A Plea to Stop the War by Clement Vallandigham - Book Report/Review Example

Bibliography A Plea to Stop the War by Clement L. Vallandigham Clement Laird Vallandigham happened to be a politician in the state of Ohio where he served as a leader of the then Copperhead alliance or faction of Democrats who opposed the American civil War. During his lifetime, he served in the House of Representatives of the United States of America. Thus, having been a politician and a constitutional office bearer he had unlimited and unclassified access to the administrative tools which created, sustained and oversaw the logistics of the American Civil War. Having been at the center of the United States of America Administration and government processes, he must have been aware and cognizant with the happenings that took place in the society relative to the government operations. He made a speech against the powers that be specifically the United States of America government in line of the fact that the civil war was a costly and unprofitable venture for the United States of America as a society. His specific audience was the people of the American society and he aimed at enlightening or educating them on the dangers and disadvantages of the civil war on them (http://dixienet.org). He was also a historian of huge and big reputation whose scholarly limits and abilities have withstood the test of time to remain none of the most respectable thinkers and scholars of the day. This article was aimed at an academic audience as a review detailing the errors and the excess which made the civil war an unnecessary endeavor pushed by the inability of political class to intervene on the same issue. His original audience was a political rally where the people listened and cheered for his words. It was a protest rally where he wanted to enlighten the people of the day on the failures of the government to embrace the civil liberties perspectives. However, in later and subsequent times, the speech by Clement L. Vallandigham. Has found a lot of relevance and use to the academic and general society as articulated below herein. His main arguments was that the American government aimed at reducing or eliminating the civil liberties and instead replace them with despotism. In his arguments he mentioned that the administration or the government of day would have ended the unnecessary war by upholding the intermediation proposal by France. It is my reasoned and guided opinion that he used facts to disparage the upfront of civil war since government wanted to post marshal generals in the districts. These words are cautionary positive words aimed at pointing the society towards absolute truth. The speech was necessitated by the continuing war which was not beneficial to the society. Another main argument and opinion was that if the administration at that point in time had embraced statesmanship, compassion, understanding towards fellow men then the war would have been avoided. He uses factual inclination such as the administration of the day clamored for political power, employed propaganda coupled with less patrioteering by the professionals. I believe the author uses emotional generalization to group the whole government on their failure to prevent the civil war. This is wrong or emotionally directed since some of the congress people opposed the idea of civil war in its entirety. In principle, this is a critical review on the reasons as to why the civil war took place and the lesson learnt thereafter. I am of the opinion that this is a believable and reliable source since the author lived during those times and also had academic abilities to put the facts and matters to perspective. Summarily, this source is reliable and important to the extent outlined above herein. This source was equally directed towards an academic audience especially the comparative analysis class so as to give them the comparative insights and tenets. The audience of the source would have had a different approach towards the scholars and thinkers who gave their opinions and input on the issue of the civil war. The overriding point was that as much as the scholars had a different view and approach on the issue there was little in terms of actionable reality that would have been done to the contrary of the war. In all aspects and fairness, this source is an opinion and thoughts that were put forth by Clement Vallandigham just according to what he thought was right and appropriate to him. Accordingly, he seeks to outline and differentiate the main points and argument that were made by other scholars and thinkers. Summarily, I am of the opinion that this source is reliable and sufficient since it addresses itself to the factual points and basis of other thinkers. It is important to note and mention that the author was of the opinion that the mediation that was out forth by the French government in trying to mediate and introduce fairness to the American society. The French government had introduced a raft of measures and policy framework or approaches which would have seen the society embrace equality, fairness and evenness for all the people (http://www.people-press.org). Apparently, the government of the day had appreciated and allowed for the tenets and principles of the mediation process. However, at the tail end, some of the political actors could not swallow their pride and chauvinistic tendencies to allow for the free society. At the tail end, the government administration and machinery did not heed to those recommendations and reports and instead opted for the opposite. It is important to note and mention that the government failed to appreciate the moves and recommendations and it prompted the civilians to resists and occasion the war. In brief, the cause effects evaluation on the basis and progress of the war was that the civilians and the society as a whole were unwilling to grant the basic civil liberties to the people and instead wanted to implant military officers to act on their behest at the district levels. Intuitively, the fact that the language used is simple and easy to comprehend qualifies it to be a general audience material. The overriding line of thought and argument is that the thought, notions and concepts of the civil war still remain emotive and divisive to the current society even in the current dispensation (Frank 12). It is also important to note and mention that the source expresses facts and irreducible or absolute principles that happen to the society. In retrospect, any attempts or endeavors to discuss the notion and concept of the civil war usually invokes bitter disagreements and high emotions. Generally, the author is measured in his words and does not seek to elicit any reactions from the readers other than give the factual inclinations. To that extent and aspect, I am of the opinion that this source is reliable and informative. It is important to note and mention that this source is specifically addressed to the academic audience such as scholars and researchers who may wish to pursue critical analysis on the subject of civil war. The main argument is the behind the scenes happenings and affairs that happened and occasioned the happening of the American civil war and the reasons why most truths never saw the light of the day (James, 11). There are no facts absolute truths which the source underscores thus it collapses under the category and classification of an opinion. From the outset, it cannot be factual that everything that was taught to people in school were wrong hence it is an opinion to that extent. The author uses negative stereotype by discrediting in the entirety all the things, notions and happenings that the other researchers and historians did or ever recorded. In brief, the source is beneficial since it gives a divergent view from the popular conceptions and thus gives a reader a different view or opinion on the same. Work cited A Plea to Stop the War by Clement L. Vallandigham Frank L. Klement: The Limits of Dissent: the Civil War (1970 James G. Randall, Constitutional Problems under Lincoln (1926) http://www.people-press.org/2011/04/08/civil-war-at-150-still-relevant-still-divisive http://dixienet.org/rights/everything.shtml Read More