American history

American History To what extent were events in Kansas a ” dress rehearsal” for the Civil War? The events in Kansas touched on the raging debate relating to slavery. There were tensions between the pro-slavery supporters and anti-slavery advocators. Through the Kansas-Nebraska act that allowed the state of Kansas to decide whether to become a free state or a slave state, violence broke out. Violence between the two factions on the slavery subject was imminent thus the violence in Kansas was only a boiling point or the start of a war that was eventually going to happen. The pace of the political path only led to disagreements on the issue making the events in Kansas a starting point.
Why did the South lose the war? What were its weaknesses and disadvantages?
The confederates lost the war because it was outclassed militarily by the north. Though it had strong generals by the book, they failed to mount an offensive that could defeat the commitment of the Northern forces. The North had a strong Navy to put blockades ion river ways and southern seaports. In terms of size, the south was not able to provide a force as big as the north (Bancroft and Nye 32).
The north also had the better industries and more so, the railroad network going into the south. Suppliers were difficult to get in the south since most of them came from the north.
Dependency on the north for economic progress was also a weakness well exploited by the North. They had industries to produce finished goods and also make weapons. The South did not have many industries with huge economic capabilities. They even had to import their weapons and some of the finished goods.
Discuss the role black soldiers played in the Civil War. How widespread was their use, and how were they received by their fellow soldiers?
Black men serving in both the union and confederate forces had reduced roles with most of them helping in labor positions. There was the initial fear of arming black men especially in the south where they still remained slaves. They also served as nurses, blacksmiths and cooks in the army. More advanced military roles executed by the blacks included spying and scouting.
The use of the black men was not widespread because the white men did not approve of their capabilities. Together with continuous racial discrimination, black men were termed inferior by fellow white men who even failed to train or equip them adequately. The black soldiers serving in the war also received lower payments for their services. The captured black soldiers received harsher punishment than the white prisoners of war.
To what extent is it valid to claim that Reconstruction was a failure? To what extent was it a success?
The objective of reconstruction was to make the rebel states come back to the union as well as help freedmen integrate into the society. The political wave by some section intended for those rebel states to face punishment and be subjugated. The punishment occurred but not the subjugation. The goals of the punishment were also not achieved. There were many divided opinions regarding the course of action that hampered the plan (Bancroft and Nye 67). For these reasons, the reconstruction was partly a failure.
Reconstruction was a success in the light that after 1877 America could be termed as the United States of America. The southern states had new constitutions and consented to the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments
Describe the economic fate of freed people during and immediately following Reconstruction?
Freed people began to rally for their economic autonomy after the war, during the reconstruction period and after the reconstruction period. They would no longer allow themselves to provide unrequited labor. They even forward their claims to land ownership for all the time they worked with no pay ” forty acres and a mule”. Land policies and the reluctance of white people to sell land to freedmen was a limiting factor to their economic visions (Bancroft and Nye 112). Only few freedmen owned land while the other percentage had to work in the plantations though in better conditions and pay as opposed before the war.
Wage labor constituted the major economic activity for freed me. They also depended on local merchants to obtain credit. It often put them in debt. Their economic ambitions came tumbling down with more accumulation of debt.
Works Cited
Bancroft, George, and Russel B. Nye. The History of the United States of America from the Discovery of the Continent. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1966. Print.