QUESTION #1.
Summary:
Chapter 5 mainly talks about the how Lincoln handled the
civil war. Lincoln during the start of the war didn't want to wage a
total war on the confederates with the notion that the South would more
likely rejoin the Union if he showed mercy. Unfortunately this policy of
limited war proved unsuccessful and Lincoln came to realize that he
needed to conduct total war if the Union was to win. Lincoln became
displeased with his generals as they showed mercy allowing the
Confederates to gain an upper hand. Lincoln fired general McClellan for
being incompetent and too cautious and replaced him with general Grant
and general Sherman. Sherman and Grant unlike McClellan uses much more
aggressive war tactics. By using the Anaconda Plan and much more
aggressive war tactics, the Union was able to get the upper hand.
Chapter 6 discusses the Election that took place during the war.
Lincoln was determined that the election of 1864 would proceed as
planned despite the ensuing war. Lincoln wanted a second term as
president but feared that he would probably not win because of his
sunken popularity that resulted from his issuance of the Emancipation
Proclamation and his shortcomings in how he handled the war. However, in
November 8, 1864, Lincoln beat the Democratic Party candidate George B.
McClellan in a land slide victory. The Democrats wanted to end the war
at any cost, and because of Lincoln’s victory, the war ensued and all
that fighting and lives lost wouldn't have been for nothing. Lincoln
most likely won because of the large number of soldiers on the
battlefield that voted for him. Lincoln’s vice president was Tennessee
governor Andrew Johnson. Johnson’s position as Vice President was purely
a political move. Johnson was from the South and Lincoln believed that
if a southern vice president was in office, the South would more likely
re join the Union.
Main Argument:
The author’s main argument in chapter 5 is the
importance of Lincoln’s decisions during the war in Shaping how the war
unfolded and consequently how America is today. Lincoln’s shift to a
more active role in the war resulted in Union victory and the freedom of
millions of African Americans from the bonds of slavery. In chapter 5,
the author Argues the importance of the Republican victory in the
election of 1846, which resulted in the continuation of the war. The
author argues that if the Democratic Candidate McClellan had won, the
war would have ended and all those lives lost in the war would have been
for nothing.
Evidence:
The author of the book uses historical anecdotes from
several of Lincoln’s generals and Lincoln himself, to provide a concise
explanation of Lincoln's role in the Civil War. The author also quotes
the two great-granddaughters of the Confederate general Nathan Bedford
Forrest to gain an insight into how southerners felt about Lincoln and
the War.
QUESTION #2.
Purpose:
The purpose of the author in writing the book was to
better educate people of Lincoln’s importance during the civil war, and
how his actions and decisions effect society today. For example, if
Lincoln hadn't freed the slaves, racial relations in America today would
be much more different.
Point of View/ Who's voice is heard/ Who’s voice is missing:
The
book is written in the point of view of a historian looking back at
history. By adopting a third person point of view, the author was able
to tell the reader how something that happened over a century ago still
holds value today. For example The author often shifts from the time
frame of the civil war to present day. Unfortunately the author’s
representation of history is mostly one sided. The Confederacy’s side of
the war is not well represented. The author does infer that the south
had a different interpretation of Lincoln through the two descendants of
Nathan Bedford Forrest who said that they “don’t think much of Mr.
Lincoln [in the south]. However this is only a tiny bit of information
compared to all that is said about the Union. This is a great attestment
to the notion that history is always written by the winners.
QUESTION #3.
In class we watched a four minute video representation of everything
that happened during the war. The video gave an insight into the death
count of both the Union and Confederacy soldiers, and the time period
between each event. In the reading, we learned about how the
implementation of more aggressive tactics resulted in more Union
victories and the video confirms that. In the video, at first the death
counts of both the Union and Confederacy soldiers were pretty low but as
more aggressive tactics were implemented under leadership of Grant and
Sherman, the death count skyrocketed and Union victories greatly
increased. In the reading we also learned about the implementation of
the Anaconda Plan. The video effectively showed the plan in action. The
video revealed how as the union claimed the Mississippi, the
Confederacy’s fate was sealed. The video also revealed the effectivity
of the naval blockade in ensuring Union victory. The video greatly
enhanced our understanding of the reading by giving a visual
representation of what is in the text.
QUESTION #4.
Several Historic questions came up in class. We questioned Lincoln’s
political decisions and his use of power. We concluded that his almost
dictator like leadership was required for Union victory. We also
questioned whether if Lincoln wouldn't have won if it wasn't for the
support of the Union soldiers. We concluded that he probably wouldn't
have won and we discussed the importance in allowing the soldiers to
vote for Lincoln. We also questioned why out of any other candidate,
Lincoln chose chose Andrew Johnson as his vice president. We concluded
that Johnson’s position as Vice President was purely a political move.
Johnson was from the South and Lincoln believed that if a southern vice
president was in office, the South would more likely re join the Union.
QUESTION #5.
We are still left wondering what would have happened if the
Confederacy had won instead of the Union. Would slavery have continued
or would it eventually have been abolished as time progressed? What
would have happened to the American economy if we continued to use slave
labor. What would the rest of the world be like? We are also left
wondering what would have happened if the democratic candidate George B.
McClellan has won instead of Lincoln? Would the war have ended? On the
other hand, what if after his victory in the election of 1846, Lincoln
hadn't been assassinated? What would have reconstruction looked like
under Lincoln’s leadership?
