the Union Massacre at Cold Harbor. And yet again, Grant pushed onward towards Petersburg, and implemented the technique that he does best, siege. In terms of Southern goals, they were relatively the same, to try and keep the Union away from Richmond at all costs. Another goal that was mentioned concerning the North was to try and improve hospitals and hire more nurses in an effort to aid the wounded Northern veterans returning from war. Civil War Medical Procedures
(a website that looks at surgical procedures and field hospitals during the Civil War)
Nick Stephan
Episode 7
In episode seven, Most Hallowed Ground (1864), the North continued their pursuit of victory in an attempt to quickly end the war before elections can be held. The union badly needed victories if they wanted any chance for Lincoln to even be eligible for reelection. One possible way to accomplish this goal would be to capture the town of Petersburg. To do this, the Yankees became somewhat creative and tunneled under the Confederate lines, which was then filled with gunpowder in an attempt to blow a hole straight through the Rebel lines. This went according to plan until the charging Union troops became trapped within the same hole they had just caused, and became easy targets for on looking Confederates. With Petersburg not looking too promising, the goals for the North started to seem like a lost cause, until Sherman made his daring, yet successful, march to the sea. This helped Lincoln take the edge in the election, only allowing McClellan to win in Kentucky, Delaware, and New Jersey. The goals for the South stay relatively unchanged, to procure their way of life and keep the Union away from Richmond.
Nick Stephan
Episode 8
In episode eight, War is all Hell (1865), the North is in desperate need of a larger scale victory to secure Lincoln’s place in office. This was accomplished when Sherman marched his soldiers from Atlanta to Savanna, leaving only destruction in his wake. His march not only helped Lincoln, it also aided in spurring the goal of emancipation. Along his four hundred and twenty-five mile long path of scorched earth, roughly twenty-five thousand slaves fled and met up and joined the ranks of Sherman’s army. The North’s other goal of reuniting the nation was now for the first time in sight. After Grant’s drawn out fight at Petersburg, he conquered the town and then set his sights on Richmond. This goal was finally accomplished on April ninth, when Lee surrendered. Before the South surrendered, they were faced with a serious case of inflation, bumping the price of a simple piece of firewood up to five dollars a stick. The Confederacy ultimately crumbled and any hope of the South breaking away from the Union was lost.
Nick Stephan
Episode 9
In episode nine, The Better Angels of our Nature (1865), the North was celebrating their mighty accomplishment of reuniting the South with the rest of the country. Just as hope was on the rise, the North had to endure one last challenge, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This catastrophic event presented the North with a new goal, to overcome this national tragedy and continue the process of assimilating the South back in to the Union, and subsequently recreate the United States of America. As for the South, they now had the daunting task of rebuilding their war-torn cities and towns, and turn their land back into the economic hub it once was. Timeline and Photo Gallery of Lincoln's Assassination
(a website that looks at a timeline of Lincoln's Assassination)
Goals of War: Are each side’s goals explained & how they changed or are achieved? How are goals presented & by whom?
2/27/12 Charlie FirerBy making the discussion of secession a key part of the first episode of the documentary, Ken Burns clearly notes the importance of states' rights as well as slavery. These are two of the most important considerations regarding the goals of both the north and the south. For example, when South Carolina felt the federal government had overstepped its authority and decided to leave the union, six other states soon followed, and the south began to gain an edge in one of their main goals of the war. Additionally, the election of Lincoln was viewed by the south as the straw that broke the camel's back. It was a tipping of the scales in terms of power in the United States, and many of the southerners felt greatly threatened by this imbalance. It is important to remember, however, that for the north, the election of Lincoln was a major step forward. Lincoln provided a sence of security for northerners and helped slowly decrease slavery. In a few of his most famous words, Lincoln asserted his position regarding the separation of the union. "A house divided against itself cannot stand". As noted in the video, Lincoln was steadfast in his decision to keep the union together, but his ideals regarding the end of slavery became more and more aggressive as his time in office continued. Doubtlessly, this was due to the realization that the slavery issue would be crucial to turning the tide of the war, as he stated that "If he could end the war and save the union by freeing none, all, or some of the slaves he would do it". Perhaps it was prudent of the South to note that the days of slavery were numbered by the leverage the institution gave to president Lincoln, whether it was alive or dead.
Ken Burns opens the first video of the series with many powerful images of slavery in the United States. It is often a misconception that slavery is the only cause of the war. This video presents the cause of the Civil War from a confederate point of view, and reminds us that there is always another way to view any historical event.
3/3/12 Charlie Firer
In part two of Ken Burn's Civil War documentary, A Very Bloody Affair, writer Shelby Foote tells the story of a small Union squad coming upon a single ragged Confederate soldier who seemingly has no interest in the constituion and did not own any slaves. The Union army officer asked the Confederate soldier, "Why are you fighting anyway?". The soldier responded saying, "I'm fighting 'cause you're down here". This story is a shining example of how the goals of the war are often lost among the bloody battles and intense warfare. Additionally, the passage acts as a reminder that not all southern citizens shared the same values. Just because the majority of the southerners fought to gain independence and the right to own slaves, does not mean that all southerers fought for those reasons. Indeed, many poor southerners often felt betrayed by the upper class, as they were not fighting becaus they could afford exemptions. Thus, the war took on a rich man's war, poor man's fight quality very quickly.
