Themes Of Redemption The Last Battle Of The Civil War

982 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Civil war narrative essay

Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War Review In the historical narrative Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War, Nicholas Leman gives readers an insight into the gruesome and savage acts that took place in the mid-1870s and eventually led to the end of the Reconstruction era in the southern states. Before the engaging narrative officially begins, Lemann gives a 29-page introduction to the setting and provides background information about the time period. With Republican Ulysses S. Grant as President of the United States of America and Republican Adelbert Ames, as the Governor of Mississippi, the narrative is set in a town owned by William Calhoun in the city of Colfax, Louisiana. As a formal military commander, Ames ensured a …show more content…

On Easter of 1873 the city of Colfax experienced what is considered to be the last, but bloodiest battle of the Civil War and the end of the Reconstruction Era. This devastating event is known as the Colfax Massacre. In hopes of intimidating African Americans to keep them from voting, the Colfax Massacre resulted in the deaths of hundreds of black men. All of the incidents that occurred in the narrative were a result of the racism whites had against African-Americans which makes this one of the major themes of the book. The prevalence of racism in Colfax leads to many violent outbreaks, thus making violence a reoccurring theme in the narrative. In Nicholas Lemann’s work, Redemption: The Last Battle of The Civil War, Lemann illustrates the themes of racism, and the …show more content…

He does this by examining Adelbert Ames rise to Governor along with his use of racist but real terminology. Also, he describes the violent outbreaks that arose due to the mass amount of racism. Leemann illustrates the brutality of the violence used in attempt to scare Republicans from voting. The events that occurred in Leemanns book have results that have changed our nation forever. Nicholas Leeman does an excellent job recounting how life was like in the southern states during the end of the Reconstruction

Show More
Related

  • Role of Ulysses S. Grant in the American Civil War

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marrin, Albert. Unconditional Surrender: U.S. Grant and the Civil War. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Print.

    Read More

  • Failure of Mission Command by General McClellan

    2308 Words  | 5 Pages

    Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a

    Read More

  • History of Andersonville Prison

    4610 Words  | 10 Pages

    What happened at Andersonville was a repercussion of the Confederacy’s inability, not on the inability of Henry Wirz. Bibliography Denny, Robert. A. Civil War Prisons and Escapes. New York, New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 1993. Futch, Ovid.

    Read More

  • The Civil War: The Path to Disunion

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abolitionism was around before the 1830’s but, it became a more radical during this time. Before 1830, Benjamin Lundy ran a anti-slavery newspaper. In 1829, Lundy hired William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison went on to publish his own newspaper the Liberator.

    Read More

  • Race Riot

    2137 Words  | 5 Pages

    I think the first major aspect you get is idea of the riot. He goes into great length talking about various riots that happened all throughout the nation. However, from reading it they all seemed to go down the same line. The riots are not like we typically think of but they are for the same reason. In the books, perspective the killing of a black mostly started these riots. Black people would then retaliate by rioting. This theme was recurrent. Usually the papers or word of mouth instigated the riot. Reason for this being an interesting aspect is the perception of the riots. When whites rioted, it was to protect dignity and to do the right thing. They had a so-called legit moral purpose for their actions. As Tuttle states blacks rioting were often seen as ruthless and they are depicted as animals and should be dealt with. This difference in depiction was interesting to me. I guess it would lie in the mindset of the people of those prevailing times.

    Read More

  • The Civil War: Reconstruction

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil war could very easily be known as one of the greatest tragedies in United States history. After the Civil War, the people of The United States had so much anger and hatred towards each other and the government that 11 Southern states seceded from the Nation and parted into two pieces. The Nation split into either the Northern abolitionist or the Southern planation farmers. The Reconstruction era was meant to be exactly how the name announces it to be. It was a time for the United States to fix the broken pieces the war had caused allowing the country to mend together and unite once again. The point of Reconstruction was to establish unity between the states and to also create and protect the civil rights of the former slaves. Although Reconstruction failed in many aspects such as the upraise in white supremacy and racism, the reconstruction era was a time the United States took a lead in the direction of race equality.

    Read More

  • The Secession of the South

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.

