Friday, October 18, 2013

Union within Disunion

This article describes how the South transforms from a disjointed, locally oriented rural nation into a new nation (albeit a failed one in retrospect). With the exception of Gone with the Wind, tales of southern nationalism and romanticization of Dixie are rarely told for the shame of slavery, Jim Crow, and the seeming backwardness of the southern tradition.

Does the article successfully disprove some of these notions? Do you believe that the Civil War helped create the modern South, even if the confederacy lost? Who was more nationalistic? North or South?

13 comments:

  1. This author had a good point before the war the southerners never left there homes and never got to experience traveling and seeing new places. But one they war happened they all left to go fight so they left there homes and travel to new places plus learning new things. Many southerners realized that they shared many of the same ideas. The forced the the south to stand together so from a individualism to a nationalism was a big transformation the south went through because it changed many people even though they lost, they realized that standing together is alot better then going at it alone.

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  2. Before the war, the South was a very individual, the only thing they were concerned about was to keep their plantations up and so to keep slavery legal. But when the war as the author says, the South was very transformed in a social but also military and economically way. First of all, the population of the South was send to go fight and so many southerners left their homes and the rural areas for the first times in their lives; they had to discover new places, new things, the urban areas, how the northerns thought etc. Not only the south was joined together but also, at the end of the war, the South finally agreed that if they were a real union, they could be so strong and they could have a much better economy, better army (because they also saw that the Union Army was so strong and united) etc.
    The last paragraph of the article i think that really explains the whole idea real quick.

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  3. Although they lost, the civil war did have a positive impact on the unity of the south. Before the war people in the south lived pretty remote lives where they were only familiar with their own little town in wherever america. When people began to enlist in the war they would go all around the country experiencing and seeing new places. They also were more aware of what was going on in the government because that was who they worked for. They were apart of something bigger because they were fighting for something bigger. Because people were more aware they put in more effort in politics and the general awareness. Although it seams as though the south was more nationalistic it wasn't all the people in the south because of the fact that so many of them were only occupied with they mundane remote lives on their big plantation in a small town with neighbors acres and acres away from them. Those who were representing the south were the rich men and their passion compensated for the sheer lack of awareness and therefore caring- a rich man's war as they refer to it in the reading.

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  4. The civil war defintley affected the south and how they are today. Without the war, people would not have left their homes anywhere near as far as they did go. they expected to "live and die" in the same place. The war also brought many new things to the south and in the reading it states the south was indeed changed by teh war. While the south had indeed been defeated the came out of the war much more unified .

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  5. The Civil War definitely helped to modern the South. Before, most of the South wasn't even involved in the war. They continued their day to day life. Also, some of the southern states weren't even affected by the war because they were so far away from where the actual fighting was happening, which was in the border states. Some slaves were even unaware that there was a war going on. Instead, they just lived the normal life of a slave and worked on the plantations, while there was a war going on to stop slavery. In the introduction, it states that the war moved men from the "simple and isolated environment" and brought them to other parts of the country where they gained many new experiences. The article also says that boys came from all around the South to join the army, and when they came home, whether in a body bag or not, they learned much more about the outside world. In addition, it talks about the heroism, bravery, and determination of the Confederate Army.

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  6. Even though the South lost, it was definitely brought to the modern age by the Civil War. Before the Confederates made their attack on Fort Sumter, the South was made up of many separated, antiquated, agriculturally based, self-governing locales. But the war brought all of these people together for their common goal of independence. The war effort displaced males from secluded villages all over the South and congregated them in a national army fighting for their new nation against the hated "Yankees." And after the war, when the soldiers came home, they spread this newfound unity amongst their neighbors. Also, The war was so draining on the South that everyone was working for the war effort. It said that bankers became bondsmen, grand dames became nurses, etc. The business of war became so vast that new more modern managerial techniques arose. Also, the war forced the Confederate government to be extremely centralized and powerful. The emissaries reached even the most remote and secluded areas to collect taxes and supplies for the army. This also forced the people, whether they liked it or not, to be part of a more united nation. So the war definitely brought the South to the modern age, and made it more nationalistic than the North.

