Civil War in the USA
By Sharon White
New war was about to start. It was a war between the States, between North and South. Here in this case the author describes both parties, he tells about views and beliefs of both sides. It is really hard to make up one’s mind which is right and which is wrong. When he tells about opinion of Northerners who fought against slavery, one will take their noble position for sure. It is nonsense to have slaves in a well-developed and educated society. It is so noble to fight for the rights of all people, no matter what colour of skin and origin they are. It sounds so great and civilized to promote anti-discrimination and equal human rights. But then there is another part of the case. It is South who owns those slaves and does not wish anybody to interfere into their inner state affairs. They have owned slaves for centuries and they are not able to run their business without hands of strong black people.
This was the way how their fathers and grandparents lived and there is nobody who should tell them what and how to do. It is understandable that Southerners will protect their land and their views no matter what, even if they will have to fight against their friends and brothers. They have no choice but to defend their native states and their families from those ‘Yankees’ who should rule on their land. When one reads a book and sees the events taking place in both parts of the country, he realizes that it is impossible to say who’s right in the situation. Both parties have positive and negative aspects of the led politics. Nobody really wants that war which brings only death and suffering, no one is ready to take weapons and armors and kill his co- citizens. Who needs this war? As it usually happens in our world there are influential politicians ready to neglect and ignore human lives but get more wealth and power.
The Mains and the Hazards have already become relatives when the war started. Orry’s sister married Charles’ brother and their families became even closer friends and already shared some ideas for common business. It was hard for both friends who had been close mates at the military academy to fight against each other. They have never quarreled about the war and its reasons. Though they both knew why the other one is going to fight. They respected each other as military officers and realized that the other one is a true patriot of his country and that is why he is going to be at battles. They never wanted to kill each other; they were both afraid of the war. They were afraid that their next meeting would take place on the battlefield.
Will they have enough courage to put up their weapons when there is a friend in front of you? Or rather does it matter if it is your friend who is going to shoot or who is going to be shot by you? Isn’t it unimportant who the man you are fighting with when it is in any way your brother, your co citizen? No doubts at that time it was a hard decision for everybody in the country. Civil war is always the most outrageous and the most severe for its citizens. Civil war means destroying within the country, means death of your sisters and brothers, means hatred among the citizens, means that the whole country is filled with rage and disaster is everywhere. No one will be able to profit from the outcome of the fighting.
The book is not about the war battles themselves. It is about people, about men and their emotions. Having taking for instance two families from different parts of the United States John Jakes describes their feelings and fears about the coming war. He shows that there is nobody absolutely right, and on the other hand no one can be justified or guilty for those bloody events.