Battles that Changed (American) History, Period 2, 10/29
"I hope everyone enjoyed Homecoming," Steve said, "and is looking forward to Halloween. Hopefully you'll be off your sugar high by the time you get to my class next week," he joked. "So, America was this great experiment, right? Well, that great experiment was about to split itself in two. The problem was that two different ways of life had evolved. There was the industrial North, where the main industries were factories and small farms and slavery--the owning, buying, and selling of other human beings, if any of you are fortunate enough to have never encountered such a thing--was illegal, and the agricultural South, where it was customary to own slaves to work the enormous fields, mainly of cotton and tobacco. There are economics involved, but economics have never been my strong suit.
"Following the election of President Abraham Lincoln, thirteen Southern states, fearing he would outlaw slavery, declared a preemptive strike and seceded from the United States of America, kicking off the American Civil War as Union forces mobilized against the newly founded Confederate States of America. Many believe Lincoln would have done whatever he had to to keep the Union together, his personal principles put aside for the greater good of the country, but, well." Steve spread his hands in a sort of 'what are you gonna do?' gesture. "The Southern states didn't want to take that risk. The secession turned into war on April 12, 1861. Following South Carolina's secession, they demanded the United States abandon Fort Sumter, located in Charleston Harbor. This sounded like a terrible idea to the Union, so they didn't, and on April twelfth, Southern--Confederate--forces stormed and took the fort, starting a war that would test America to the limits and determine the shape of the future.
"We've talked about siege, and as far as sieges go, this was a very, very short one, so let's talk about deciding to fire the first shot. The Union, the Northerners, believed slavery was wrong, but they weren't willing to split the country over it. The Southerners feared the Union attempting to end their way of life--which, remember, was predicated on slavery--so much that they first seceded, then started a war over it. They whipped themselves up into such a frenzy of 'us versus them' that they couldn't see how it was even possible to work with the other side." Steve paused for a moment, then said wryly, "If you're from modern America or are familiar with modern American politics, this may sound familiar, actually, but hopefully it won't get that bad. So, what do you think? Was starting the war everyone was sure was coming a sound move on the part of the Confederate forces? Or was it a huge mistake to escalate into martial conflict?"
"Following the election of President Abraham Lincoln, thirteen Southern states, fearing he would outlaw slavery, declared a preemptive strike and seceded from the United States of America, kicking off the American Civil War as Union forces mobilized against the newly founded Confederate States of America. Many believe Lincoln would have done whatever he had to to keep the Union together, his personal principles put aside for the greater good of the country, but, well." Steve spread his hands in a sort of 'what are you gonna do?' gesture. "The Southern states didn't want to take that risk. The secession turned into war on April 12, 1861. Following South Carolina's secession, they demanded the United States abandon Fort Sumter, located in Charleston Harbor. This sounded like a terrible idea to the Union, so they didn't, and on April twelfth, Southern--Confederate--forces stormed and took the fort, starting a war that would test America to the limits and determine the shape of the future.
"We've talked about siege, and as far as sieges go, this was a very, very short one, so let's talk about deciding to fire the first shot. The Union, the Northerners, believed slavery was wrong, but they weren't willing to split the country over it. The Southerners feared the Union attempting to end their way of life--which, remember, was predicated on slavery--so much that they first seceded, then started a war over it. They whipped themselves up into such a frenzy of 'us versus them' that they couldn't see how it was even possible to work with the other side." Steve paused for a moment, then said wryly, "If you're from modern America or are familiar with modern American politics, this may sound familiar, actually, but hopefully it won't get that bad. So, what do you think? Was starting the war everyone was sure was coming a sound move on the part of the Confederate forces? Or was it a huge mistake to escalate into martial conflict?"