questions about the civil war

[Icey101]

ok so

1. what was it all about?....nth v sth? but what did they think they would get if they won? same country?

2. how did they define who they needed to fight who?...was there a border?

3. Was there really friends fighting each other cause they were on each side of a river or creek?

4. How did the generals know how their armies were going with no communications?

5.so for each side where were all the guns and cannons made and who made them?...where did the money come from to make them?

6. was it all about armies lining up and blasting the crap out of each other or did they do any night raids or unanounced attacks?

7. were civilians attacked...like attrocities?

8. When the war was won...did everyone simple mix in and work with each other again...nth and south become as one? or did they still hate each other?

9. were there any advancements in weapons? like inventions? gattling gun?

10. Did ships...like dreadnaughts play a big role? i heard the story of those guys in a sub who attacked a big ship and lost their lives

11. who were the heroes of the war and what did they do?

thanks

[jmattbassplaya]

I'm curious as to why you're curious. Are you writing a research paper or something?

[Icey101]

i've seen movies...read a bit of history but would like to get an idea from people in the states to what really happened

[pedroims]

Lincoln was elected president, he was against slavery. Eleven states from the south did not like this idea so they '' separeted '' and created the confederated states, the other states fought them to recover the states. North won and slavery was outlawed everywhere in the nation. discrimination and racism still exist today.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

No offense Icey101, but are You joking?

Or are You just trying to weasel yourself out of writing an essay?

Regards
Sam

[ShredderMaximus]

Originally Posted by Icey101

ok so

1. what was it all about?....nth v sth? but what did they think they would get if they won? same country?
The Government wanted to abolish slavery, which the South didn't take none to kindly to, and wanted to secede from the Union (United States of America) and have their own country(Confederate States of America), and the North was like "Naw, ain't happenin dudes f--- that" and everyone went all aggro and started kickin each others a**es.
2. how did they define who they needed to fight who?...was there a border?

Either you were down with abolishing slavery or you weren't. The states that typically relied on growing/farming (primarily the South) were more reliant on slaves, and the North, which was more industrial, not so much.
3. Was there really friends fighting each other cause they were on each side of a river or creek?
I guess, alot of borders are made of rivers/creeks.
4. How did the generals know how their armies were going with no communications?
Dudes on horses running all over the place.
5.so for each side where were all the guns and cannons made and who made them?...where did the money come from to make them?
Alot of weapons I believe were made in the North. Also both sides had their own big business going on, North had their factories, South had textiles/cotton and whatnot.
6. was it all about armies lining up and blasting the crap out of each other or did they do any night raids or unanounced attacks?
Probably quite a bit of both
7. were civilians attacked...like attrocities?
Probably, it was a pretty ugly war.
8. When the war was won...did everyone simple mix in and work with each other again...nth and south become as one? or did they still hate each other?
To an extent, I think the North kinda screwed the South over quite a bit afterwards.
9. were there any advancements in weapons? like inventions? gattling gun?
I believe the gatling was first used in the C.W., past that, I dunno, but probably. I think that the civil war saw the first submarines too, though the results were pretty terrifying.
10. Did ships...like dreadnaughts play a big role? i heard the story of those guys in a sub who attacked a big ship and lost their lives
Like I said, it just sucked to be in a sub regardless.
11. who were the heroes of the war and what did they do?
Lots, google is your friend.
thanks

Btw, I'm not a historian, just a bored insomniac.

[Buxtehude]

We doin home works now?

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.

No offense Icey101, but are you joking?

Or are You just trying to weasel yourself out of writing an essay?

Regards
Sam

I was thinking the same thing

Honestly, go read the Wikipedia page for it. It gives a fairly decent (and fairly unbiased) overview of the war's history.

[Bard2dbone]

It drives me crazy that people put it all on slavery now. It was an important issue. But it wasn't the main cause of the war. It was related to SOME of the main causes. But wars are never that simple. Mostly it will all come down to economics every time. Somebody in charge will think of a way to get rich and some of the people who got screwed because of that guys plan will get mad and start rabble-rousing.

Slavery was a big deal. Don't think I'm saying it's not. But it wasn't the whole cause of the civil war.

