Confederate Cockoning Summary

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Confederate Reckoning Throughout time, historians have debated the reasoning behind the onset of the Civil War and who was really involved in the conflict. In her novel, Confederate Reckoning: Power and
Politics in the Civil War South, author Stephanie McCurry presents her audience with a unique group to factor in to the events that helped lead to the outcome in the war. Many historians focus on the technological advancements and political elections involving white men in the war, but
McCurry takes a different stand point. Instead of focusing on those factors, McCurry explains how women and slaves had a large impact in the fate of the war. The Confederacy claimed to have made its secession decision in the name of the people, but McCurry causes her audience to question, “Who were the people?” (34). Politicians considered “the people” as white men, leaving out the majority: women and slaves. By ignoring this majority, the South slowly led themselves to their own demise. McCurry elaborates on stories of traitorous women and the wives of soldiers, showing the power of women in the war. McCurry lastly explains how calling upon slaves to do work for the army finally led to slave violations that could not be handled. By focusing on the political power of slaves and women, McCurry shows her audience how the Confederate States of America destroyed itself by leaving out the majority of their population. McCurry starts off her novel by giving her audience details of how the leaders of the confederacy formed the Confederate States of America. The leaders of this newfound government based their political system on the exclusion of slaves and women – the ultimate factors that led to their demise. McCurry pinpoints certain events to help show her audience just how important women and slaves really were in the Civil War. Political leaders first began to realize they had made a mistake in discounting women in the political system when they began to get outsmarted by the women. In society, men on both sides of the war believed they were fighting for their women, children, and property. Because of this opinion, women were able to easily manipulate politics. Women began lying to soldiers asking for their protection, and then using this safety as a way to spy on the opposing army. Because Confederate and Union authorities believed women were not a part of the war, the government did not know how to properly punish these spies once they were caught. The security of the Confederate nation was threatened due to the lack of loyalty from women, thus beginning the end of the new country. After first focusing on the disloyalty of women, McCurry then advances on to describe the role of the wives of Confederate soldiers and their impact on the Civil War. McCurry describes how women would identify themselves as “soldiers’ wives” to attempt to get the government to give their families protection. McCurry writes, “The food riots of the previous spring, and the demonstrated
…show more content…
Essentially, the novel’s main focus is to describe the political roles of women and slaves in the Civil War, so this aspect does not hinder the book as a whole.
Throughout history, historians have explained the political aspects of the Civil War with only stories of white men and some slave accounts. In the novel Confederate Reckoning,
McCurry, readers are able to be enlightened on other aspects that affected the outcome of the
Civil War. While most historians do not mention women while discussing this war, McCurry shows how involved women actually were in politics during this time period. She explains how women and slaves were originally excluded from “the people” in society, but in actuality ended up having as much of an impact as white men. McCurry shows how women were able to deceive men by acting innocent, when in actuality they were spying and gaining political ground.
By connecting massive events to women and slave riots, McCurry is able to show her audience how women were able to make their opinions heard, even thought they were left out. Overall,
McCurry does an excellent job of showing how the South led to their own demise by leaving out the majority of their own people when building their

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