Epilogue: Surviving

How did the Civil War transform the nation? Do you believe that the Civil War could have been avoided? Why or why not?

Chapter Eight-Numbering: "How Many, How Many?"

According to Faust, what were the two modes of understanding that emerged from the Civil War experience? Of the two modes, which one do you agree with more? Why?

Chapter Eight-Numbering: "How Many, How Many"

According to Faust, why was counting the dead such an important task? Do agree with her assertion? Why or why not?

Chapter Seven- Accounting: "Our Responsibility to the Dead"

What are some of the similarities and differences between the North and South's reburial efforts after the Civil War? Of the two sides, who do you believe honored their dead more successfully? Why?

Chapter Seven-Accounting: "Our Obligations to the Dead"

What were some of the roles that women played after the Civil War? What are your thoughts and/or impressions about these roles?

Chapter Six-Believing and Doubting: "What Means this Carnage?"

Despite countless accounts of southerners losing their faith and questioning the existence of God as a result of the carnage and the South's ultimate failure in the Civil War, why did churches actually grow in the South after the Civil War becoming the foundation of the "Bible Belt" in the twentieth century? If you lived during the end of the Civil War in the South, how do you believe the conflict would have effected your religious beliefs? Why?

Chapter 6-Believing and Doubting: "What Means this Carnage?"

Shortly after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, the northern clergyman and theologian Horace Bushnell celebrated northern victory. He made comparisons between the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and that of the union soldiers who had lost their lives during the Civil War. Bushnell went further and stated that manifest destiny demanded that the United States expand throughout North America as the God-given spoils of the North's hard fought victory. Do you agree with Bushnell that manifest destiny justifies the expansion of the United States at the expense of Native Americans? Also, do you agree with Bushnell when he states that expansion must occur to justify the carnage and sacrifice of the Civil War? Why or why not?