Northern vs Southern Perspective:Is one side represented more than the other? Provide examples.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Throughout the first episode, it is apparent that there is somewhat of a bias towards the North with regards to the separation of the union. There is a focus on the North being more properly mannered when it came down to the political uprisings such as the Sumner caning when Brookes became the face of the ravenous Southern culture. However, Burns does allot time to presenting the colloquial Southern view, of a war to repel an invading force, which Burns portrays as absolutely justifiable. While the focus if evenly distributed between the North and South, the two are revered as two polar opposites; the North being the “good guys” and fighting to preserve the Union and the South being portrayed as the “bad guys” by destroying the Union and everything that it upholds.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Burns focuses primarily on the Northern perspective at the outset of the war and the struggles that it faces now that the South has left the Union. One of the main things discussed was the struggle that Abraham Lincoln had in gaining the respect of his nation. In terms of the presidency, Burns focus much more on Abraham Lincoln then he does Jefferson Davis. While Jefferson Davis played a major role in the war, his impact during his presidency was not as significant as Abraham Lincoln’s role in the Emancipation Proclamation or the fact that it was Abraham Lincoln’s election that fueled the radicals in the South.
Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln:
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
During episodes one through four, Burns praises the command of the Confederate Army over the Union army. He glorifies Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee compared to the Union Generals such as Scott and McClellan which he continuously insults and blames for the Union losses. For example, when Burns describes McClellan’s siege on Richmond in which he waited for reinforcements, even though he had many more troops than the confederates, he does so in a way which makes McClellan look weak and scared instead of cautious and wise. Burn also mentions multiple times how General Grant was possibly a drunk which only supports the argument that Burns had a bias towards the confederate generals.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Burn tended to mention the South more when discussing the topic of slavery. For example, in the first episode the topic of slavery mainly revolved around the South and the affect that slaves have on Southern culture and its economy. The North was not fully involved with slavery within the civil war until the Emancipation Proclamation which is why slavery and the North were not mentioned a whole lot in the first couple episodes of the show.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
There were many battles that Burn mentions within each episode and I believe that he does a fairly good job in mentioning both the North and South equally throughout. Burns does an extraordinarily good job in explain the battle plans that each side had for each battle and also the affects that the battles had on both sides. He also does a good job in explaining how confident each side was that they were going to win. Each side was so sure that they would win that both predicted the war would be over within 90 days, which was not even in close proximity.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Burns does a great job in relating the lives of the Northern and Southern soldiers throughout the war. The soldiers had tough experiences, especially the harsh work that they had to put in such as Grant marching his armies 180 miles and fighting 5 battles before finally reaching the true objective of Vicksburg. One thing that I noticed throughout these first four episodes is how easy it is to see numbers when looking at these facts instead of each individual soldier’s life. Burns’ does a good job in focusing both on the numbers and facts as well as the feelings and thoughts from the soldiers with individual quotes.
3/12/12 Andy Roy Burns introduces the North and the South equally at the beginning of the series by giving the perspectives of both sides, and sharing the beliefs of abolitionists and sympathy for slave owners. He shows both sides triumphs and darkest hours. An example of this is the introduction of generals of the Civil War such as Stonewall Jackson and George McClellan. For both men he stated their vices and what gave them trouble as a leader, but he also seemed to have the same regard of respect. However, Burns made sure to point out that the North and the South are exact opposites of each other, and that there is no doubt the two will clash.
3/12/12 Andy Roy While Burns relays the facts about how many times the Union Army of the Potomac switched hands of command, it could be perceived that he disrespecting Lincoln's ability to choose an effective General. It seems as though there may be a little bit of bias when explaining why Lincoln replaced Burnside for Hooker who was less experienced. It almost portrayed Lincoln as being desperate and as if he was disregarding the consequences of appointing such a leader.
3/12/12 Andy Roy In episode two, Burns discusses the negative aspects of Lincoln and how he was not popular with the people. The South seceded when Lincoln was elected and did everything in its power to make him look like a fool. This bias leans heavily on the South, but the North can be included as well. Abraham Lincoln understood this and retorted, “If there is a worse place than hell, I am there.” General McClellan himself insulted Lincoln and considered him unfit to run the country.
3/12/12 Andy Roy In all four episodes, Foote provides humorous anecdotes of Southern generals and soldiers. There is one in particular in which Foote says that a Southern general was surrounded on all sides by the Union. He was alone on his horse but managed to turn and break through the flank. Shelby smiles as he says the man got away. This is evidence for the support of the South in the stories told during this documentary.
3/12/12 Andy Roy I feel that Burns, through his use of historians with different biases, shows no specific bias towards the Union or Confederacy. When Ken Burns mentions how much trust the Southern generals would gain by winning battles, he sneakily points out that the North hadn't won many battles, and therefore assumes that the Northern army didn't have trust in their generals; which, is blatant bias towards the South. When Ken Burns includes facts about Gen. Ben Butler and the way that he was called "The Beast" by the people in Louisiana for protecting his troops and fighting for his "country" and its beliefs he shows a bias towards the people of the North while "calling-out" the people of the south for their poor treatment of the Union army.
3/12/12 Andy Roy While I think Burns does demonstrate a good balance between the north and the south in an unbiased view, I think he likes to highlight the importance of the command of the south. Multiple times throughout the first four episodes, he comments on the South’s superior general and officers because of their actions. Southern general like to take on huge forces with such daring plans, but I think highlighting this is important because it shows how the south survived.
Northern vs Southern Perspective: Is one side represented more than the other? Provide examples.
