History assignment 3 discussion

US I - LESSON EIGHT

This lesson contains my ideas about US History. It is meant to give you information, and to get you to think. The lesson is drawn from various sources and may or may not agree with concepts and ideas from your textbook. 

Battles and Generals – The next thing I want to comment on is the actual battles and the generals who fought them. Let's start with specific battles. Due to publicity, we often get the impression Gettysburg was the pivotal battle of the Civil War. It was not. Antietam was the most important battle, with Vicksburg in second place. In fact Gettysburg would not even be in the top five. Lets take a closer look at each of these battles starting with the most important, Antietam. Why Antietam? For the first two years the South was actually winning the war. Yet the South ultimately lost, so what was the turning point? After what important event did the tide turn against the south? The answer was Antietam. After that battle, although the South would still have some victories, their fortunes were all downhill. Antietam was the turning point, so Antietam was the most important battle. Now, what puts Vicksburg into second place? With the battle at Vicksburg the north gained control of the Mississippi River. The South was split in two, it had lost control of its most important river, and the main part of the southern states was now completely surrounded by the north.

Gettysburg – Why was Gettysburg of less importance? It was a major battle, considering the great number of men involved and killed, but it was a battle by accident. Accident? Yes. Picture this: Lee's army was invading the north. One army was marching north while another was marching south. They ran into each other at Gettysburg and the battle was on. The South lost and retreated. Sounds like a major battle to me. Sounds like a very important battle too. If General Meade had not marched south to Gettysburg to stop Lee, Lee's invasion may have succeeded. Who said anything about Meade marching south? Here is what happened. Lee was invading Pennsylvania. Meade was following behind at a safe distance. Lincoln was screaming bloody murder at Meade. "Engage Lee now! Stop Lee!  When do you propose to fight Lee? When he gets to Philadelphia? New York? Boston? Canada?” Get the picture? Meade had no intentions of fighting; he was only willing to follow at a safe distance. So why was there a battle? Part of Lee's army heard rumors there may be supplies at Gettysburg. They turned south to investigate and accidentally ran into Meade's vanguard. Now the battle was on and more and more troops poured in until both armies were fully engaged. When Lee decided to retreat Meade again followed at a safe distance with Lincoln screaming at him to attack and finish Lee off. Meade declined, allowed Lee to escape, and was relieved of his command by Lincoln.

Poor Strategy and Tactics – There were more men killed in the Civil War than were killed in any other war that we have fought in, including World War Two. Why? Was it because Americans were killing Americans? Partly.  But there was another reason too. Our generals were using outdated strategy. Both northern and southern generals had been trained at West Point. They were taught European battle strategy and tactics. March in close formation, shoulders actually touching. When you get close to the enemy you charge. The problem was rifles and guns had become more powerful. Marching in close formation against more powerful weapons ensured the battlefield would be a "meat grinder". The men were slaughtered. The amazing thing is that the majority of our Civil War generals never seemed to realize their strategy and tactics were faulty. Throughout the war they massed and attacked again and again. Hundreds of thousands of men died. Grant and Lee are great generals right? Then why did they send their men to die in "meat grinders" again and again? So who were the great generals? Sherman was the main one, although there were several others. What did he do? He is credited with being the "Father of Modern Warfare." Sherman sent his men into the "meat grinder" one time. He vowed, "Never again." He immediately adopted new a strategy and tactics. He would not attack an army head-on. Instead, he would destroy the infrastructure. Destroy crops, burn buildings, destroy railroads, and tear up communications lines. If the enemy army has no food, shelter, transportation, and communications it has two choices - surrender or die. Fighting or fleeing was no longer options. Sherman no longer got his men killed. Sherman easily won battles. Sherman was brilliant. Grant and Lee led their men to the slaughter time and time again. Which general's army do you want to be in? I rest my case.

