While I think all of the topics we covered in this course were influential, the one that stands out

most is the Civil

War.

The reason this war stood out to me is for a different reason, its rather embarrassing. I didnt go into this class
thinking I knew everything, in fact I thought it would be a great refresher. As I read the book it dawned on me
that I remembered nothing. When it came to the Civil War I was so ashamed that I had to recollection of what
occurred, couldnt even tell you who the war was between.

My dad is a war junkie and has an entire collection of VHS tapes about the Civil War. Of course he brought them
all out, I was only able to watch a few. This was the point when I wanted to learn all I could.

So again the Civil War means a lot to me in more ways than just a historical period. It was in a way a wakeup call
or a light bulb turning on. I am proud to be an American and with the Civil War being a war amongst ourselves I
became fascinated about it.

The Civil War begun in 1861 and ended in 1865, it was a brother vs brother war as it was the confederate vs
union. The slave states and free states, the power of the national government to prohibit slavery. After Abraham
Lincoln was elected president and kept slavery out of the territories, seven of the slave states pulled away and
formed the Confederate States of America.

The Civil War took place almost all over, but some of the bloodiest battles were at Gettysburg, Chickamauga,
and Spotsylvania. The Civil War had the highest number of casualties of any other American war, somewhere
around 620,000.

With the Emancipation Proclamation African Americans (free and runaway) came and volunteered for the
Union. They made up about 10% of the entire Union army. There were also African Americans that fought with
the Confederate states.

After a 4 year battle the Confederate army surrendered to the United States in April 1865. The south was
bankrupt and everything from roads to factories was destroyed.

When the war was over the Constitution was amended to free the slaves and grant equal protection under the
law, and black men were given the right to vote.

In our discussions for class we would need to find a quote to go along with a topic. I really liked doing this as I
got a chance to read the words of the people before us, the people who helped shape the United States. I really
like this quote from Abraham Lincoln because it is so true. It speaks volumes on the hypocrisy of slavery. It was
such a good thing yet no one was on a waiting list to become a slave.

"Although volume upon volume is written to prove slavery a very good thing, we never hear of the man who
wishes to take the good of it, by being a slave himself."

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 2.

Even though I gave a very brief description of the Civil War it was by no means an insignificant event. None of
the wars that were fought throughout history have been. I am very grateful to those brave men who took a
stand and fought for what they believed in, what they knew to be right.

This influences my future by reminding me to be thankful for the men who lost their lives to help us have a
better tomorrow. Just because it is history and most of us can never even begin to understand how it was to live
in that time period doesnt mean we should forget about it. I feel it is very important to be well rounded, to
know a thing or two about the place you live and how it helped to shape the country we live in.

It gives you a sense of pride.