Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Battle of Bull Run

"There was a festive mood as hundreds of civilians rode out from Washington to picnic and watch the entertaining spectacle of a one-battle war.  Instead they witnessed a bloody, chaotic catastrophe."  -- p. 665

What does this quote from the reading show us about the public's understanding and role in the war?

8 comments:

  1. The public's role in the war was more like a part of resources. In the letter that the soldier sent to his wife, he explained the value of children. Basically it was saying the boys/guys were more valuable because they could be used and enrolled in the army and trained into rookies. The public provided money, resources, and manpower. I think the public's understanding in the war was not clear, nobody would know who would win the war, but they kept guessing so they made positive conclusion even before the war began, that was why they went to picnic and watch the battle but they wouldn't have any idea if they lost.

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  2. The quote from the reading shows us that the public’s understanding and role in the war was to observe the tumultuous battle. There was, “naive optimism,” among the crowds of bystanders. People were the most ignorant at the first Battle of the Bull Run. The public itself, fueled both sides to strike and strike quickly. This quote further shows that in the beginning the public was eager for war, for a change in their daily lives. This quote displays that as the war progressed, so did the slaughter of the people, making it less enjoyable for the public to watch and stand behind.

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  3. The public saw this war as a way for their region to display the courage, bravery, ideals, and morals that they thought represented all of them. It also displays the naivete of the American people during this time who thought that it would only be one deciding battle, all would be over, and everyone would go home. We clearly know this is not the case; the case is the bloodiest war in American history. This quote is also trying to paint the public as a body that did not directly participate in the war but watched it from the sidelines.

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  4. This quote from the reading shows the audience the ignorance of the people. They were very optimistic about this war, almost a little too much because they thought it would only last a couple months. Everyone had pride in either the confederacy or the union, but when they realized it was much more difficult than that many stepped back. It was almost a celebration for the bystanders of the war because it meant change in their country.

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  5. The quote above displays the ignorance and sheer stupidity of the American civilians in that region. I believe that the people who were in attendance to the war were probably Americans with money and didn't know the severity and brutal violence of war. The short and quick war that they believe would happen turned into a bloody war that lasted for 4 years. You could say that the Battle of Bull Run really open the country’s eyes and revealed to them what we know now, and that is that this war was only the beginning.

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  6. This quote shows how the public bystanders watching the battle were so oblivious tot the fact that this was going to be a very bloody and gruesome war. Most Northerners at this time thought that this war was going to be very short because the South was weak and just formed the Confederacy. When the public watched this fight this might have caused more concern in people sending their sons to war because they saw how easy it was for their son to die if they were drafted and put in that situation.

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  7. This quote from the reading represents and shows us how the civilians role in the war was actually to watch the war. From my own knowledge, civilians In response to the hardships imposed upon their fellow citizens by the war, civilians on both sides mobilized to provide comfort, encouragement, and materiel goods. On the other hand, the Confederate government failed almost completely to care for the families of its soldiers.

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  8. This quote shows that the public’s understanding of war was for entertainment. They thought that watching the war was like a leisure activity like swimming or golfing at a country club. The public role towards the war was also supporting because they wanted to cheer on their army and show that they were high supporters for either the confederacy or the union. But at the same time this also showed the ignorance of the public. War is not meant to be entertainment but an act of setting what is right or wrong and the public had seemed to have no idea what this was.

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