The Civil War in Kentucky
The Civil War in Your State (Kentucky) For your second short paper, I would like you to research the Civil War in your state. What happened? Was your state a part of the Confederacy, the Union, or neither? Were there any major battles in your state? Are any major players in the Civil War from your state? You may choose the state in which you were born, the one you live in now, any state that you have a connection to. A Short Paper Assignment allows you, early in the course, to demonstrate your research skills to your instructor and to receive feedback that will benefit you when you write your research paper. With this assignment, you will learn how to do proper and adequate research and write a short paper and prepare you for writing the research paper. This short paper is at least three double-spaced pages of text (Times New Roman, font size 12) and you must consult a minimum of two academically credible sources. Bibliographies and citations will be in the Chicago Manual of Style format. The short paper needs to be turned in through the assignment section for grading. If you use any of the information from your sources word-for-word, you must cite the source by using endnotes or footnotes. If you read the information and write it in your own words and it is not common knowledge, then you must cite the source because you are paraphrasing someone's information. The short paper must include a cover page with your name, course number and course title, instructor's name, and date. You must also include a bibliography at the end of your paper. While composing your paper, use proper English. Do not use abbreviations, contractions, passive voice, or first/ second person (I, you, we, our, etc). Before submitting your paper, check your grammar and use spell check. Remember, the way you talk is not the way you write a paper.
The Civil War in Kentucky
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The elections in 1860 in the United States enthroned Abraham Lincoln, a president that ran on a platform that was against slavery in the Union. His stance on slavery coerced many southern states to secede from the union to form a confederacy, which was under Jefferson Davis’ provisional presidency. This is because they believed that Lincoln stance on slavery would pose a threat to their lucrative slave trade business and cotton farming. They maintained their stance notwithstanding that Lincoln had communicated his intentions to maintain the status quo in areas where the practice had already been established.
Prior to the time where many states in the south split from the federal union, Kentucky was part of the union. Kentuckians were divided on issues that related to the civil war and had sympathizers supporting both the confederacy and the union. This political position resulted in their neutral stance on secession where the state’s lawmakers failed to approve withdrawing their membership in the federal union during voting. In June of 1861, a special election for Congress produced nine representatives that supported the union and only one representative that supported the confederacy. In the following state assembly elections, the union gained the majority position, which shattered the neutrality position. The confederate and the union states were building the army troops, which staged attacks upon each other over a four-year civil war period of1861-1865. Kentucky did not eventually join the confederacy implying that it remained in the union throughout the civil war period. During the neutrality period the governor Beriah Magoffin who covertly supported the confederacy also failed to vote to contribute troops to the union’s army indicating that the confederates were sister states. Kentucky’s citizens enrolled in both confederacy troops and union troops, which staged numerous attacks against each other throughout the civil war period. This is because it had both south and north sympathizers who fought relentlessly until the north captured the bowling green area forcing the southern sympathizers to stage attacks from mere tents until 1865.
Kentucky was a very important state in the development of the civil war particularly because the state was on the divide between the North, which was composed of union sympathizers, and the South, which was predominantly a confederacy. 1861 marked the inception of the war with the confederacy initiating attacks on Fort Sumter triggering federal troops to return fire. Lincoln and Jefferson hailed from Kentucky and Lincoln was determined to ensure that Kentucky remained in the union. Lincoln established an army in Kentucky’s northern borders occupying Louisville, Ind...