The north had lots of industry. The south had lots of raw materials. Both North and South wanted to have more power in general and more power to control their destinies. The biggest agricultural powers in the south (Read that as being like Exxon/Mobil or GE now) could afford to own humans to do large scale farming cheaply. Most farmers in the South could not. The North had people who objected to slavery for proper moral reasons. They didn't push us into a war. The North also had people who wanted to hurt southern landowners and companies in ways that let those same Northerners benefit from it. (Read that as Goldman-Sachs) None of those people could get along or communicate their issues effectively to reach conclusions. What they could do was to get royally pissed of at each other. During all that we had the worst President in our history. People on both sides of the aisle have referred to our current and last Presidents as the worst in history, depending on which party you prefer. Both of those are slanders. Buchanan was the only President so bad at it that he made half the country say "Fine! Screw all y'all. We're leaving!" *Picture slamming door sound all along the Mason-Dixon line.

Lincoln didn't start the war. He had to fix it. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation late in the war. If slavery had really been the only cause he would have done so much earlier.

All wars are caused by economics. But the victors write the history books and no one wants to write "We started a nationwide murder spree against our own cousins so a few people could get insanely rich and then afterwards go steal everything they could carry from the people who lost." Doesn't it sound more noble to say "We were forced into a war to restore and then protect. the dignity of people who had through force been treated as property and unjustly used as mere beasts of the field." I know which of those two I'd want to support.

So in summary: Pro - actually ended slavery as an institution in this nation. Con - the south was economicall raped for a very extended time afterward. In my childhood I remember people who referred to the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression with a complete lack of irony.

[Chebass88]

Originally Posted by Icey101

ok so

1. what was it all about?....nth v sth? but what did they think they would get if they won? same country?

It was actually the East vs. the West, complete with a good witch and a bad witch. If they won, they would get medals - lots and lots of medals.

2. how did they define who they needed to fight who?...was there a border?

No, but there is a South of the Border. Right there, just off I-95. Open all night for your gas and fireworks needs.

3. Was there really friends fighting each other cause they were on each side of a river or creek?

Yes, and if you think this was bad, you should have seen the battle for the ponds and streams.

4. How did the generals know how their armies were going with no communications?

They guessed. The generals took great pleasure in moving markers around on maps, or by playing a chess game to simulate the battle. People on horseback would tell the troops of the next move. It was always a real hassle to castle, moving the general and the fortifications.

5.so for each side where were all the guns and cannons made and who made them?...where did the money come from to make them?

The canons came from church liturgy. The guns came from doing various curls and close grip bench pressing.

6. was it all about armies lining up and blasting the crap out of each other or did they do any night raids or unanounced attacks?

Actually, they would knock first. A standard battle cry was "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to war we go", or even the old-timey "Yippee-kai-yay, Mister Falco". When in doubt, it helps to be formal - "Please sir, I would like to wage war against thee and thine."

7. were civilians attacked...like attrocities?

Never. The civillians were not attacked like attrocities. They were attacked like normal people. It was considered lucky if you were able to get shot at in your house. It was supposed to guarantee a good harvest in the next year.

8. When the war was won...did everyone simple mix in and work with each other again...nth and south become as one? or did they still hate each other?

No hate. Everyone was pretty cool with each other. It was popular for Southern women to marry Northern men and vice versa. This led to a booming baby business, and the subsequent rise in diaper sales.

9. were there any advancements in weapons? like inventions? gattling gun?

Well, the armies usually did advancements in roads or fields, but occasionally in weapons also. I do like inventions - thanks for asking.

10. Did ships...like dreadnaughts play a big role? i heard the story of those guys in a sub who attacked a big ship and lost their lives

You are thinking of the guys who attacked the ship in a giant hoagie. There was lettuce and tomato all over the place.

11. who were the heroes of the war and what did they do?

The biggest heroes of the war were made in New York. They were combinations of meat and cheese on a long roll. General Jojo D. Wonderfish was critical to the East's victory over the West.

thanks

Answers in bold. Seriously. Do your own research. There are books written on this war, even on each question you asked.

[Bard2dbone]

If i could post links to webcomics from my work computer I would have a great one to use the Civil War to demonstrate why you DON'T want to use wikipedia for homework.

In essence I believe it said the Civil War was the first major conflict to center around the use of gigantic spider robots.