The passage could also be looked at from a different point of view. For instance, the Confederate soldier might have so much pride in his southern lifestyle that even if he does not share all the same values as most other southerners, he still recognizes the same end goals of the war and is willing to put his life on the line in order to achieve them.
3/6/12 Charlie Firer
Now that the war had begun, Lincoln realized that attempting to return the union to its original state was a lost cause. Therefore, Lincoln decided the union must be changed, and in pursuit of the northern goal of abolishing slavery, he turned to emancipation (the demand for civilization). This is especially intriguing because on August 22 1862 Lincoln had stated that his goal in the war was saving the union, not saving or destroying slavery. Lincoln did not care whether saving the union meant freeing no slaves, all slaves or some slaves, he would do it.
During the progression of the war, northerners pressed further and further into southern plantation land. As the slaves became curious of the northerners, they made nuisances of themselves to local commanders, and in doing so, made a figure of themselves to the congress of the United States. Since congress was now controlled by republicans, they forbid the army from returning slaves to masters and eventually outlawed slaver in the territories, reversing the Dred Scott decision. The north was making strong headway in its pursuit of abolishing slavery. As George Templeton Strong put it, “John Brown’s soul is marching on, with the people after”. From this statement, and the facts provided in part three of Ken Burn’s documentary, it would appear that one of the North’s major goals of the war was coming to fruition. It would be up to the south to retaliate in order to preserve their chance of realizing their own goals.
Mark Maurer 3/7/12
As stated in episode 1 Lee did not agree with secession or slavery but fought to defend both. This is an example of just how far the allegiance went for a southerner to defend his heritage. Lee sided with his state because of his love for it and the way of life he grew up with. The goal of the war for Lee was not to defend slavery but to instead defend the way of life that he grew up with and his state. This harkens back to what we talked about at the beginning of the semester. It was discussed that the south was fighting to defend slavery and their way of life. Lee was fighting for slightly different reasons but was essentially to defend a way of life. Quick look at Lee
Mark Maurer 3/7/12
In episodes 2 and 3 Shelbe Foote brings up a story of a southern solider had to the question "Why are you fighting?" The story goes that when asked this the solider responded that it was because the Union Soldiers were "here" meaning in the south. This reveals a simple goal of a southern soldier's perspective. The southern foot soldier was fighting to defend their home. The way of life was obviously still important but at that time the southern soldier was fighting to defend everything he knew, his home.
Mark Maurer- 3/7/12
In episode 3 Lincoln said that emancipation gave the war a better meaning. It was stated at the beginning of the semester that getting rid of slavery was a goal of war. This is a complicated and possibly bold statement especially when looking at the other historical events. At the beginning of the war it was obvious that Lincoln and the majority of republicans were trying to stop the spread of slavery. So to say from the beginning of the war it was a goal to get rid of slavery is partially false. Although, it could be a said that in the end a goal of the civil war was to end slavery.
Mark Maurer- 3/7/12
It was stated in episode 4 that the emancipation did nothing to free them but only to allow the colored people to fight in the war. Barbara Fields stated repeatedly that the black people were already free before this and this simply finally allowed them to fight for what they felt was right. This is an interesting thought for Barbara Fields because it gives all the African Americans who fought in the civil war the goal of fighting for the end of slavery. The emancipation finally gave the African Americans the opportunity to fight for the freedom of others.
Mark Maurer- 3/8/12
Ken Burns presented a look at the possible goals of the war from a very interesting perspective especially in how he presented how Lincoln looked at it. Burns would always remind the viewer that it was not Lincoln's goal to end slavery. He said this at very important points in the documentary especially when the emancipation was presented. He reminded the view when if Lincoln had to pick the top priority of the civil war he would pick conserving the Union. This brings the idea that possibly the emancipation was used more as a tool than just a push toward the moral right. It could even be said that the emancipation was used to stave of foreign interests.
Mark Maurer 3/8/12
Baraba Fields looks at the goal of the war from a Fredrick Douglas point of view. She stated in the first episode that the war was from the very start was for the end of slavery. She even went as far as to say that even though the politicians did not feel this way the African Americans of the time knew that the war was to end slavery. This is a very interesting perspective to look at when considering the goals of the war especially in modern day. This following link shows the difference that some African American civil war scholars feel toward the civil war. When watching the civil war I would like to suggest on looking at how you were taught in grade school and are being taught now and see how it differs with this gentleman. Link
3/9/12 Charlie Firer
Barbara fields states in episode 4 that those who were most effected by emancipation did not receive it as news because they knew before Lincoln that the war was about emanciaption proclaimation. The distressing issue is that emancipation proclamation did nothing to get them their freedom. It simply said that they had the right to put thier bodies on the line if they had the nerve to believe in it; and many of them did have the nerve to believe in it, but suffered from that. Even though emancipation finally gave African Americans the opportunity to fight for their freedom and ended slavery, the news was received in a much different way in the North. By accomplishing one goal of the war, the north seemingly distanced themselves from ever accomplishing their other goal of keeping the union together. By pulling the African Americans out of the south, the southern way of life would be forever changed and therefore made it that much harder for the north to save the union.
