BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM SPARKNOTES PROFESSIONAL

Morgan, the words of Sojourner Truth, or the wizard hands of Daniel Hale Williams. Each February-known since 1976 as Black History MonthВ-trivia contests rewarded those who could recall the inventions of Garrett A. It enlisted every field, from the arts (Phillis Wheatley) to the sciences (Charles Drew). And so it was thought that a true history, populated by a sable nobility and punctuated by an ensemble of Negro вЂњfirsts,вЂќ might be the curative for black youth who had no aspirations beyond the corner.

The stratagem of these shadow forces was said to be amnesia: they would have us see no past greatness in ourselves, and thus no future glory. Conscious people were quick to glean, from the cascade of children murdered over Air Jordans, something still darker-the work of warlocks who would extinguish all hope for our race. Black people talked openly of covert plots evidenced by skyrocketing murder rates and the plague of HIV. It was the mid-вЂ™80s, when educators in our inner cities, confronted by the onslaught of crack, Saturday Night Specials, and teen pregnancy, were calling on all hands for help-even the hands of the departed. I n my seventh-grade year, my school took a bus trip from our native Baltimore to GettysВburg, Pennsylvania, the sanctified epicenter of American tragedy. The regiment, which was organized in Baltimore after the war broke out, lost nearly 300 men. Colored Infantry Regiment, pictured at Fort Lincoln, in Maryland.

BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM SPARKNOTES PROFESSIONAL

If more professional historians approached their task with the grace and touch of McPherson, there would be no need to ask, вЂњWhatвЂ™s the matter with history?вЂќ You may not always agree with McPhersonвЂ™s conclusions, but you canвЂ™t read Drawn With the Sword without giving some consideration to his point of view.Members of Company E, Fourth U.S. Not only does he make you think,re-examining issues that have reached the point of seeming almost вЂњcut-and-dried,вЂќ but he does so in a manner that is enjoyable to read. McPherson hoped, with this work, to reach the three audiences that he feels all readers of history fall into: professional historians, Civil War buffs and general readers. The one new piece вЂњWhatвЂ™s The Matter With History?вЂќ is worth the price of admission itself. Fourteen of the essays have been previously published, but were revised for this edition. In the 15 essays that make up the book, McPherson explores a variety of subjects ranging from the causes of the war to how the South almost won and why the war still fascinates us today. If McPhersonвЂ™s obsession with slavery does not turn you off, youвЂ™ll probably enjoy Drawn With the Sword. McPherson gives grudging credit to other issues, such as statesвЂ™ rights, but to him, the bottom line is slavery. He has never hidden the fact that he believes that slavery wasthe one issue that fatally divided North and South. If you donвЂ™t believe that slavery was the only real cause of the war, donвЂ™t waste your time reading McPherson. Not everyone is going to like McPhersonвЂ™s new book, Drawn With the Sword. James McPherson produced such a book a few years ago with his best-selling one-volume study of the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom. Occasionally, a book comes along that falls into both categories. There are some books that you feel you ought to read, and there are other books that you can enjoy reading. McPherson, Oxford University Press, New York,1996, $25. McPherson) : ACW | HistoryNet CloseДrawn with the Sword: Reflections on the Civil War, by James M. Book Review: Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the Civil War (James M.

Battle cry of freedom sparknotes