American Civil War example essay topic

The American Civil War The topic I have chosen for my Senior Project is the American Civil War. I intend to divide this project into six segments: 1) The required interview, 2) An analysis of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 3) An analysis of a non-fiction book, 4) A review of a movie, 5) some self-generated Poetry, and 6) An artistic expression. The American Civil War was a military conflict between the United States of America (Known as the Union) and the Confederated States of America (known as the Confederacy) from 1861 to 1865. This war was much more than a war between States or a War of Southern Independence, it was a war which decided the fate of many of our African-American brothers and sisters. It began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and it lasted until May 26, 1865, when the last Confederate army surrendered. The war took more than 600,000 lives, destroyed property valued at $5 billion, brought freedom to 4 million black slaves, and opened wounds that have not yet completely healed more than 133 years later.

Much of America's best literature was written during this period. One such novel is Uncle Tom's Cabin written by American writer and abolitionist, Harriet Beecher Stowe. This novel is a forceful indictment of slavery and one of the most powerful novels of its kind in American literature. This novel was so popular that it sold 500,000 copies in the US in the first 5 years it was published. It was translated into more than 20 foreign languages. It did much to crystallize militant antislavery sentiment in the North, and therefore was an important factor in precipitating the American Civil War.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, like most of Stowe's novels, is rambling in structure, but rich in pathos and dramatic incident. In writing my papers and studying the Civil War, I hope to learn about one of the most dramatic periods in American history. I hope to be able to research this project with an unbiased, open-minded view of both the South's and the North's objectives. At the end of this project I hope to understand a little bit more about the country I was born and raised in and the people who died to change our country. Do you know how many state flags have the Confederate flag on them? Or how many State Capitols fly the Confederate Flag on top or their roofs?

The answer to the first question is 3 (Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama) and to the second is 1 (South Carolina). When watching TV, I came across a journalist standing outside the Capitol Building in South Carolina and on the roof was the Confederate Flag waving poignantly in the air. At first it shocked me and I shook in disgust but when I came to think about it, how much did I know about the flag and the South? This made me think about the Civil War, a war more Americans died in than all the other wars combined. This got me intrigued in the subject. I believe I can study this topic with an open mind and at the same time read some of Americas most powerful literature.

Many questions fill my head as I sit here writing this Preliminary Report. I have many thoughts about the most famous speech ever read on American soil, The Gettysburg Address. This speech was written by President Abraham Lincoln in honor of those who died in the Civil War battle. There is poetry in this speech: Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Just reading this first line makes me feel energized by patriotism. I have questions about General Robert E. Lee, a military genius, who probably was the one greatest single factor in keeping the Confederacy alive.

I truly believe that this project is going to be one of the most interesting and enjoyable assignments I have ever done in school. As for resources, I can get my hands on plenty. I plan to read Uncle Tom's Cabin and a biography of General Robert E Lee which I can obtain in the PHS library. I also plan to rent and review a movie on the Civil War, this movie I can get at about any rental store. The poetry and Artistic Expression I will do through visual information I hope to get from history books about the war.

The only thing I am not quite sure about is who I am going to interview on this subject. I think I may go to a museum which carries artefacts from the war and interview a curator or maybe even a Professor who teaches the Civil War Literature at UC Berkeley. I will have to see where my research takes me. Off to the books, so long!