Thomas L. Connelly and Barbara L. Bellows's God and General Longstreet: The Lost Cause And The Southern Mind effectively examines numerous characteristics within the mental process of southerners and their leaders before, during, and particularly after the Civil War. This text successfully investigates the ideas of southern politicians, generals, novelists, and journalists who all in the face of defeat combined to form a Lost Cause generation who attempted to justify and explain the Confederate experience. Connelly and Bellows offer the reader a unique perspective regarding two different definitions of this lost cause phenomenon; The Inner Lost Cause and the National Lost Cause as they both respectively originated to capture the opinions of a defeated Confederacy and to interpret the situation of the south within the nation. Essentially, this particular text clearly stresses an appreciation and understanding of the influence that these Lost Cause opinions had on the former defeated Confederacy and modern day southern society. Connelly and Bellows explain that southerners of the Inner Lost Cause such as Jefferson Davis and Jubal Early possessed a harsh anger and created a one- dimensional approach in dealing with such a heavy defeat. Regarding some of the initial writings after the war, Connelly and Belows explain that, "Confederates of the Inner Lost Cause wrote more to appease their own frustrations and fears than to convert a national audience" (p.8). Moreover, some light is shed on the idea that many former rebels didn't care about northern opinions of their efforts but valued how the rest of the world viewed the Confederate cause of 1861. As vindication and redemption were both key aspects in the mindset of the extreme inn... ... middle of paper ... ...h, and then four years later, his same devotion to principle focused on mending the torn Union. It is here that Connolly and Burrows identify the key irony of the Lost Cause as they exclaim, " The Vindication of the Confederacy rested heavily upon its supreme hero, and in the process, Robert E. Lee was robbed of much of his southernism"(95). Connelly and Burrows provide a valuable perspective which highlights the paradox and irony which essentially defined the southern mindset before, during, and after the Civil War. This text offers the reader with an in depth look into the mindset of southerners throughout the Civil War and beyond, which enables one to better understand the actions of these rebels within such a decisive period in our Nation's history. Bibliograghpy Connelly and Bellows. "God and General Longstreet: The Lost Cause and the Southern Mind". 1955
After the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville in May of 1863, General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia embarked on their 2nd invasion of the north. General Lee’s first campaign into the north resulted in the Confederate defeat at Antietam. The failure of Lee’s first northern campaign raises the question of his motives. The Confederate Army was...
The essay, “Grant and Lee” written by Bruce Catton presented an exceptional portrait of two patriots serving under a different flag, but fighting the same war. The war tested the ideology of the two men; especially with Lee upholding the aristocracy of the South and Grant shouldering the North under his command. Furthermore, the Civil war served as the test for the nation to keep people from deteriorating since the founding of America in 1776 after the revolutionary war. The men share a common interest of serving their country even if they go against each other.
The book “For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War” by James M. McPherson examines the motivations of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. McPherson wanted to understand why the men fought in the Civil War and why they fought so ferociously for such a large amount of time even though there was a huge possibility of death, disease and injurys.To answer the question regarding the reasons why men fought in the Civil War so viciously, and for such a long period of time, James McPherson studied countless amounts of letters, diaries and other mails that were written or sent by the soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
The book ‘For Cause and Comrades’ is a journey to comprehend why the soldiers in the Civil War fought, why they fought so passionately, and why they fought for the long period of time. Men were pulling guns against other men who they had known their whole lives. McPherson’s main source of evidence was the many letters from the soldiers writing to home. One of the many significant influences was how the men fought to prove their masculinity and courage. To fight would prove they were a man to their community and country. Fighting also had to do with a duty to their family. Ideology was also a major motivating factor; each side thought they were fighting for their liberty. The soldier’s reputations were created and demolished on the battlefield, where men who showed the most courage were the most honored. Religion also played an important role because the second Great Awakening had just occurred. Their religion caused the men who thought of themselves as saved to be fearless of death, “Religion was the only thing that kept this soldier going; even in the trenches…” (McPherson, p. 76) R...
The Union Army was able to match the intensity of the Confederacy, with the similar practice of dedication until death and patriotism, but for different reasons. The Union soldiers’s lifestyles and families did not surround the war to the extent of the Confederates; yet, their heritage and prosperity relied heavily on it. Union soldiers had to save what their ancestors fought for, democracy. “Our (Union soldiers) Fathers made this country, we, their children are to save it” (McPherson, 29). These soldiers understood that a depleted group of countries rather than one unified one could not flourish; “it is essential that but one Government shall exercise authority from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific” (Ledger, 1861).
