Assignment
Just answer questions with at least 2 paragraphs each question.
1. Analyze the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. Did the plan have any tactical merit? What were its strengths and weaknesses? Was the failure of the plan more because of the plan or the general?
2. Discuss some of the actions taken by Congress in 1861 and 1862 as the war wore on. What were some of these significant acts, and how did it show Congress was looking forward?
3. Discuss the Antietam campaign. What were some of the reasons that Robert E. Lee was able to advance so far? Why was he unable to capture Washington or score a significant victory at Antietam? How badly did the failure hurt the Confederacy?
4. Why did Abraham Lincoln issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation after Antietam? Was it a measure of wartime desperation, political expediency, or sound principle? Why was the Emancipation Proclamation structuring the way it was, and what was its effects?
5. Compare conscription in the North and in the South. What were the results of the draft? Was the draft the best way to face he manpower situation both sides were facing? Discuss the criticisms of the draft -- is the draft constitutional?
6. How did Vicksburg become such a major focal point of the war in the West?
7. What were the political criticisms that President Lincoln faced during the war? Did Lincoln effectively counter these arguments between the extremes of the Radicals and the Copperheads?
8. Discuss the issue of civil liberties during the Civil War. How was the issue of habeas corpus handled? Why were Lincoln's actions either appropriate or constitutional or neither?
9. How did the war affect the southern economy by 1863? How did this affect southern society? What were conditions for southerners on the home front, and how did this affect the overall war effort?
10. During the war, there were criticisms of it being a "rich man's war and a poor man's fight." Was this accurate or an exaggeration? Cite specific examples.