The Civil War: Understanding Soldier Motivation and Sacrifice

Abstract

Course Number and Title The Civil War: Soldier Motivation Introduction The civil war was a very devastating period for Americans. Looking back to its origin, one can argue that slavery played a significant role in fostering the American civil war. Ever since time immemorial, apparent differences emerged between the South and the northern states attributed to the slavery issue. According to a speech by Thomas Flournoy, slave ownership between the North and the South state differed immensely.. These differences led to many debates on slave succession and ownership constitutionality. Unfortunately, the conflicts grew in size and violence, leading to a brutal war whose effects remain felt to date. The North seemed to have identified the immoralities coined around the slavery definition, which led this state to advocate for the termination of slavery within the United States. Northerners expressed their hostility to the idea of slavery on moral grounds, while the Southerners continued to accept slavery as a potential fact of their lives.. War comes along with negativities. American citizens and their economy suffered immensely after the civil war. However, the same war served as a new dawn for millions of slaves whose enslavement became terminated after the civil war. Slavery fostered the civil war. The Union fought tirelessly to stop slavery, while Confederates wanted to keep slavery as it formed a strong backbone for the American economy at no cost. To this effect, a win for the Union implied that their mission of freeing slaves became accomplished, which proved a strong positive effect on millions of enslaved Americans. Moving from the positive impacts of the civil war, the civil war prisoner in Petersburg pose a clear picture of how things ended up for some Americans as attributed to the civil war. Based on this primary source," Civil War Prisoners in Petersburg," one can confirm that many Americans, even with high ranks like lawyers, ended up in prisoner camps due to their views on the slavery issue that stirred severe conflicts between the Union and confederates. . The letter confirmed that prisoners were severely suffering thus pleaded for their release or exchange, especially for the thirty civilians the writer defined as aged. The camp had thousands of people, which led to massive deaths attributed to disease outbreaks, poor sanitization, and drought. According to Faust, the civil war period proved bloodier than any other conflict in American history as it embarked this great nation on a new relationship with death. Faust further confirmed that the number of soldiers who died during the civil war was approximately equal to the combined fatalities in the revolution war of 1812, the Mexican War, Spanish American War, WWI/II, and the Korean War. The death rates of confederate men tripled the proportion of Yankees. It is a war that led to massive deaths of many innocent people whose urge to remain alive was cut short due to the selfishness of a few who believed that without slaves American economy would fall miserably. The Southerners' desire for unpaid workers to enhance cotton picking at their disposal strengthened this state's desire for more slaves. Agricultural activities within the South, especially cotton, demanded intense labor, which the slaves provided at no cost. The South believed that African Americans were inferior to the whites and felt privileged to work for the White with or without pay.. In fighting back to withdraw...