The book begins with an immediate comparison of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War by the confederate soldiers. They explain their reasoning as to why the northerners are similar to tyrants who constantly suppress the south and their beliefs. They also directly compare the northerners’ cruel actions to “ ‘England’s war upon the colonies,’ ” where the British mother country imposed harsh and inequitable laws on the inexperienced colonists. This is why the south declared “ a holy cause of southern freedom,” which served as a reason to reminisce about their forefathers constant fight to keep their constitutional freedoms. This chapter also consists of very personal accounts, mostly
The Civil War is one of the defining wars in the history of this great nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, and a turning point in the four year war. At the time, Gettysburg was a small, quiet town generally unaffected by the war. General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America and General George Meade of the Union converged in Gettysburg, and a conflict quickly arose. After three long days of battle the Union pulled away with a victory, though not an easy one. This essay will outline the six themes of history; in essence the who, what, when, where, why, and who cares of this infamous battle.
Following the defeat of the Confederacy and to lift the morale of a shattered people momentum gathered to enshrine the Myth of the Lost Cause which would transform the Southern soldier living and dead, into a veritable hero.
The Myth of the Lost Cause was edited by Gary Gallagher, Alan T. Nolan, and other several editors have taken the challenge of a difficult task of trying to summarize of what happened in the end of numerous of misrepresentations of this historic event. The book has a total 9 essays, giving me a different kind of reading style and showing its precision in showing it. I think what the editors were trying to convey was that the final analysis of the book is trying to explain how the Lost Cause myth was created and how it is still in effect to our national memory of the Civil War.
When General Lee surrendered to General Grant at the Appomattox court house in 1865, the South was shocked; the Confederacy had lost the Civil War. During the years after the war, the South developed a new way of viewing the Civil War in an attempt to preserve Southern honor and dignity. This movement, referred to as the “Lost Cause”, rejected the idea that the Civil War was caused primarily by slavery and sought to rebrand the war as a struggle to maintain the Southern way of life. The “Lost Cause” advocates argued that their work was not political in nature, which was largely true, but this statement failed to take into account the fact that the goals of the “Lost Cause” did have some political ramifications. The “Lost Cause” sought to restore
The Civil War is said to be one of America’s bloodiest wars. Neighbors killed neighbors and brothers killed brothers; the entire nation was divided. Two opposing sides had formed, the North and the South, and each side was led into battle by a powerful general. The North was led by General Ulysses S. Grant and the South was led by General Robert E. Lee. These men were both alike and different. This is shown in Bruce Catton’s “Grant and Lee: a Study in Contrast”. Through Catton’s essay it is shown that during the Civil War America was divided and each side was living different lives with different perspectives, while at the same time both sides leaders, Grant and Lee, were equally matched and represented Americas division.
The North’s negligence also contributed to the end of Reconstruction. The North had failed to notice the many racially motivated atrocities that occurred in the South durin...
General Lee knows that we have inexperienced men and aims at improving the quality of the troops. He upgrades the quality by tightening command and discipline, improving morale, and convincing the soldiers that the confederacy was in full command of the situation. Lee knew that we are lacking, and devised initiatives to nullify the Union’s superiority in manpower, armaments, and supply by destroying their prearranged plans.
Sears’ thesis is the Union could have won the war faster. McClellan was an incompetent commander and to take the initiative to attack an defeat the Confederate army. The Army of Northern Virginia, under...
Imagine a historian, author of an award-winning dissertation and several books. He is an experienced lecturer and respected scholar; he is at the forefront of his field. His research methodology sets the bar for other academicians. He is so highly esteemed, in fact, that an article he has prepared is to be presented to and discussed by the United States’ oldest and largest society of professional historians. These are precisely the circumstances in which Ulrich B. Phillips wrote his 1928 essay, “The Central Theme of Southern History.” In this treatise he set forth a thesis which on its face is not revolutionary: that the cause behind which the South stood unified was not slavery, as such, but white supremacy. Over the course of fourteen elegantly written pages, Phillips advances his thesis with evidence from a variety of primary sources gleaned from his years of research. All of his reasoning and experience add weight to his distillation of Southern history into this one fairly simple idea, an idea so deceptively simple that it invites further study.