39 pages • 1-hour read
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
The North
At the onset of the Civil War, the North is far more industrialized than the South. This industrialization leads to the schism between North and South, mainly because the North does not need slave labor for its economic means to the extent that the South does (though the North very much relied on slave labor, too).
The main motivating factor for a Northern soldier is to keep the Union intact. Many Northern soldiers see the secession as a betrayal of the ideas of the Founding Fathers. Most Northern soldiers believe they are fighting for the nation; their letters say so. Almost 80% vote for Lincoln, who runs on a platform of complete victory in the war.
Not all Northern soldiers (perhaps even few at the beginning) are fighting to end slavery. Some see it as a detestable institution, while others only want to keep the Union intact. Many of them feel betrayed when the Emancipation Proclamation is declared. They do not wish to fight for slaves, who they do not see as equal to them. During emancipation, many soldiers desert rather than fight for slaves. Still others see using freed slaves as a means to end the war more quickly. Like the country, they are divided by slavery.
The biggest different between the North and South is in the idea of freedom. When Northern soldiers speak of liberty, they mean the liberty of the Union. When they speak of duty, they mean their duty to the Union. For the Northern soldier, one’s idea of self-worth, of honor and courage, is tied up in the Union—a Southern victory will mean not only a loss in the war and a broken country, but men who fail in their duty, and thereby fail as men.
The South
The main motivating factor for a Southern soldier is liberty. The Southern definition of liberty, however, is different from the North. To the Southerner, liberty means maintaining their personal freedom. This means being free of government restraints and oversight. It also means maintaining slaves. To understand this seemingly paradoxical viewpoint, one must remember that the institution of slavery is at the heart of Southern life. All Southern socioeconomic and cultural well-being is dependent on slavery, from maintaining their cotton crops to caring for their children. Even Southerners who do not own slaves see slavery as part of the Southern way of life.
Southerners also see the North as invaders. The Northern army is coming to take their land and their way of life. After the North invades Southern territory, Southern soldiers harbor a deep resentment when they see homes burned, men killed, and food and goods taken by Union armies. In their minds, this invasion reinforces the notion of liberty as a cause for fighting.
James McPherson
McPherson is the George Henry Davis 1986 Professor of American History at Princeton, where he has taught since 1962. In 1989, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom. For Cause and Comrades won the Lincoln Prize. He was president of the American Historical Association in 2003, and has written numerous books about the American Civil War. As research for Cause and Comrades, McPherson read over 25,000 letters from soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, along with almost 250 diaries. In his Preface to the book, he states that these letters provide fuller and more candid explanations for soldiers’ decisions to enlist and fight.
Unlock analysis of every key figure
Get a detailed breakdown of each key figure’s role and motivations.
- Explore in-depth profiles for every key figure
- Trace key figures’ turning points and relationships
- Connect important figures to a book’s themes and key ideas