3/9/12 Charlie Firer
Also discussed in episode 4 was the fact that many northerners did not want the war to be changed to a war over slave liberation, and they felt that emancipation proclamation did just that. It is also interesting to note that emancipation proclamation ignited an anti-war movement in the north. This account leads me to believe that many northerners did not view the abolishment of slavery as an original goal of the war and helps to support the claim that many northerners did not want the war to become a war of slave liberation. Such sentiments tend to become lost to history in the face of ideas supporting the war as a grand crusade against slavery. Feelings were so strong toward emancipation that the men that deserted the 138th Illinois stated that "They would lie in the woods until moss grew on their backs, rather than help free the slaves". On the other hand, emancipation proclamation gave some men fighting for the north a cause that ennobled their efforts. Some units even took up the motto "For Union and Liberty".
Just for fun: This video is pretty amazing - where else can a defeated army show off their old war cry (in the nation in which they were defeated). Mr Lese
Rob Skalecki
Part 1: The documentary made clear that the main goal of the war at the beginning for the North was to keep the union unified. On the other hand, the southerners wanted to establish their legitimacy of being a new nation. They wanted to be taken seriously. This theme is evident throughout part 1 of the documentary. It was almost as if both sides were not originally fighting for significant causes. The south just wanted to be taken seriously and the north wanted re-unification. The issue of slavery was kept hidden.
Rob Skalecki
Part 1:
The goals of both sides were neither seen nor achieved within the first conflicts of the war. Both sides seemed to think that the war would be very short and that their respected side would prevail. However, it became clear after Bull Run that the war was more hellish than thought of before. The poster boys of each side were the presidents. Lincoln was fighting for the preservation of the union and Davis was fighting for the preservation of the south and the stability of the confederacy. Their goals would not come as quickly or as surely as they thought before the war started.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 2:
Once again, the interest and goals of the north and south veered away from having anything to do with slavery. Both nations wanted to preserve what they already had. Lincoln took much criticism and little praise, yet as a viewer, it was easy to see how right he was about his time and his quotes uncannily foreshadow America’s future. Lincoln was the head of the Union’s goals. It seemed like he took a position of complete authority over all the union as he acted almost as if a monarch. On the other side of the country, Jefferson Davis was doing the same. The south was determined to keep fighting for their land and ideals.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 2:
At this point, the war kept raging on. The battle of Shiloh only proved that the war would not be short nor easy. The massive casualties caused at one battle had never been seen before in any previous war. So much destruction was caused due to the outdated tactics in combination with the modernized weaponry; this accounted for the blood bath. For the North, Lincoln’s goal was to take the Mississippi river and cut off all confederate supply in the west. From there, he would focus on Richmond and other important cities. Lincoln’s goals were accurate, yet it was clear that General McClellan would not move his troops. He was constantly overestimating the southern forces. On the other hand, southern general Grant advised Davis to hold Richmond at all cost. Both sides’ goals were focused on the occupation of the southern capitol.
Nick Stephan
Post 1
Looking through the lens regarding the goals of the war, episode one provides some good insight into the causes of the civil war. The first, and most notable goal is whether or not slavery should be allowed. In the North's view, slavery is wrong on every level, and should not be considered legal within the U.S. To the South, slavery is a necessary evil, they might not think it is the best policy, but they need to keep it to survive. This is why the South fought so hard to keep their way of life. At the start of the war, the North's goal was not necessarily complete abolition, but as the fighting intensified, the resentment towards the South grew and along with it the idea of slavery. The South's goal stayed relatively the same throughout the war, to preserve and defend their way of life, which would fall apart without their system of slavery.
Nick Stephan
Post 2
Another goal that was emphasized throughout episode one was succession. As the war broke out around the nation, the North's original intent was to reunify the United States. Since the first cannon shot hit Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln had to deal with the massive task of reuniting the Confederacy with the Union. The South's goal for succession was to start their own independent nation, where slavery and their Southern style of living is free from Northern humiliation. As the war progressed, the North incorporated abolition into its' set of goals, but never lost sight of why they started the war, to reunite the glorified United States of America.
Nick Stephan
Post 3
In episode two, A Very Bloody Affair, the war is in full swing and both the North and the South are experiencing the hardships of a prolonged conflict. In terms of the North, reaching their main goal of rectifying the Union, it was a very rocky start. General Grant's victories at Forts Henry and Donelson started the ball rolling and helped the Union army gain some momentum to barrel through the atrocities at Shiloh and come out on top of the Confederacy. The only real problem that was halting Northern advancements was General McClellan's refusal to attack both Yorktown and Richmond for the fear of being outnumbered. The South, on the other hand, has their own set of challenges they need to overcome. The resources in the South were being pulled very thin and it was starting to show on the front lines. This episode mentioned that the South had to start using thorns as hypodermic needles which shows how the lack of resources was directly impacting the Confederates supplies. Another issue that hindered the South from achieving their goal of forming their own independent country was the lack of morale. This was due in part to the Confederacy issuing the statement that made any person who owned twenty or more slaves exempt from the draft. This turned the fight into a "poor man's war", which made the soldiers really question what they were fighting for. http://www.civilwarhome.com/macbio.htm (Link to General McClellan's biography)
Nick Stephan
Post 4
In episode three, Forever Free, the North continued to fight on to preserve the Union, but was faced with a new challenge, Europe. Lincoln now had to balance both the war at home and the foreign powers of England and France, who could easily shift the tide of battle. The North also had to overcome extreme losses taken at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run and Antietam, and the stubbornness of General McCellan if they wanted any chance of accomplishing their goal of resurrecting the Union. With the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the reinstatement of General Grant, the North's new found spirit helps them carry on and fight for the goals Lincoln has set.