    Read More

  • Nicholas Lemann's Redemption: An Analysis

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America is a country that was founded upon the belief that every citizen in the Union has specific, basic, human rights that no government can take away from them. Through time, this notion has not changed. Rather, the changing notion of citizenship is what is manifested as the primary motivator of the American Civil War and sequentially Reconstruction. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, slavery had been abolished. However, a new presence of darkness was revealed in the years following the war. This new darkness was the ever-growing racial discourse between Black and White southerners. This discourse was so palpable that it affected everything from family affairs to major politics. Nicholas Lemann’s Redemption: The last

    Read More

  • Sappho's Roles In The Negro Woman And The Negro Community

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    At a meeting of the American Colored League, where turn-of-the-century Boston’s black citizenry, along with delegates from all over the country, have gathered to confront a wave of Southern lynchings, Luke Sawyer rises to deliver an impromptu speech detailing the brutalities of southern racism. Scheduled speakers at the meeting are the transparent representatives of these leaders: Du Bois in the figure of the radical philosopher Will Smith and Washington in the person of Dr. Arthur Lewis, the “head of a large educational institution in the South devoted to the welfare of the Negros” and a man who advocates peaceful accommodation with southern whites (242). Luke Sawyer takes the podium and begins to preach by criticizing the previous speakers (the corrupt Mr. Clapp and his lackey, John Langley) for their “conservatism, lack of brotherly affiliation, lack of energy for the right and the power of the almighty dollar which deadens men’s hearts to the sufferings for his brothers” (256). Rather than engaging in the rational debate form (as represented by Clapp and Langley), Sawyer passionately narrates a personal story of his own family’s suffering, a history in which his father is punished by a lynching mob for operating a successful black business in

    Read More

  • Civil War Chapter Summaries

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    After reading chapter 3, I have found several things I could agree upon with the author Yancey. Yancey writes “Perhaps the intensity of feeling among the three traditional stems from a common heritage: family disputes are always the stubbornest, and civil wars the bloodiest”

    Read More

  • The Confederate's Defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg

    1922 Words  | 4 Pages

    The famous Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 to July 3 of 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle proved to show the most casualties of the entire war and resulted in a crushing defeat of the Confederates. The Battle of Gettysburg is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. This paper will demonstrate the various reasons as to why the Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, were unsuccessful in the Battle of Gettysburg during their invasion of the north. General Lee’s over-confidence, the confederate army’s disorganization and failed coordination, and the shift of intelligence all contributed to the crushing defeat of the confederates at Gettysburg. Following his “flawless” battle at Chancellorsville, General Lee was instilled with absolute confidence in his men and failed to see any deficiencies in his army’s offensive capabilities. Lee was not only over-confident, but also knew less than his opponent during the most crucial stages of the battle. The final contributing factor as to why the confederates were defeated was Alexander’s failure to provide effective artillery bombardment and his failure to advise General Pickett not to make the charge after the ineffective bombardment.

    Read More

  • Who Killed Reconstruction

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Racism in The Father of Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Racism was very evident in this story and also in the time period before the American Civil War.

    Read More

  • The Civil War: A Turning Point In American History

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil War, which took place 1861 through 1865, was a war of great turmoil, controversy and inner conflict. It shaped the future lives of Americans and was a huge decider in the government that we all know today. The Civil War was not only a turning point in American history, but it was also a benchmark in the abolishment of slavery and the unionization of the country. During the seven years of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most significant battles as it marked the turning point of the War in terms of its victor and it also painted the landscape of our country’s future.

    Read More

  • Civil War: The Lost Cause

    270 Words  | 1 Pages

    The lost cause is the defeat of the Confederacy in the civil war. The southern White’s lost everything thing they own. They lost their houses, most of them were left in debt, a lot of them died, and poverty their biggest curse. Some people thought it is their own iniquities against God that have brought these consequences on them. Others thought denied these as God’s judgment but see it as the south journey to salvation. However, most Americans begin to preserve the memory of their failed cause and reexamined their resistance to slavery and decision to secede from the union. Despite these moments, the focused-on reconstruction or rebuilding of their religion. This brought hope for the future.

    Read More

More about Themes Of Redemption The Last Battle Of The Civil War

Open Document