During the 1800’s, many different events would lead to the Civil War and its effects. These started before the war began. Slavery was a big issue revolving around this era with many for and many against it. The North took a stance for the abolishment of slavery, while the South wanted to keep slavery. To try and keep things equal between the rival parts of the country, congress created the Missouri Compromise. This would make Texas a free state and Maine a free state, hopefully balancing the numbers. To prevent this problem, they created a line of freedom. Passing through the U.S., it was “drawn through the unincorporated western territories along the 36o30’ parallel, dividing the north and south as free and slave.” (Trigger Events of the Civil War, American Battlefield Trust, 2020) They hoped that this would prevent any confusion involving slavery. However, the fixes didn’t help. Instead, they only contained the problem to certain areas. In 1852, a book called Uncle Tom’s Cabin would be written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book was supposed to help spread the word about the conditions of slaves. This tacitic seemed to work, with the book becoming the “the second-best-selling book in America in the 19th century, second only to the Bible.” (Trigger Events of the Civil War, American Battlefield Trust, 2020) This was one of the many decisions that helped push America towards war.

The American Civil War would officially begin on April 12, 1861, with the attack on Fort Sumter. For the beginning of the war, most victories would be won by the Confederacy. However, with the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union would manage a win. More Union defeats would lead to a change in Generals. Ulysses S. Grant would be appointed Lieutenant General on March 9, 1864. The confederacy would follow suit a year later, making Robert E. Lee the General-in-Chief of the Confederacy. However, on the same day, the “U.S. House passes the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.” (“The Civil War in America”, Library of Congress, 2012). It would only take about four months for the war to end, with General Lee surrendering on April 9, 1865.

I don’t believe that these events directly affected the book They Called Themselves the K.K.K. While the book was written 145 years after the war’s end, the events that followed the war are what the book is based on. If the Civil War had ended differently, the book might have been about something different. When Ulysses S. Grant was made General, the war started to go in the Unions favor. However, the war might have been different without him. Would the Confederacy have won? What would have happened after that? Would a different revolution get rid of slavery? Since slavery was abolished and the Union won, we currently don’t have slavery and only think of it as something from the past. But what if slavery was still around today? Would the KKK have been needed? The KKK was only created because of slavery’s destruction. The book may have been about the Union’s loss instead of an American terrorist group.

References

The Civil War in America Timeline. (2012, November 12). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-war-in-america/timeline.html

Trigger Events of the Civil War. (2020, April 29). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/trigger-events-civil-war