Hmmmm...it seems to be gone. It was in Charliehorse by KrazyKrow

[Febs]

Here ya go:

[mindbass]

I'm no expert on the issue, but as far as i understood the south was rich and north was poor. When the south decided to leave the north got pissed because most of the money the state raised in taxes was gone too. One of the reasons that the south was rich was its reliance on unpaid labour, i.e. slavery.

[BassMom88]

Regarding #6
My GGGGrandfather (Frank "Mocking Bird" Angelo) was one of Mosby's Rangers -43rd Battalion of VA Cavalry. They did not play by the rules and are described as "an elite guerilla unit". There's some pretty awful stuff in some of the books I've read. He met his wife when they would pass through...she hid silver for them and gave them water and after the war he went back and married her & they had a whole bunch of kids. He lived until 1928 and worked after the war for the US Dept of Agriculture.

[bjabass]

After a quick scan of the replies I feel like the issue of states rights needs to be explained further. The north (the 'Union') wanted to consolidate most law making at the federal level and the south (the 'Confederacy') thought it was better for the states to have their own individual set of laws for each state, (including slavery).

Families and friends didn't fight each other just because they were on opposite sides of some border, they fought because they were on opposite sides of these issues.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by Bard2dbone

It drives me crazy that people put it all on slavery now. It was an important issue. But it wasn't the main cause of the war. It was related to SOME of the main causes. But wars are never that simple. Mostly it will all come down to economics every time. Somebody in charge will think of a way to get rich and some of the people who got screwed because of that guys plan will get mad and start rabble-rousing.

Slavery was a big deal. Don't think I'm saying it's not. But it wasn't the whole cause of the civil war.

The north had lots of industry. The south had lots of raw materials. Both North and South wanted to have more power in general and more power to control their destinies. The biggest agricultural powers in the south (Read that as being like Exxon/Mobil or GE now) could afford to own humans to do large scale farming cheaply. Most farmers in the South could not. The North had people who objected to slavery for proper moral reasons. They didn't push us into a war. The North also had people who wanted to hurt southern landowners and companies in ways that let those same Northerners benefit from it. (Read that as Goldman-Sachs) None of those people could get along or communicate their issues effectively to reach conclusions. What they could do was to get royally pissed of at each other. During all that we had the worst President in our history. People on both sides of the aisle have referred to our current and last Presidents as the worst in history, depending on which party you prefer. Both of those are slanders. Buchanan was the only President so bad at it that he made half the country say "Fine! Screw all y'all. We're leaving!" *Picture slamming door sound all along the Mason-Dixon line.

Lincoln didn't start the war. He had to fix it. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation late in the war. If slavery had really been the only cause he would have done so much earlier.

All wars are caused by economics. But the victors write the history books and no one wants to write "We started a nationwide murder spree against our own cousins so a few people could get insanely rich and then afterwards go steal everything they could carry from the people who lost." Doesn't it sound more noble to say "We were forced into a war to restore and then protect. the dignity of people who had through force been treated as property and unjustly used as mere beasts of the field." I know which of those two I'd want to support.

So in summary: Pro - actually ended slavery as an institution in this nation. Con - the south was economicall raped for a very extended time afterward. In my childhood I remember people who referred to the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression with a complete lack of irony.

Thanks for saving me from posting this...While in everybody's mind, slavery was the big issue, the real divide was agrarian south against industrial north. In a way, we were already 'two countries' before hand, and added pressure of westward expansion and 'manifest destiny' strained an already poor relationship.

[Phalex]

I thought this thread was gonna be about family coming over at Christmas.........

[pharmakon]

As the great Axl Rose once posited: "What's so civil about war, anyway?"

[burk48237]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Thanks for saving me from posting this...While in everybody's mind, slavery was the big issue, the real divide was agrarian south against industrial north. In a way, we were already 'two countries' before hand, and added pressure of westward expansion and 'manifest destiny' strained an already poor relationship.

Sorry, I couldn't disagree more. The fact of the matter is no divide over slavery-no civil war. The other issues were peripheral at best. To me this new revisionist bent is an attempt to denigrate the sacrifice of a good many men who died to end slavery and save the Union. Lincoln clearly stated that allowing slavery to continue was morally unsustainable and he was clearly convinced of that as was a majority of the country.

[Schlyder]

As far as the communications go. I believe the Telegraph was used in war for the first time during The Civil War. Lincoln used the telegraph for "real time" communications to his front line Generals.