Lenient or Vindictive – Lincoln and then Johnson both believed in being lenient. Only 10% of the electorate had to swear allegiance to the Union and the state was allowed back in. There were probably at least 10% in each southern state that would gladly swear allegiance because they had always remained loyal to the Union to begin with. The states were allowed back in. Problems began almost immediately. Southern whites began passing laws that would essentially restrict Blacks to picking cotton. In other words; business as usual. Congress was furious. We had not fought a war to go back to the status quo. Congress isolated Johnson and took over. The South was subjected to Reconstruction. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags took over southern state governments. Some southern states would remain under Reconstruction governments until 1877. Reconstruction was harsh on the South, but in the end it changed very little. Blacks saw very few improvements, and may have been worse off in 1880 than they had been in 1860. Why? Read on.

Blacks – How could freedom be worse than slavery? When the war ended Blacks were freed by the Thirteenth Amendment. They now hoped to get land. They were offered the vote instead. Why did they want land instead of the vote? With land you can make a living and make money. With the vote you can choose between two candidates who are actually beholden to the rich men who are financing their campaigns. In the 1960s Malcolm X was directing Blacks toward economic independence. Martin Luther King was directing Blacks towards getting the vote. Southerners disliked both men, but which one was feared more? Malcolm X. Blacks with money can buy votes, just as whites with money buy votes. Blacks understood this even as early as the 1860s. The Freedman's Bureau could have and should have divided up and parceled out the old plantation lands to blacks. It did not. Whites kept the land and Blacks were relegated to sharecropping.

Sharecropping – If we could dream up something worse than slavery, this would be it. Worse than slavery? Here is why. A Black slave is an economic investment. The white owner has to keep the slave adequately fed, clothed, and sheltered. A sharecropper is not an economic investment. All the white land owner cares about is getting his share of the crop. The white owner already knows from experience how much each field will produce. His share of the crop will usually leave the Black with barely enough to live on. And, if it is not enough and the Black starves to death? No problem. He isn't my slave. He isn't my economic investment. If he dies another Black will be standing outside my gate waiting for his opportunity to be a sharecropper.

Black Voters – Why did whites not fear giving Blacks the vote? Ex-slaves did not understand the meaning of voting. Southern whites quickly realized they could use Blacks. Give them the vote, don't explain what it means, and then every election bring them in to vote. They don't understand what they are doing and you can be elected or reelected. This continued until the 1890s. By then Blacks were beginning to understand what voting was. When they were no longer willing to line up to give the white boss their vote they were disenfranchised. How? Poll tax - If you can't pay you can't vote. Most Blacks could not pay. Literacy test - If you can't read a statement, you can't vote. Most Blacks could not read. Grandfather Clause - If your grandfather could not vote, then you can't vote. In the 1890s most Black's grandfathers had been slaves. These three things disenfranchised most Blacks before 1900.

Unhinged People – George Armstrong Custer has to be one of the worst Army commanders in history.  In 1876 Custer was convinced if he beat the Indians a grateful America would elect him President, if not immediately in 1876, then by 1880.  Without knowing where the enemy was, he divided his forces many of whom were drunk.  Then he apparently attacked a large Indian camp because all he could see were women and children.  He did not know the men were meeting on the other side of the village.  Custer did not have to worry about becoming President, but more than half of the 7th Cavalry died because of him.  Belle Starr – She became famous as the Bandit Queen.  Rode with Jesse James, robbed banks, and personally shot and killed men in gun duels.  Yes, Belle did know both James brothers because she was brought up with them, but she never rode with them.  As far as crime goes she was arrested for petty theft and spent 6 months in jail.  She was killed by a gun, but it was most likely fired by her own son when he got mad at her for punishing him.  That is far from a Bandit Queen. 

Election of 1876 – If you think the election of 2000 was the most screwed up election in American history, think again. But didn't the American press proclaim it to be the most screwed up election ever? Yes, but this is just one more example of Americans not knowing their own history. Here is what happened. Remember now, the Electoral College elects the president and there is nothing in the Constitution that says they must follow the wishes of the voters of their state. The Democrat, Tilden won the popular vote in the southern states. Three of those states were still under Republican Reconstruction governments. The governors of those states chose to ignore the wishes of their voters and sent Republican electors to vote for Hayes. This was just enough to deny Tilden the election. If any one of those three states had accepted the wishes of their voters Tilden electors would have been sent to vote in the Electoral College and Tilden would have been President. Republican Reconstruction governors stole the election, and there was nothing unconstitutional about it.