Author’s Thesis
The authors of this book explain how the events surrounding the American Civil War affected both the soldiers and civilians who were actively or inactively involved in the military campaign.
Historical Background
“A People at War” addresses the period beginning from the pre-Civil War period when most of the Southern region was dealing with secession issues. The book also addresses the entire Civil War period until the last deployments of the American army left the South, a duration of about sixty years. A majority of the book foregoes the events that transpired on the battlefields and instead focuses on the human strife that accompanied the Civil War. The period that is addressed by the authors was characteristic of anxiety that was brought about by the imminent change.
For instance, by this period it was eminent that the emancipation of African Americans was bound to happen even in the resistant South. On the other hand, trading with other regions was no longer an affair of diplomacy and states only owed allegiance to the areas that supplied them with certain products. The period that is addressed by Nelson and Sherriff also marks the time in American history when sectionalism came under threat and the national unity of the South was tested. Consequently, the turmoil in the Civil War period did not manage to fragment the Southern region of America.
There were several social and economic shocks that were brought about by the Civil War. During the war period, people in the South were beginning to confront new diseases that had started spreading during the war. The new diseases were an issue for both soldiers and civilians and they prompted the Southern region to dedicate a substantial amount of its resources to curbing the fast-spreading diseases. The period preceding “A People at War” also featured a major shift in production dynamics. Consequently, capital went back to being the most important element of production and wealth creation.
Before the events surrounding the Civil War unfolded, labor had been the most important element of production and subsequent wealth creation. The American Civil War was the first conflict in America to have far-reaching impacts on the civilian population. The conflict spread from battlefields to civilian homes where some soldiers would shelter from hails of bullets. All aspects of civilian life were affected by the conflict that is often considered as the first ‘hard war’ in America. The authors of this book note that the violence that started in the Civil War is the same one that was later transferred to Native Americans in the West.
Summary of Contents
The focus of Reynolds and Sherriff’s book is the effects that the Civil War had on the lives of soldiers and ordinary civilians alike. The Civil War claimed more than half a million American lives and brought the freedom of millions at the same time. The book is subdivided into five parts that provide brief analyses of the events that led to the succession of the South. The authors of “A People at War” address the plights of all participants of the Civil War including women, soldiers, slave owners, and slavery escapees.
The conflict of neighbor against neighbor as brought out in “A People at War” looks into how people independently dealt with the emotions that were brought about by the war. There were also physical challenges to be dealt with including displacement and new diseases. The authors also address the violence that existed away from the battlefields between former peaceful neighbors. The guerilla warfare that transpired in the course of the war as a result of growing enmity within the Southern civilians according to the authors. Although the authors’ focus is on the war years, they also go beyond the period of the conflict.
Some of the important aspects of the Civil War that are covered by the authors include enlistment of soldiers, entry into the guerilla warfare, medical needs during the war, and use of African American labor during the conflict. Another portion of the book addresses how the Civil War influenced military and governance policies in the period after 1862. Life after the war is addressed in the view of the reconstruction that took place afterward especially the input of Plains Indians.
The book utilizes appendices that provide useful information to the readers. For instance, the appendices list twenty-seven significant political events that took place between 1854 and 1876, and fifteen battles that had immense contributions to the final outcome of the Civil War. The fourth part of the book addresses the domestic aspects of the Civil War. The authors of “A People at War” conclude their book by showing the measures that were taken to rebuild the nation after the Civil War.
Commentary
There are various books that tackle the topic of the Civil War in America and “A People at War” fits into this crowded category. In addition, books about the Civil War often cover eerily familiar topics that include slavery, freedom, and America’s politics among others. The challenge for any author who covers the Civil War topic is to ensure his/her work achieves a unique spin among the others. The authors of this book are able to achieve a certain level of distinction in regards to their coverage of the Civil War. First, Nelson who is regarded as an expert in the American railroad matters and Sherriff, whose another book “The Artificial River” is a critical success make keen social insights through their book. Instead of following the usual rhetoric that accompanies Civil War books, the authors of “A People at War” paint the picture of at war.
The authors also emphasize on how the most basic civilian life was affected by the Civil War. One of the most unique takes in this book is the fact that the authors are able to take their audience away from the Southern battlefields and into military recruiting halls, hospitals, remote military camps, and even prisons. The book’s wide coverage is able to engage readers and give them a wholesome picture of how the Civil War affected civilians both physically and emotionally. The underlying elements of the conflict including the eminent freedom from slavery and the impacts that the conflict had on civilian life are adequately illuminated in “A People at War”.
The main goal of “A People at War” is for the book to serve as a collective biography of both civilian and military personnel in the Civil War. The authors of this book try to use personal narratives about civilians and soldiers in order to achieve their goals. However, the authors of this book are not able to achieve this goal in a satisfactory manner. The book fails in its quest as an overall biography because the authors focus too much on recent developments and knowledge about the Civil War whilst ignoring the historical outlook of the conflict. For example, the book does not make any tangible connections between the historical backgrounds of the participants of the Civil War and their new-found situations. Moreover, in the end, the book does not draw a fathomable conclusion in regard to its wide range of topics on the Civil War.
The overall flow of “A People at War” makes the book a good read whilst developing a tangible connection with its readers. Although the authors cite most of their information sparingly, the few sources that are used throughout the book provide for a solid historical book. Nevertheless, the authors are also susceptible to errors in their arguments. For instance, the authors fault General George McClellan’s military tactics although they were the only methods that were ‘useable’ during the Civil War period (Nelson and Sheriff 85). The authors fault General McClellan for failing to use the input of African Americans during the Civil War. When this issue is examined using a historical context, it becomes clear that McClellan’s use of African American soldiers could not have changed the outcome of the conflict in a major way.
Overall, “A People at War” provides a detailed investigation into how the lives of civilians and soldiers were impacted by the conflict. The author’s approach is to dig deeper and provide readers with clear demarcations of how the Civil War conflict changed individuals and regions alike. The historical accuracy of some of the authors’ notions is wanting but the final product is quite useful to history scholars.
Works Cited
Nelson, Reynolds, and Carol Sheriff. A People at War: Civilians and Soldiers in America’s Civil War, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.