Chapter 8, The Cause of Liberty Summary and Analysis

Civil War soldiers admired the founders and the soldiers of the Revolutionary War. They understood that their republic was "conceived in liberty." Both sides saw themselves as inheriting that tradition. They both believed that the legacy of the Founders fell on their soldiers. Ironically, each side interpreted the legacy in opposition to the other. Confederate soldiers were often comforted by the fact that the United States' founders had won when things looked worst. Confederate soldiers' letters always spoke of liberty. and this subject increased as the war continued. They conceived of themselves as under the threat of subjugation.

Unlike the Revolutionary soldiers, however, Confederate soldiers were so used to slavery that they saw no problem with it. Before the war, though, Confederate soldiers did not speak of "slaves" or "slavery," but of "servants...