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American Civil War: Was it Ideological or Non-ideological An Annotated Bibliography

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American Civil War: Was it Ideological or Non-ideological An Annotated Bibliography


There is a heated debate on what the cause of the American Civil War was. The debate
has been characterized by arguments that consider it to have been orchestrated by divisions on
the issue of slavery, while others have argued it was because of drastic structural changes in
economic developments. One of the areas of this heated debate is the question of whether the
American Civil War was ideological or non-ideological. Several perspectives have been given
regarding the issue, but these have only done better in extending the scope by which the matter
should be conceptualized rather than reconciling. This paper presents an annotated bibliography
of references addressing the issue.
Chaffin, Tom. Giant's Causeway: Frederick Douglass's Irish Odyssey and the Making of an
American Visionary. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2014
Chaffin approaches the issue based on the Frederick Douglas account of events during the
antebellum. Among the outstanding issues in American history was the debate on the legality of
the slave trade. It is contended that the competing ideologies on the legitimacy of slavely, slavery
among members led to the division between the northern and southern America, contributing to
the American civil war. The monograph offers an interesting critique on the issue of slavery and
southerners way of life in during the antebellum. The author considers, Douglass particularly
maintains his strong stance of a staunch Christian, condemning the southern society as a longlost kind that blows hot and cold by failing to practice what it preaches, especially because it is
unable to recognize the humanity needs of the slaves. Indeed, the attitude of Douglass towards
the southerners during the antebellum is easily discernable in his clever use of language. One of
the areas in which his perspective can be seen is when he attacks racism and slavery, and related

atrocities perpetrated by the Whites against the blacks in the South. Douglass equivocally asserts
that the slave-holding Christians were living a double life that was evidenced by sinful and
sanctimonious acts, which he considered a clear contradiction to Christian doctrine and
teachings, upon which the society practices needed to be anchored1.
To a certain significant extent, the Douglas account can be seen to be employing irony in
depicting the high levels of hypocrisy amongst southern Christians and the church leadership,
which he was particularly disappointed about. As much as the author points out the wrongs
among the Christian leadership in the south and the plight of all the blacks and the need for their
freedom, he is mainly careful appeasing his audience by explaining that he did not have a
problem with Christianity, after all. Based on this statement, it can be inferred that Douglass was
mindful with his use of words he was conscious to ensure that he does not turn out to be seen
as a critic and enemy of Christianity, which was outright in ensuring that his message was taken
by the audience in the most objective sense. Indeed, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass, which is the material that the client refers, was published at the onset of the
antislavery campaigns in America, at the time that he was serving as a lecturer of abolitionism.
However, due to the popular White community, the author had to come up with a clever strategy
that would create an impression of a respectable citizen. At the time, Christian clergy was highly
regarded as important figures in the political positions, which also happened to be at the center of
his criticism certainly, it was, therefore, important for Douglass to adopt a more acceptable style
of language to attract empathy from a vast audience and, at the same time, to avoid
confrontations. In this regard, the documents essentially point out that the war was largely an
1 Chaffin, Tom. Giant's Causeway: Frederick Douglass's Irish Odyssey and the Making of an
American Visionary (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2014), pp 34

ideological one. Moreover, the document is particularly relevant because the author was one of
the key figures activists during the antebellum era.
Catton, Bruce. The Civil War. New York: American Heritage Distributed by Houghton
Mifflin, 1960
Bruce, in The Civil War, discusses the different factors that are responsible for the Civil War. To
a great extent, the war was largely an ideological one. The author uses the Fredrick Douglas
discussions to support his view. He mentions that the pledge by Douglas to the Blacks was never
to forget about the civil war because it was ideological, and not just a simple test of the
generational loyalty and valor. The author considers the primary ideologies are those that called
for abolishing slavery and address racism2.
In this regard, this viewpoint is relevant to the proposed essay in the sense that it attempts to
answer the question of whether the Civil War was ideological by considering the perspectives of
those who were directly involved in the social and political struggles of the historical time. The
author expounds his perspective by basing on the views of other people in literature.
Grant, Susan and Reid, Brian. Themes of the American Civil War the War between States.
Routledge. 2014.
Grant and Reid, in Themes of American War the War between States, extends the
discussion of the causes of the American Civil War. Grant and Reid note that the main thrust of
the American Civil War was the political reactions and divisions concerning slavery that had
mainly characterized American politics in the 1850s. However, the author also acknowledges that
another important and potentially valid perspective is the structural and economic developments
2 Catton, Bruce. The Civil War. New York: American Heritage (Houghton Mifflin, 2012), pp 56

that were taking place during the time, which created a rift between the Northern and the
Southern communities. They reason that if the conflict between the North and the South ever
became, then it was because the industrialized North failed to espouse itself to the perspectives
of agricultural South. The authors consider that the subject of whether there is any relationship
between political developments and industrialization is subject to debate, too. Nevertheless, the
author thinks that perhaps most plausible of all approaches is that radical politicians who needed
secession only used antislavery movements to spur the majority revolt3.
Therefore, this viewpoint is relevant in the sense that it presents the nature of heated debates the
question of what the cause of the American Civil War was. Therefore, the author offers the views
that go a long way in expounding the discussions on the issue. In particular, based on the opinion
of the author, the war was ideological, but also orchestrated by the social, economic and political
upheavals.
Tad, Granham (2015) the American Civil War as Social Revolution: The Enlightenment,
Providential Consciousness and Changes in Moral Perception. E Studies at NBU, 2015 Vol.
1, Issue 1, 80 -96
Tad, Granham, in The American Civil War as a Social Revolution The
Enlightenment, Providential Consciousness, and Changes in Moral Perception, discusses that
the American Civil War was largely a social revolution hinged on competing for ideologies. The
author particularly mentions the developments in enlightenment, change in moral perceptions,
providential consciousness. The author further elaborates that the war was a typical example of
how the politicians became concerned about the needs of the constituents and strove to agitate
for social reforms. At the same time, the Enlightenment era had created the allowance for the
3Grant, Susan and Reid, Brian. Themes of the American Civil War the War between States. (Routledge. 2014), pp
42

marginalized societies (mostly the southerners) to understand their rights and freedoms, which
they now embarked on the process of achieving them. There was also a call for humanity based
on religious values that made the revolution inevitable. These social developments created a rift
between the South and the North, in which the South wanted the federal government to recognize
and protect slavery, while the North demanded the need free labor and free society. These
developments also created the allowance for radical politicians to take advantage of the
differences to start campaigning for the cessation of the South4.
This article is also relevant because it presents various trending developments that culminated
the war. In essence, the articles information is also crucial in conceptualizing the scenario and
helping address the question.

4Tad, Granham. The American Civil War asa Social Revolution: The Enlightenment, Providential Consciousness
and Changes in Moral Perception. E Studies at NBU, 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp 86

Bibliography
Catton, Bruce. The Civil War. New York: American Heritage Distributed by Houghton Mifflin,
2012
Chaffin, Tom. Giant's Causeway: Frederick Douglass's Irish Odyssey and the Making of an
American Visionary. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2014
Grant, Susan and Reid, Brian. Themes of the American Civil War the War between States.
Routledge. 2014.
Tad, Granham. The American Civil War asa Social Revolution: The Enlightenment, Providential
Consciousness and Changes in Moral Perception. E Studies at NBU, 2015.1(1):80 -96

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