Comparative Questions

COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS

Document Links

Document 15-1: President Lincoln's War Aims

Document 15-2: A Former Slave's War Aims

Document 15-3: The New York Draft Riots

Document 15-4: Susie King Taylor Describes Her Wartime Experiences

Document 15-5: General William T. Sherman Explains the Hard Hand of War

  1. How did Abraham Lincoln's war aims differ from those of the ex-slave in New Orleans and the black soldiers in whose regiment Susie King Taylor worked?
  2. How did General William T. Sherman's views of war compare with those of Abraham Lincoln? How did Sherman's views compare with those of Colonel Trowbridge, the white commander of the black soldiers from Document 15–4?
  3. To what extent were the views Lincoln expressed in the Gettysburg Address shared by the New York draft rioters? How would you account for the differences?
  4. Given the war aims defined by Lincoln and the contrasting experiences of war illustrated by the other documents, what justified the immense sacrifices made by so many people?
  5. War has been termed the continuation of politics by other means. Judging from the documents in this chapter, what key political conflicts shaped the course and outcome of the Civil War?