Nick Stephan
Post 5
In terms of the Confederacy, episode 3 paints the dire picture the South is in, and portrays a sense of urgency that Jefferson Davis is feeling in terms of the war. This is seen when the Confederacy cut cotton sales to Britain and France by 90% because the South knew that if Europe would provide them with aid, there would be no way the North could handle that influx of troops and supplies. The South was also slowly moving towards their goal of succession, and the admission of Robert E. Lee as the commander of the Confederate Army helped to prepare the South for the task at hand. As the Battle of Antietam came to a close, that far off goal of succession must have seemed just a little closer, but the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation put a halt on any possible European aid and turned the tables on the South.
Nick Stephan
Post 6
In episode four, Simply Murder, the North is in crucial need for a victory. After General Burnside failed to take Fredricksburg after fourteen relentless assaults, the goals for the North were looking grim. In the capitol, Lincoln was also having a hard time raising Union spirits. The Emancipation Proclamation was not a huge hit and caused a lot of opposition towards the war. The South had their own problems in accomplishing their goals. Inflation ran rampant in Southern colonies, and the loss of Stonewall Jackson only set the South back further.http://www.google.com/imgres?q=civil+war+map+of+fredericksburg+va&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1440&bih=726&tbm=isch&tbnid=oSz-6WQCkKyqaM:&imgrefurl=http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va028.html&docid=5hIsZk9Dm5wfqM&imgurl=http://americancivilwar.com/civil_war_map/fred_drawing.jpg&w=611&h=921&ei=AmBdT-7zG8q40AGR8KDJDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=190&sig=104733327595528253433&page=1&tbnh=170&tbnw=113&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0&tx=68&ty=39
(This is a map of the battle at Fredricksburg)
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
One of the main goals that was visiable throught the movies were the fact that the south was fighting for there home. The northerners were trespassing basically onto the southerners property. The southereners did not appericate this with all the southern pride that we have talked about they felt threatened so they had to to show opposition to this intrusion. They were basically defending the way they wanted to live their lives and did not want to change the succesful ways they had going.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
In the fourth episode of this series Barbra Fields states the the Emancipation Proclimation did nothing, but allow African Americans to fight in the war. She says that they were already a free people before the war but the proclimation allowed them to fight for what they believed in and work to gether as one to not only fight for their own freedom but also the freedom of others. This gave the Afican American Soldiers a common goal in the war which was to fight for their freedom.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
In the early conflicts of the war the goals of each army or people were not clearly visable. The perspective of all the people in the Union or the Confederacy was that the it would be a short war won in a series of gloarious battles and would be over in a couple of months. After the battle of Bull run everone saw that this would not be the case instead it would be a hellishly long and brutle war. Lincoln was fighting for the North which early on had the primary goal of preserving the Union, but as the war raged on also included the freedom of all people. Jefferson Davis was the poster child of the south as he was seen as fighting for the South and all that way of life entails, slavery, glourious antebellum, etc.
This graph is very telling how the war gradually turns into "Total War" - Mr. Lese
http://www.littlestregular.com/blog/labels/statistics.html
Rob Skalecki
Part 3: This part of the documentary saw a shift in the goals of the war for the North. Lincoln vowed that he would propose emancipation after a major victory was taken. Also, fear started to spread that the south would begin to be recognized as a legitimate nation by European powers. The Confederacy seemed to be more powerful than previously thought. The war was no longer considered to be a one way fight. After the battle of Antietam, Abraham Lincoln decided to propose his emancipation. By doing this, many northerners were shocked; the war had been avoiding the issue of slavery vs. abolitionism as an underlying factor, yet Lincoln brought it out as a main issue during this time. This proved to be both a good and a bad thing for the north because many northerners opposed total abolition and completely distrusted Lincoln. On the other hand, it gave union soldiers a new cause for fighting- something they had lacked compared to the south. Not to forget, the eventual permission of blacks to serve in the US military would allow a strategic advantage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVkXthLz4w
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
The southern way of of life is so prominent in the first episode, and it is clearly visable through Lee. He did not agree with the majority of southerners because he did not back or support succesion or slavery though he still fought for them. This shows the loyalty a southerner had to his way of life like the sticker on that car its Heratige not hate. Lee fell in line and supported what he grew up in. This shows that not all southerners fought or even supported what was being fought for like in the reading it states that the majority of the southern people did not own slaves. Most if not all southerners felt like they were getting attacked by the northerners who were trying to push their way of life on the southern people. The southerners would have none of that that is why Lee would not fight against his breathern.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
In the northern goals for the war we talked about sustaining the union on the first day of class and Burns also focus on it in the first episode. the tiping point in the fight to maintain the union was when South Carolina thought that the federal government over steppped its bounds. Thus, South Carolina succeeded for the United States of America followed by six other southern states. When Lincoln came to office his major goal was the maintance of the Union. This is the plateform he stood on and that was his goal throught the war, but as the war continued he realized how big of a deal slavery was to this reuniting of the union. Thus, this bace the second major goal of the civil war on the northern front.
