Battles That Changed History, Second Period 4/2
Steve waited until everyone had assembled in the Danger Shop and he was sure he had their attention"Due to last week's unforeseen interruption, we were unable to cover the Battle of Waterloo from the Napoleonic Wars, so I have provided a handout for everyone to read up on that." Steve handed those out, then said, "Now, on to today's topic." He clicked the remote control in his hand and everyone would find themselves standing on a ridgeline in the Pennsylvania countryside, in midsummer heat. "Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July first through third, 1863. 'Four score 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'--and now that new nation was trying to split itself in two.
"The problem was that two different ways of life had evolved. There was the industrial North, where the main industries were factories and small farms and slavery--the owning, buying, and selling of other human beings, if any of you are fortunate enough to have never encountered such a thing--was illegal, and the agricultural South, where it was customary to own slaves to work the enormous fields, mainly of cotton and tobacco. There are economics involved, but economics have never been my strong suit.
"Following the election of President Abraham Lincoln, thirteen Southern states, fearing he would outlaw slavery, declared a preemptive strike and seceded from the United States of America, kicking off the American Civil War as Union forces mobilized against the newly founded Confederate States of America. Lincoln would probably have done whatever he had to to keep the Union together, his personal principles put aside for the greater good of the country, but, well." Steve spread his hands in a sort of 'what are you gonna do?' gesture.
"Two years into the war, the opposing sides met here, the Union under General George Meade, the Confederacy under General Robert E. Lee. Three days of brutal fighting culminated, on the third day, in Pickett's Charge, the charge of 12,500 Confederate infantry on Cemetery Ridge, where we currently stand. The charge was ultimately unsuccessful, and the Confederacy lost the battle, forcing Lee to retreat back into Virginia, making this the turning point of the war. Over there--" he gestured to a copse of trees-- "is the high water mark of the Confederacy, the farthest Confederate forces ever penetrated Union lines before they began being driven back. From this point on the Confederacy was on the defensive, and ultimately the Union would win the war and endure, and slavery would be abolished.
"This was also," Steve said quietly, "the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, with between forty-six and fifty-one thousand casualties. In November of 1863, President Lincoln dedicated a cemetery here for the honored dead, giving a rather famous speech I quoted from earlier. The war ended in 1865. President Lincoln was assassinated soon after. The Union and government of the people, by the people, and for the people endure. Now, I could make you charge this ridge line in reenactment of the battle, but let's face it, it's hot, so let's talk. The Confederates felt their way of life was being threatened, and that that was plenty of reason to go to war, but their way of life included the ownership of other people. So. When do you think it's appropriate to rebel or secede? Break up into pairs and discuss."
"The problem was that two different ways of life had evolved. There was the industrial North, where the main industries were factories and small farms and slavery--the owning, buying, and selling of other human beings, if any of you are fortunate enough to have never encountered such a thing--was illegal, and the agricultural South, where it was customary to own slaves to work the enormous fields, mainly of cotton and tobacco. There are economics involved, but economics have never been my strong suit.
"Following the election of President Abraham Lincoln, thirteen Southern states, fearing he would outlaw slavery, declared a preemptive strike and seceded from the United States of America, kicking off the American Civil War as Union forces mobilized against the newly founded Confederate States of America. Lincoln would probably have done whatever he had to to keep the Union together, his personal principles put aside for the greater good of the country, but, well." Steve spread his hands in a sort of 'what are you gonna do?' gesture.
"Two years into the war, the opposing sides met here, the Union under General George Meade, the Confederacy under General Robert E. Lee. Three days of brutal fighting culminated, on the third day, in Pickett's Charge, the charge of 12,500 Confederate infantry on Cemetery Ridge, where we currently stand. The charge was ultimately unsuccessful, and the Confederacy lost the battle, forcing Lee to retreat back into Virginia, making this the turning point of the war. Over there--" he gestured to a copse of trees-- "is the high water mark of the Confederacy, the farthest Confederate forces ever penetrated Union lines before they began being driven back. From this point on the Confederacy was on the defensive, and ultimately the Union would win the war and endure, and slavery would be abolished.
"This was also," Steve said quietly, "the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, with between forty-six and fifty-one thousand casualties. In November of 1863, President Lincoln dedicated a cemetery here for the honored dead, giving a rather famous speech I quoted from earlier. The war ended in 1865. President Lincoln was assassinated soon after. The Union and government of the people, by the people, and for the people endure. Now, I could make you charge this ridge line in reenactment of the battle, but let's face it, it's hot, so let's talk. The Confederates felt their way of life was being threatened, and that that was plenty of reason to go to war, but their way of life included the ownership of other people. So. When do you think it's appropriate to rebel or secede? Break up into pairs and discuss."