History/Liberal Education Essay

Lee Wayne defines culture as “habitual practices, default programs, hidden assumptions, and unreflected cognitive frames” that have an impact on people’s behavior and decisions. Normal methods of social transmission from generation to generation include instruction and imitation. Since most societies and organizations have a similar way of doing things and habits that they learned from those who existed before them, I agree with Wayne’s definition of culture. Over time, the behaviors can be linked to those individuals or groups, making it possible to recognize them. (Wayne 3). The concept of the “Good Death” as used during the Civil War era meant that those who died in the war died willingly and for a good cause. The families would also be glad to receive their final words and a report that they died having embraced God. The large numbers, about 620,000 people, who died weakened the system. It was no longer possible to transport them home as their families desired; due to scarcity of caskets (Blattman & Miguel 10-15).

Question three

A military culture which was birthed during the civil war is the use of bayonets by infantry soldiers. The bayonets were used by the French in the Civil War. These bayonets are still used in Mordern Warfare such as the Invasion of Iraq.

Business management’s culture of planning for financing of a company’s operations came from the Civil War. There were no funds to finance the Civil War which forced Abraham Lincoln to introduce taxes on Americans. This became the origin of income taxes and financial planning for modern business operations.

Question four

The poem paints a picture of soldiers who are relieved to come back home safely when thousands of their colleagues died in war. It also points towards a memorial which was set up for the heroes who died fighting for a good cause. The mood of the poem is both sad and happy. The poem portrays a sad mood because of the many lost lives. However, there’s a happy feeling because of the return of the survivors who are honored for their bravery at war. Poetry enables one to have a good image of the past occurences. It provides a simple and interesting way of understanding history.

Question five

The Civil War honored the North by”The Treasury of Virtue” because it spearheaded the freeing of slaves. Their moral virtue showed left a mark in America and worldwide. The South became a ”Great Alibi” of the war since they were never held responsible for the Civil War. Out of the two, the one with a greater distortion, in my opinion, is the Great Alibi. The Civil War was orchestrated by the Confederate States which were from the South (Woodward 106).

Question six

The Civil War was a political war since the Confederate States sought autonomy from the United States of America. As such the Confederate states formed a union and their own constitution which was a replica of the one for the United States of America. They also had separate armies. On the other hand, the war was economic due to the fact that the United States of America had a better and richer economy than the Confederate States. The latter worked hard to ensure that they had large successful cotton plantations in order to beat the USA economy. As a result, they hired slave labour, a matter that brought great conflict between the two rivals (Halvard 110).

Question seven

The greatest legacy of the Civil War is that it unified Americans. It also resulted in a crop of working class people who largely contribute to America’s economy in form of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Civil War is the crux of America’s history since it led to the abolishment of slave trade in America. Civil War defined and shaped America’s character as people who love peace and unity.

References

Blattman, Christopher, and Edward Miguel. ”Civil war.“ Journal of Economic literature (2010): 3-57

Buhaug, Halvard. ”Dude, where’s my conflict? LSG, relative strength, and the location of civil war.“ Conflict Management and Peace Science 27.2 (2010): 107-128

Lee, Wayne E., ed. Warfare and Culture in World History. NYU Press, 2011 1-8

Woodward, C. ”Reflections on a centennial.“ The Yale Review99.3 (2011): 104-113.