3/12/12Charlie Firer
Even though Ken Burns tires to present the Civil War equally from both sides and without any bias, I think he fails in portraying the Southern goals. Burns focuses much more heavily on the Northerner's attempts to end slavery and thier disire to keep the Union. In comparison, there is little mentioned regarding the Confederate's desire to break away from the Union or their interest in state's rights or their economic or social differences. The main feeling I get after watching these videos is that the only reason for the South's fighting is because the Northerners invaded their land and disrupted their way of life. Hopefully, the second half of films will touch more on the goals of the South.
Sean Holinka
3/12/2012
I think Ken Burns presents an interesting look into the Civil War and all of its aspects. I especially found it interesting how he presents the view point of Abraham Lincoln. He states numerous times that Lincoln's focus in the war was not to end slavery it was to preserve the Union. when asked Lincoln what Lincoln would prefer he said he would not mind slavery as long as the Union reunited. He sid he wouldn't mind if it got abolished some places, but not others as long as the Union held fast. This was Lincoln's goal coming into office and it was to bad he never got the chance to enact his policies before the succesions began.
http://www.forumbiodiversity.com/showthread.php?t=23630
5/8/12 Charlie Firer
I would like to focus specifically on the goal of the Confederacy during the battle of Gettysburg. In the video, Lee is described as telling his men that he considered the second day of fighting a victory. That they had accomplished their goal, and that an attack on the Union’s center would ensure success. However, Longstreet claims that “Lee’s blood was just up” and when that happens “there’s no stopping him”. Longstreet also stated that there was no sign of victorious results. Longstreet went on to say multiple times that he advised they redeploy instead of fight the Union Army head on.
I tend to side with Longstreet in this case. However, I have the unfair advantage of knowing the rest of the story. Anyway, I believe that Lee was foolhardy in thinking they had won when the number of casualties they faced was incredible. For example, when the 20 Maine beat back the Confederates and took 400 men captive even though they were outnumbered 10 to 1. In Lee's mind, he may have thought the goal was accomplished, but when looking back, the goal was not fully realized. This just proves that the goals of any battle are always met with much adversity, especially in a war were pride was one of the driving forces.
5/8/12 Charlie Firer
The siege of Vicksburg was a nail in the coffin of the Confederate Army. Gettysburg provided the turning point. Now, it was Grant’s turn to put a hurt on the Rebels. Thanks to Grant’s new nickname obtained at Fort Donelson, Unconditional Surrender Grant, Vicksburg came at little cost to the Union Army. Control of the Mississippi, and the splitting of the Confederacy in half, meant that victory for the Union was only a matter of time. Now that the Union could deny the trade and supply routes of the Confederacy, they had accomplished one of the original goals established by Winfield Scott at the very beginning of the war. The Anaconda plan was now in its closing stages.
5/8/12 Charlie Firer
Although not considered a specific goal at the beginning of the war, I’m sure it was always a goal of the African Americans to one day fight for their rights alongside the Union troops. One of the results of emancipation that acted as a win-win, or somewhat of a side victory, was the fact that so many African Americans were eager to engage in battle for the Union. For many African Americans, their goal of fighting in the war was just that simple. They didn’t require any payment or specific requirements. All they wanted was to end slavery. As stated in the Ken Burns documentary, at this point, the war is nothing more to the Negroes than perpetual slavery against universal freedom. Now, they shared a similar goal to that of the entire Union: Destroy the Confederacy.
For more on black soldiers in the Civil War see: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
5/9/12 Charlie Firer
When Grant took over the Union Armies, he was determined to reach his goal of crushing the Confederacy no matter what the cost. Grant became he first Union general to pursue the North’s goal whole-heartedly. He made up his mind early on that from this point forward there would be no more retreats; he would continue until his objective was realized. After much fighting (and Union loses) during the overland campaign, Grant decided to trick Lee and go ahead of him to Petersburg. Petersburg was where Grant hopped to cut off supplies and destroy the Army of Northern Virginia. It was at this point that Lincoln finally realized Grant would prosper. “General Grant I’ve begin so to see it, you will succeed”. Petersburg turned out to be Grant's saving grace. In forcing Lee’s retreat, Grant also accomplished the goal every Union officer had been seeking for the entire Civil War: Destroy the Army of Northern Virginia.
Click here to view an animated version of Grant's Overland Campaign Overland Campaign
5/9/12 Charlie Firer
Another perspective: Curiously, Washington Roebling viewed the Civil War as not having any objective or goal, he stated on June 23, 1864 that, “demand for killing purposes is far ahead of the supply. Thank God for the consolation that when the last man is killed the war will be over. This war differs from all previous wars in having no object to fight for. It can’t be finished until all the men on one side or the other are killed. Both sides are trying to do that as fast as they can because it would be a pity to spin this affair out for two or three years longer.” In Roebling’s eyes the only goal of either side of the war was simply to amass the highest number of kills. I tend to disagree with Roebling. After studying the war for almost a semester, I have realized that there is no way anyone would could have such incredible bravery and be willing to face such tremendous odds if they were not fully committed to some sort of end goal other than just killing the enemy.
