Article Assignment
on Why the North Won and the South Lost
Due: Wednesday,
May 14
In this unit, we will be exploring various reasons why the North won the
war and the South lost. Was such an
outcome inevitable? Were there actions
that might have been taken by either side that could have changed the outcome
of the war? It would be simplistic to
believe that there is one single answer to these questions. Historians have been debating this for 140 years. Our job is to sort through some of the
arguments and come up with answers that satisfy us. To achieve that goal, you will each be
reading an article from one of two famous collections of essays examining these
questions. You will share with the rest
of the class the arguments presented in your particular article and then join
in class discussion of the various arguments.
Read your assigned article.
·
Type up to turn in an outline of the points
of the article as well as a statement in your own words of what the author’s
main thesis is
·
Include your written reflections on how
persuasive you find the article’s arguments concerning factors that led the
North’s victory and the South’s defeat.
Be prepared to explain your article’s main points to the
class as well as to discuss why the War turned out the way it did. Was the outcome of the War inevitable? What could have possibly changed the outcome?
From Why the
Confederacy Lost, edited by Gabor S. Boritt, 1992
1)
2) Matt
D., Will P., and Zack: “ The Perseverance of the
Soldiers” by Reid Mitchell
3) L.E.,
Stephen,
From Why the North
Won the Civil War, edited by David Donald, 1960
4) Ian, Sean, Shane, and Matt
G.: “The Military Leadership of North and South” by T. Harry Williams
5) Katie, Dan, and Carter: “Jefferson Davis and the
Political Factors in Confederate Defeat” by David M. Potter
6) Patrick, Beckett, and Tony., :
“God and the Strongest Battalions” by Richard N. Current