3/11/12 Connor NelsonThroughout the first episode, it is apparent that there is somewhat of a bias towards the North with regards to the separation of the union. There is a focus on the North being more properly mannered when it came down to the political uprisings such as the Sumner caning when Brookes became the face of the ravenous Southern culture. However, Burns does allot time to presenting the colloquial Southern view, of a war to repel an invading force, which Burns portrays as absolutely justifiable. While the focus if evenly distributed between the North and South, the two are revered as two polar opposites; the North being the “good guys” and fighting to preserve the Union and the South being portrayed as the “bad guys” by destroying the Union and everything that it upholds.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Burns focuses primarily on the Northern perspective at the outset of the war and the struggles that it faces now that the South has left the Union. One of the main things discussed was the struggle that Abraham Lincoln had in gaining the respect of his nation. In terms of the presidency, Burns focus much more on Abraham Lincoln then he does Jefferson Davis. While Jefferson Davis played a major role in the war, his impact during his presidency was not as significant as Abraham Lincoln’s role in the Emancipation Proclamation or the fact that it was Abraham Lincoln’s election that fueled the radicals in the South.
Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln:
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
During episodes one through four, Burns praises the command of the Confederate Army over the Union army. He glorifies Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee compared to the Union Generals such as Scott and McClellan which he continuously insults and blames for the Union losses. For example, when Burns describes McClellan’s siege on Richmond in which he waited for reinforcements, even though he had many more troops than the confederates, he does so in a way which makes McClellan look weak and scared instead of cautious and wise. Burn also mentions multiple times how General Grant was possibly a drunk which only supports the argument that Burns had a bias towards the confederate generals.
Here is a list of all the generals of the Civil War and more interesting information on each of them:
http://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-generals.html
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Burn tended to mention the South more when discussing the topic of slavery. For example, in the first episode the topic of slavery mainly revolved around the South and the affect that slaves have on Southern culture and its economy. The North was not fully involved with slavery within the civil war until the Emancipation Proclamation which is why slavery and the North were not mentioned a whole lot in the first couple episodes of the show.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
There were many battles that Burn mentions within each episode and I believe that he does a fairly good job in mentioning both the North and South equally throughout. Burns does an extraordinarily good job in explain the battle plans that each side had for each battle and also the affects that the battles had on both sides. He also does a good job in explaining how confident each side was that they were going to win. Each side was so sure that they would win that both predicted the war would be over within 90 days, which was not even in close proximity.
3/11/12 Connor Nelson
Burns does a great job in relating the lives of the Northern and Southern soldiers throughout the war. The soldiers had tough experiences, especially the harsh work that they had to put in such as Grant marching his armies 180 miles and fighting 5 battles before finally reaching the true objective of Vicksburg. One thing that I noticed throughout these first four episodes is how easy it is to see numbers when looking at these facts instead of each individual soldier’s life. Burns’ does a good job in focusing both on the numbers and facts as well as the feelings and thoughts from the soldiers with individual quotes.
Here is some more interesting information of the lives of soldiers throughout the civil war:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/soldierslife.htm
3/12/12 Andy Roy
Burns introduces the North and the South equally at the beginning of the series by giving the perspectives of both sides, and sharing the beliefs of abolitionists and sympathy for slave owners. He shows both sides triumphs and darkest hours. An example of this is the introduction of generals of the Civil War such as Stonewall Jackson and George McClellan. For both men he stated their vices and what gave them trouble as a leader, but he also seemed to have the same regard of respect. However, Burns made sure to point out that the North and the South are exact opposites of each other, and that there is no doubt the two will clash.
3/12/12 Andy Roy
While Burns relays the facts about how many times the Union Army of the Potomac switched hands of command, it could be perceived that he disrespecting Lincoln's ability to choose an effective General. It seems as though there may be a little bit of bias when explaining why Lincoln replaced Burnside for Hooker who was less experienced. It almost portrayed Lincoln as being desperate and as if he was disregarding the consequences of appointing such a leader.
3/12/12 Andy Roy
In episode two, Burns discusses the negative aspects of Lincoln and how he was not popular with the people. The South seceded when Lincoln was elected and did everything in its power to make him look like a fool.
This bias leans heavily on the South, but the North can be included as well. Abraham Lincoln understood this and retorted, “If there is a worse place than hell, I am there.” General McClellan himself insulted Lincoln and considered him unfit to run the country.
Background information on Abraham Lincoln and Gen. George McClellan
http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/Library/newsletter.asp?ID=129&CRLI=177
3/12/12 Andy Roy
In all four episodes, Foote provides humorous anecdotes of Southern generals and soldiers. There is one in particular in which Foote says that a Southern general was surrounded on all sides by the Union. He was alone on his horse but managed to turn and break through the flank. Shelby smiles as he says the man got away. This is evidence for the support of the South in the stories told during this documentary.
3/12/12 Andy Roy
I feel that Burns, through his use of historians with different biases, shows no specific bias towards the Union or Confederacy. When Ken Burns mentions how much trust the Southern generals would gain by winning battles, he sneakily points out that the North hadn't won many battles, and therefore assumes that the Northern army didn't have trust in their generals; which, is blatant bias towards the South. When Ken Burns includes facts about Gen. Ben Butler and the way that he was called "The Beast" by the people in Louisiana for protecting his troops and fighting for his "country" and its beliefs he shows a bias towards the people of the North while "calling-out" the people of the south for their poor treatment of the Union army.
Ben "The Beast" Butler biography
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/benjamin-butler.html
3/12/12 Andy Roy
While I think Burns does demonstrate a good balance between the north and the south in an unbiased view, I think he likes to highlight the importance of the command of the south. Multiple times throughout the first four episodes, he comments on the South’s superior general and officers because of their actions. Southern general like to take on huge forces with such daring plans, but I think highlighting this is important because it shows how the south survived.