5/9/12 Charlie Firer
William Tecumseh Sherman was put in charge of Grant’s second most important strategy, seize Atlanta and smash the combined Confederate armies. However, I believe he does not receive enough recognition for his actions. In my opinion, Sherman employed the same, if not harsher, strategy in waging war than Grant did, but was more successful in accomplishing his goal. Sherman was able to come away with more victories per battle, all while fighting with fewer men and less time. For example, when General Joseph E. Johnston wanted to slow Sherman’s advance and lure him into making a frontal attack in order to help swing the election against Lincoln, Sherman’s strategy was to masterfully planed, and Sherman did not allow the Confederates to accomplish their goal. In fact, they were pushed all the way back to Atlanta, where Sherman would finalize his summer campaign with a convincing victory over John B. Hood. Sherman’s success was also a victory for the Northern Political campaign. By taking Atlanta, Sherman ensured the reelection of Lincoln, accomplishing yet another objective of the North.
Mark Maurer- posted on 5/6
An interesting goal that was brought up in the documentaries is that Lee was trying to destroy the moral of the Union. Now of course this was not a goal in the over all war but it is still an interesting goal. If one looks at war it comes down to demoralizing tactics. For the Union it was to try to cause the south so much pain that they would give up their way of life. For the confederacy the goal was to destroy their moral to give up and reuniting the south and give up on saving African Americans. I just find it interesting to look at these wars from the perspective of how they were trying to demoralize an enemy.
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/warfare/principles/demoralization.htm
Mark Maurer posted 5/8
Who won the war? This idea was brought up in the documentary. Of course from a purely militaristic point of view the North did win but did they truly win the war. I would argue no. Their first goal was to unify the nation and that did not even happen. The south was still very independent and maintained many of their core beliefs. Also the slaves were not truly freed. They were freed from servitude and teh instution of slavery was destroyed but African Americans did not gain their true freedom till teh 1960's. If once considers the war the 100 year time span in which the goals were met then yes they north did eventually win after 100 years but in the 4 years of fighting I would say that the Union did actually lose at achieving their goals.
Posted by Mark Maurer 5/8
The black soldiers refused pay if it was not equal to that of other white Union soldiers. This is obviously a slight forshadowing of the civil rights but it connects to the goal of the war: freeing the slaves. The freeing of the slaves for the African Americans was not to simply attain freedom froom masters but also become equals on the political and economic level. The war was filled with these type of sacrafices by black soldiers. They sacraficed the possibility of their own death even in capture. This progressed so much so that the Lincoln ended up saying that no prisoner exchanges till black soldiers are taken as prisoner not as slaves or killed. This is once again another step to achieving the goal fo the war to equal rights for African Americans.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/
Mark Maurer posted 5/6
During the elections the question of the goal of the war was once again put into question. It is unknown whether McClellan was against the war because he did not reunite the Union or because he did not fully back the freeing of slaves. Still this goal of the war stil held. Putting aside the fact that the victory by Sherman helped Lincoln there must have still been a very large portion of the North that was for freeing the slaves. If not for this Lincoln would not have won the plurality votes. Basically what I am trying to say is that the North must have still believed in the Union and freeing of the slaves even after all the bloodshed.
Mark Maurer posted 5/6
A side affect of making the civil war's goal to reunify the Union is that it made a stronger federal government. It is exemplafied in that before the war the United States was refered to with an are instead of like it is now as an is. This is a very important point made about the civil war. A major goal of the south was to preserve the rights of states. To put it simply the civil war bound the country together on a global scale. It made other countries respect the U.S. as a single entity, not a group of states. If it were not for the civil war the country would not be as unified as it is.