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  7. I do believe that the Civil War created the modern south. Even though they lost, the confederates put up a good fight and learned from their mistakes. The South was nothing before the war started, and after the war they began to make changes to everything. Everyone in the south was concerned with the war because they knew that the south was weaker and they were scared for what could happen because of this. The south was obviously more nationalistic because they showed how losing made them better and they came together after the war and were more united.

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  8. Although the South had lost in the Civil War, the civil war had definitely formed the modern South. Before the Civil War happened, people in the South lived a very secluded and isolated life style. Most people in the South only knew the place they grew up in. However, when we Civil War happened, war brought the people together and people who were fighting for their indenpendence not only spread what they saw but the government of the South became very powerful compared to South before Civil War because they needed to get supported for their effort for the Civil War.
    The newly formed strong government and the fact that people in the South became to understand what the world is like outside their hometown, formed the modern South, which is very centralized.

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  9. The South became more like the (modern) South today after the Civil War. Although the confederacy lost, the war has open up the Southerners' eyes. People has gone from place to place to fight. Before war time, the south has a strong individualism. Everyone cared about their plantations, their cottons in the farm and the amount of money they could make. That is also why they wanted to keep slavery. Because of their individualism, their armies weren't organized like a whole. That is also why they lost. In a conclusion, the War brought the South into modern age.

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  10. Everything can be viewed two-sided. Although the Civil War was viewed mostly negative, but its positive sides still worth to consider. The war improved economy, lifestyle and society in the South; it pushed the South into a modern society like the North. Due to large demands of the war, many different associations such bankers, nurses, business men and tax collectors formed bonds with each other. The war also offered opportunity for young men who are talented in military. Before the war, only the sons of the riches and powers can get leadership position in militaries. The war help the South realize that what they need was not legacies, but true talents. The military developed examinations to find talented young men that can fit their leadership positions. Many people that were at lower ranks got into better position because of the meritocracy. The war also opened these young men's sight. Without the war, they would just stay in the South, but with the war, they went to different part of the country and learn from different culture and gradually developed more sophisticated views of the country. Although the outcome of the war was losing for the South, they actually gain many long term and short term benefit from the war.

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  11. the civil war brought industry to the south. once reconstruction began the south was fluxed with railroad and transport funds and establishing strong banks. the civil war also brought the abrupt end of a strongly immoral and wrong injustice of slavery. without slavery the south could finally begin to profit and prosper in a way that didn't require brunt of containing a population and using slaves. the was given in a way a new chance to rebuild.

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  12. I think that the author of this article is saying that the south benefited from the war overall. However the southerners at first seemed a little scared because they were used to a different life style for so long. When the war started people had to share their homes with soldiers, maybe leave their town, but they mostly needed to come together. Overall I agree with the writer that the south benefited socially from the war. They had to learn about businesses and leading skills that did not involve slavery, which ultimately will help them business wise be on the same page as the north. Also the military benefited from the war. The military also benefited because they had to learn to be stronger against the Union. Even though the south lost the war, they won as a whole for becoming something new.

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  13. I think that the civil was did have a large impact on the unity of the south. The south before the war were individual plantations with little or no contact to anybody or anything out of their area. The war introduced travel and a wider view of living into the south. People from the south were coming together to fight against the one thing they all had in common which was the desire to dissolve the union, and keep slavery. They say that the easiest way to make a friend is to find something you both dislike, and a friendship will surely be born. The south was journeying out to fight for something larger than they were accustomed to. The south was also a group because they were in a way, the outcasts, and what do the outcasts do? They stick together and form their own little group to defend themselves against the "general public" or in this case, the Union. On the flip side, the people who represented the south, rich white men, is what created the name in the article. Although "rich white men" we're not fighting for the confederacy, there was no hesitation on assigning them the southern mascot.

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