General John A. Wickham; commander of the famous 101st Airborne Division in the 1970s and subsequently Army Chief of Staff; once visited Antietam battlefield. Gazing at Bloody Lane where; in 1862; several Union assaults were brutally repulsed before they finally broke through; he marveled; "You couldn't get American soldiers today to make an attack like that." Why did those men risk certain death; over and over again; through countless bloody battles and four long; awful years ? Why did the conventional wisdom -- that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses -- not hold true in the Civil War? It is to this question--why did they fight--that James McPherson; America's preeminent Civil War historian; now turns his attention. He shows that; contrary to what many scholars believe; the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the conflict. Motivated by duty and honor; and often by religious faith; these men wrote frequently of their firm belief in the cause for which they fought: the principles of liberty; freedom; justice; and patriotism. Soldiers on both sides harkened back to the Founding Fathers; and the ideals of the American Revolution. They fought to defend their country; either the Union--"the best Government ever made"--or the Confederate states; where their very homes and families were under siege. And they fought to defend their honor and manhood. "I should not lik to go home with the name of a couhard;" one Massachusetts private wrote; and another private from Ohio said; "My wife would sooner hear of my death than my disgrace." Even after three years of bloody battles; more than half of the Union soldiers reenlisted voluntarily. "While duty calls me here and my country demands my services I should be willing to make the sacrifice;" one man wrote to his protesting parents. And another soldier said simply; "I still love my country." McPherson draws on more than 25;000 letters and nearly 250 private diaries from men on both sides. Civil War soldiers were among the most literate soldiers in history; and most of them wrote home frequently; as it was the only way for them to keep in touch with homes that many of them had left for the first time in their lives. Significantly; their letters were also uncensored by military authorities; and are uniquely frank in their criticism and detailed in their reports of marches and battles; relations between officers and men; political debates; and morale. For Cause and Comrades lets these soldiers tell their own stories in their own words to create an account that is both deeply moving and far truer than most books on war.Battle Cry of Freedom; McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the Civil War; was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan; in The New York Times; called "history writing of the highest order." For Cause and Comrades deserves similar accolades; as McPherson's masterful prose and the soldiers' own words combine to create both an important book on an often-overlooked aspect of our bloody Civil War; and a powerfully moving account of the men who fought it.
#1013074 in Books Michael H Tonry 1996-04-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.35 x .45 x 8.00l; .45 #File Name: 0195104692256 pagesMalign Neglect Race Crime and Punishment in America
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I learned a great deal from this readBy Trevor ShieldsMichael Tonry is an outstanding scholar in the field; and this a very influential book. I learned a great deal from this read; and would like to recommend it to others. My only problem with the text was that; at times; Tonry's writing style can get dense and complicated. The book is often repetitive and could likely have been shortened a great deal; while still getting the general point across.11 of 13 people found the following review helpful. GreatBy Tom MunroThe United States is one of the richest countries in the world. Despite this it does not have a universal system of health care or a level of income support for the poor associated with most developed nations. Its criminal justice system is unusual as it still retains the death penalty; routinely executes people who would be regarded as juveniles in other countries and also executes mentally disabled people.Michael Tonry has written a book which looks at the fairness of the criminal justice system and how it affects Afro Americans. The number of Afro Americans in the overall population in the United States is some 13%. They now however represent a majority of the population who is imprisoned. These figures alone rather flatter the reality of the situation. The Afro American community is split into an affluent group and an underprivileged group. One of the points that Tonry makes is that of that underprivileged group some 80 of males will be charged with a criminal offence. A huge proportion of that group will be jailed.The reason for this is the war on drugs. In 1988 faced by a decline in the use of drugs and a stable crime rate President Bush announced a war on drugs. This involved the transfer of tremendous resources to policing the creation of tough penalties mandatory penalties and the removal of discretion from the courts. In the United States low level drug traffickers who would get a penalty of around 6 months in Australia routinely get penalties of 7 years. The effect has been a tripling of the prison population.Studies of drug use in the States show that white people and Afro Americans abuse illegal drugs at around the same rate. It is difficult to police drug use in the white community as it occurs indoors. The poorer sections of the Afro American community live in crowded conditions and buy their drugs on the streets. It is thus far easier to arrest the poor. Thus the major effect of the war on drugs has been a massive increase of low level Afro American drug offenders being imprisoned for longer and longer periods. The cost of jail construction has been massive and in some states is greater than the higher education budget.The political basis of the war on drugs was the use of the Willie Horton case to destroy Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign. Willie Horton was an Afro American who had been jailed for violent offences. He was released on a furlough a type of leave then permitted by the state of Massachusetts. Horton brutally raped and murdered a woman and the fact that he was released whilst completing a sentence was used by Bush to suggest that Dukakis was soft on crime.(Despite the fact that the program had been up to that time routinely successful) Since that time American politicians including Clinton have emphasized their toughness on crime.This book is well written and contains a depth of statistical material which makes it compelling. The sense of outrage is palpable on each page. It is short some 200 pages but the depth of its research and the clearness of its arguments make it a must read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great book; wished I have of read it before ...By forGODonly365Great book; wished I have of read it before the class required. Great source of information (dated; but still relevant.)