Mark Maurer posted on 5/6
Oliver Winfield Holmes talked about how he felt that the institution of slavery had lasted long enough and that it was that point that was driving many Union soldier. Once again this harkens back to the Goal of the War to free the slaves. He also mentioned that the south was defending this institution just as feverently as the north was attacking it. This is interesting because the soldiers of the war realized the goal of the war. This was a very real issue back then and is not just something made up by historians to simplify the war. It was a real negotiated and discussed issue even among soldiers.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
The movie brings up the idea that we have talked about a lot in class and that is who won the war, and as a northerner I would like to think that yes we did win the war, but in all honesty the only part of the war we had won was the military side of the war. In truth the south saw no change until the 1960’s in their “way of life” so I would say that according to the goals of the war the south won.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
During the war the North used black soldiers and these soldiers obviously required payment, but they would refuse anything that was not equal to that which the white soldiers had been getting. One of the goals of the war after the Emancipation Proclimation was was to free the slaves, and freeing slaves not only meant freeing them from their services, but also that they be free both economically and politically aswell by being treated as equal CITIZENS. The black soldiers refusing the wages also shows the early steps into the civil rights movements which wouldn't come for another 100yrs. Lincoln even imposed sanctions saying prohibiting prisoner exchanges until blacks were treated as equal prisoners.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
The second half of the series highlights the battle of Vicksburg. This was a seige it took numerous months of planning and preperation for the Union to finally break through and stave the rebels into an Unconditional surender. This was not only a keep battle in the progression of the war in the west, but on further investigation we see that it also follows through on General Scott's original plan of attack. The Anaconda plan which was to blockade all of the Confederacy and divide it in half down the Mississippi River and with the capture of Vicksburg the Union had succeeded now that the REbels were divieded they could be conquered.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
Obviously one of the Goals of the war for the North was to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia, and when Grant took control of the Army of the Patomac. He was determined to be the one that achieved this goal. He be came Lincoln's star general when he took over because he adopted a policy to never retreat. Even when the Union got destroyed in battle General Grant would still push forward constantly on the offensive. He finally achieved this goal of the war at the battle of Petersburg when he fianlly drove back Lee's army in defeat.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
Once the war had started the documentary brings to light that General Lee had a goal in mind and it was to demoralize the troops in the Army of the Patomac. After I heard this in the documentary it brought to light many incidences where you can see Lee doing this. For example after many battles most notably Antietam, Lee would have his army line up again almost saying that yes we know that we have been ripped to peices, but we still think that we are better than you and can destroy you. This is very interesting becuase until Gettysburg the Union Army was almost to scared to do anything, but stand and watch. I think that mind games in the War were crucial to the fighting and the outcome of the early battles.
Sean Holinka
5/13/12
After securing Vicksburg the next goal that the Union Generals wanted to accomplish was to push the Confederates east. This was left up to William Tecumseh Sherman who took over after Grant was made theGeneral of all the Armies of the Union. Sherman was given a force that numbered 90,00 men and he took those men and marched to the sea. THis march to the sea was not only an astonishing military feat, but also secured the re-election of President Lincoln who continued the war effort. I believe that Sherman was one of the most important generals in the war second only to Grant for the Union and Lee for his superior Tactical abilities.
http://www.history.com/interactives/shermans-march
Rob Skalecki
Episode 5
The Goals of the war at the start of part five are very complex. At the beginning, the South under General Lee were pushing north to attack into northern territory. Lee wanted to move north to put pressure off of major southern cities, and he believed that a victory in the north would always the south direct access toward any major northern city. Therefore, a conflict ensued in the small town of Gettysburg. Before and during the battle, the North wanted to hold their ground and ultimately defeat the southern advance. With the help of the high ground, superior numbers, and interior lines, the north was able to accomplish its goal. The Rebels were sent retreating south. Lincoln’s goal was to follow up and attack the south again to hopefully land a blow to end the war. Yet, Meade refused and waited almost two weeks before going back into conflict with the south.
Depiction of the Rebel retreat after Gettysburg
Rob Skalecki
Episode 5
After Gettysburg, the Goals of the war for both sides were greatly altered. The North would go on to capture Vicksburg and then win battles at Chattanooga and Chickamauga. The North was able to see victory with their success. The South, on the other hand, retreated from the North and took on defensive positions throughout the rest of the war. The North was determined to beat the south quickly and a draft was put in place. However, all the northern success did not necessarily mean support of the citizens. Draft riots began to happen about the country and “peace” was the first word on the minds of many northern people.
NY Draft Riots
Rob Skalecki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWySCrYQZuo&feature=fvst interesting cold harbor walk-through
Episode 6
Part six put an emphasis on the North’s leader (Grant) and the South’s leader (Lee). The goals of Lee and the confederacy had stayed much the same –force the north to attack and wait until they lose the drive to wage war. However, Grant was very opposite of that. Grant wanted the North to simply, out bloody the north and force them to surrender due to their lacking numbers and failing economy. Grant’s strategies were most evident at Cold Harbor where Confederates shot down about 7,000 union soldiers in five minutes. But Grant wouldn’t retreat. The North’s goal was to move on and keep fighting until the south gave up.
Rob Skalecki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwEnimeUeLY
Episode 7
The biggest goal for the north in episode seven was to keep waging war with any means possible. With this said, the North authorized black soldiers to have equal pay. The meaning of the war in the north had changed from unification of the states to total emancipation. During this time of 1864, Lincoln was running for president against McClellan with the political platform of an end to the war, total emancipation, and reconstructing unification. McClellan just wanted peace. Also, the Northern goals changed to a more aggressive total warfare that Grant and Sherman envisioned. Sheridan swept the Shenandoah and Sherman started his march to the sea. The south kept its goals of defense and wanted to try and wait for a different northern leader to negotiate peace terms. Yet, Lincoln won the election.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 8
The goal in the north waged on as the war continued… total destruction carried on. Sherman continued his march and eventually captured Savannah. The south was holding onto any last glimpse of hope that they could. There fall was becoming evident, especially with the capture of Petersburg. Richmond was to be next. The Northern goal became victory and the goal was in reach. The South was lacking the soldiers to fight. Lee decided to surrender at Appomattox. The North was greatly enthused.
Rob Skalecki
Episode 9
The last episode brings the war to a conclusion. The South and North now have very similar goals. Unification and reconstruction between Lincoln and the south are the two main strives. Forgiveness goes along with both. Not all southerners are as quick to forgive the North yet. Jefferson Davis tries to flee to Mexico. More notably, John Wilkes booth and his crew hatch assassination plans on Lincoln and other Northern authority figures. Lincoln is assassinated by Booth and the reconstruction hope and pardon that Lincoln would have brought to the whole nation was gone. No Longer were there goals to the North and the South. Now, there were goals of the whole country. The United States were united one again and faced their goals as one.
