The Killer Angels Essay, Research Paper

In Michael Shaara & # 8217 ; s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, the grounds for contending the war are brought about through the officers and soldiers at a celebrated conflict site of the Civil War, Gettysburg. Gettysburg was one of the most documented conflicts of the whole war. It took topographic point over a span of three yearss and can be viewed as a turning point from Confederate prominence to Confederate death. As in any struggle, there are two sides to the narrative. The Union and the Confederacy each had their ain positions as to why they were contending the war. Victors write the history so excessively frequently merely the Union side is presented

. In the book we are presented with some of both vaspects. The propaganda pitch the Union gave was they were contending to liberate the slaves. This was non true! It was said Southerners were contending to continue bondage. This is besides a false statement. Approximately less than 6 % of all Southerners owned slaves. In fact, there were a significant sum of generals in the Union ground forces that owned slaves themselves. In add-on the fundamental law protected bondage. If the true issue was to keep slavery the South would non hold seceded. The most obvious myth is that the & # 8220 ; good & # 8221 ; North marched into the & # 8220 ; cruel and evil & # 8221 ; South for the exclusive intent of liberating the slaves. There are many quotation marks from Northern leaders that show clearly that the chief intent of the North was non the obliteration of bondage, but subjection of the southern people. Slavery was used to beat up the Northern population behind Abraham Lincoln & # 8217 ; s war. It was an emotional issue, certain some Northerners joined and fought to & # 8220 ; set work forces free & # 8221 ; , but most were at that place to continue the brotherhood. Continuing the Union meant stepping on the Southern people and maintaining them as a revenue enhancement base to feed Northern industrialists. An interesting struggle of Northern ethical motives is discovered. The North is portrayed as desiring to put black work forces free, but they practiced economic bondage on the Southern provinces. The Civil War was truly more politically complex with respects to Abraham Lincoln and his Republican party & # 8217 ; s actions. The South fought this war as the Second American Revolution. The cause of the South was equated to that of their sires who had fought and won their freedom from Great Britain less than 100 old ages before. If it was a war to put work forces free, it was the Southern farm male child that wanted his freedoms guaranteed under the original fundamental law.

The Northern states & # 8217 ; politicians were sharply trying to implement a monarchial signifier of authorities, which was exactly what the early settlers had fought against in the American Revolution. The Northern provinces were taking advantage of their superior Numberss in the federal authorities and were utilizing their advantage to implement unjust duties against the South. Enormous sums of money were taken from the South and funneled into the Northern provinces. Most of the gross taken from the Southern provinces was used to run authorities plans. This brought about the statement of & # 8220 ; State & # 8217 ; s Rights & # 8221 ; and a weaker cardinal authorities by the South. The chief cause of the war was Lincoln & # 8217 ; s rejection of the right to peace-loving sezession of the 11 crowned head provinces and later the denial of self-determination to the about 8 million people populating in those provinces. The Federal authorities needed the income from the South so they were forced into contending to salvage the revenue enhancement coming from the South. Without confer withing Congress, Lincoln sent great ground forcess of devastation to the South. The Southern people had no pick but to support themselves from this invasion. The South fought, merely, for their independency, as the United States federal authorities of the Northern provinces refused to let the South to go forth peacefully. The work forces of the South did non fight to win their freedom, they fought to maintain it! To cite from the Declaration of Independence: & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; that whenever any signifier of authorities becomes destructive of these terminals, it is the right of the People to change or get rid of it, and to establish new Government, layi

ng its foundation on such rules, and forming its powers in such signifier, as to them shall look most likely to consequence their safety and happiness.” For all purposes and intents, if the North had non invaded the South, there would hold been no war. The name “civil war” implies that two, or more, groups of people within a state take up weaponries against each other in a battle for the authorities. This was non what took topographic point in the South between 1861 and 1865. It was an invasion of one state into another independent, autonomous state. The battle is decently called “The War For Southern Independence, ” as that is the most right description of the logical thinking behind the war. The Southern soldier fought to protect his place, State, and State from the invading United States ground forces. He fought in award of his sires who had fought against British dictatorship. The soldiers of the Confederacy were non treasonists. Some historiographers have branded any adult male who fought for their place province in 1861-1865 as a treasonist including General Robert E. Lee. This is a Yankee political point of position which is rather narrow. Many of the leaders, both Union and Confederate were educated at West Point. Even at West Point they were taught about autonomous provinces rights. Work force who resigned their brotherhood committee to fall in the Confederacy, did so because they believe and were taught that place ( province ) responsibility, award, trueness came before federal issues. It is slander to name them treasonists based on the instruction received by the Federal authorities of that clip. Many of the best trained and extremely skilled officers decided to side with the Confederacy. Probably, the most celebrated was General Robert E. Lee. Lee was a good respected grandfather-figure. He seemed about perfect in all facets of life. He had great ethical motives, was highly spiritual, and his work forces showed proper regard. Lee understood the principal of States Rights. In a conversation with Confederate General James Longstreet, Lee knew old Virginia held a big topographic point in his Hart. “There was a higher responsibility to Virginia. That was the first responsibility. There was ne’er any uncertainty about that” ( 191 ) .

The regard for Lee shined through George Pickett and his division at Gettysburg. The thought that Lee was contending for Virginia inspired Pickett & # 8217 ; s work forces to bear down at Cemetery Ridge, while the Union military personnels sat behind walls. Before the heroic tally at Cemetery Ridge, Pickett and his work forces expressed Lee & # 8217 ; s thought, & # 8220 ; ? and allow no adult male bury today that he is from old Virginia. & # 8221 ; If you investigate through journals and other first manus accounts the grounds that these work forces fought for their places, farms county and province, you may happen many different replies to the ground why they fought. I can non happen the reply of subverting the United States Federal Government. The citizen soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America. The saving of autonomy and freedom was the greatest motivation factor in the South & # 8217 ; s determination to contend for independency. They resigned their bond to a authorities that they found progressively mistreating the fundamental law and the rights of the provinces for self finding. The doggedness with which Confederate soldiers fought underscored their belief in the rights guaranteed by the fundamental law. These properties are the underpinning of our democratic society and stand for the foundation on which this state was originally built. They did non seek to destruct the federal authorities, they chose to retreat and organize their ain authorities that was to be truer to the original fundamental law. Predominately Northerners fought to continue the Union and Southerners fought for their rights as a separate state. Those grounds were felt by the bulk of Union and Confederate soldiers. The Union was winning in the American Civil War, but feelings of the Federal Government non carry throughing its responsibilities under the Constitution are still alive today. Wars will ever be fought for different causes and that will ever keep true with the wars of the hereafter.

Bibliography

Sharra, Michael THE KILLER ANGELS