Nick Stephan
Episode 5
Looking through the lens regarding the goals of the Civil War, episode five provides a description of the turning point for the Union and the high-water mark for the Confederacy. As the war rages onward, the goals each side needs to accomplish are becoming much more important, but increasingly more dangerous. The main battle that was discussed in this episode was the bloodbath that came to be known as Gettysburg. After the battle had commenced, the North’s goal was to keep themselves between Lee’s troops and Washington at all costs. As expected, the South’s main objective was to punch through the Union lines, and take this rare opportunity to deliver a devastating blow to the North on their own turf. For the first two days of Gettysburg, the South had the upper hand, and were slowly pushing the North back. Unfortunately for the Confederacy, the implement of Pickett’s charge was the one downfall that helped the Union rebound back on top.
Nick Stepahn
Episode 5 continued
Another goal that was discussed in episode five was the North’s need to conquer Vicksburg. It was the last Confederate stronghold, and a roadblock for any Union success. The way the video portrayed the battle; there was no considerable way for the Confederates to win after the forty-eight day relentless assault by General Grant. A third, but very important goal that was also stressed in this episode was the aid for injured soldiers. In this rare case, both the North and the South are striving for the same thing, to keep their soldiers alive. To accomplish this, the North started the “Sanitary Commission”, which eventually led to Clara Barton forming the Red Cross. In the South, these soldier aid commissions were much more scattered and not nearly as well funded as their Northern counterparts. Either way, both factions did what they could to prolong the life of their vital soldiers.
Nick Stephan
Episode 6
In episode six, Valley of the Shadow of Death, the North had just appointed Ulysses S. Grant to Lieutenant. Grant’s main goal, to win the war, was not more crucial than ever, especially due to the fact that the presidential elections were right around the corner for Lincoln. Grant’s first goal was to get through the Wilderness, but unfortunately Lee had other plans. The problem for Lee was that even though Grant technically lost, he still continued to push forward, determined to achieve his goals. He continued to try and get around Lee’s right flank, but was unsuccessful, which led to the Union Massacre at Cold Harbor. And yet again, Grant pushed onward towards Petersburg, and implemented the technique that he does best, siege. In terms of Southern goals, they were relatively the same, to try and keep the Union away from Richmond at all costs. Another goal that was mentioned concerning the North was to try and improve hospitals and hire more nurses in an effort to aid the wounded Northern veterans returning from war.
Civil War Medical Procedures
(a website that looks at surgical procedures and field hospitals during the Civil War)
Nick Stephan
Episode 7
In episode seven, Most Hallowed Ground (1864), the North continued their pursuit of victory in an attempt to quickly end the war before elections can be held. The union badly needed victories if they wanted any chance for Lincoln to even be eligible for reelection. One possible way to accomplish this goal would be to capture the town of Petersburg. To do this, the Yankees became somewhat creative and tunneled under the Confederate lines, which was then filled with gunpowder in an attempt to blow a hole straight through the Rebel lines. This went according to plan until the charging Union troops became trapped within the same hole they had just caused, and became easy targets for on looking Confederates. With Petersburg not looking too promising, the goals for the North started to seem like a lost cause, until Sherman made his daring, yet successful, march to the sea. This helped Lincoln take the edge in the election, only allowing McClellan to win in Kentucky, Delaware, and New Jersey. The goals for the South stay relatively unchanged, to procure their way of life and keep the Union away from Richmond.
Nick Stephan
Episode 8
In episode eight, War is all Hell (1865), the North is in desperate need of a larger scale victory to secure Lincoln’s place in office. This was accomplished when Sherman marched his soldiers from Atlanta to Savanna, leaving only destruction in his wake. His march not only helped Lincoln, it also aided in spurring the goal of emancipation. Along his four hundred and twenty-five mile long path of scorched earth, roughly twenty-five thousand slaves fled and met up and joined the ranks of Sherman’s army. The North’s other goal of reuniting the nation was now for the first time in sight. After Grant’s drawn out fight at Petersburg, he conquered the town and then set his sights on Richmond. This goal was finally accomplished on April ninth, when Lee surrendered. Before the South surrendered, they were faced with a serious case of inflation, bumping the price of a simple piece of firewood up to five dollars a stick. The Confederacy ultimately crumbled and any hope of the South breaking away from the Union was lost.
Nick Stephan
Episode 9
In episode nine, The Better Angels of our Nature (1865), the North was celebrating their mighty accomplishment of reuniting the South with the rest of the country. Just as hope was on the rise, the North had to endure one last challenge, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This catastrophic event presented the North with a new goal, to overcome this national tragedy and continue the process of assimilating the South back in to the Union, and subsequently recreate the United States of America. As for the South, they now had the daunting task of rebuilding their war-torn cities and towns, and turn their land back into the economic hub it once was.
Timeline and Photo Gallery of Lincoln's Assassination
(a website that looks at a timeline of Lincoln's Assassination)