War Of Terror Essay

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24 August, 2019

War of terror essay

The most visible strength of Stephen Budiansky’s thesis is use of facts and figures for supporting his argument that blacks continued to live in terror even after the civil war. Through inclusion of different incidents the author manages to prove that the Reconstruction Amendments failed to give rights and equality. Blacks continued to face discrimination, violence and segregation irrespective of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. The facts reveals that white southern Democrats were rectified the amendment and continued to use force. Figures are mentioned for adding evidentiary support as Budiansky states, “more than 3,000 freedmen and their white Republican allies would be murdered across the South”. It is thus one of the biggest strength of Budiansky’s thesis because he has not relied on stories lacking credibility. Facts are also visible as author explains how 1000 armed militia men targeted a local black militia campaign. Facts are also added as Budiansky’s mentions that democrats gained 5,500 votes that allowed them to make government in Hamburg. The inclusion of figures depicts that the claims made by Budiansky’s are backed by proper evidence. This improved the reliability and validity of the thesis.

The most prominent weakness of Budiansky’s thesis is the limited use of facts and events. The author has focused more on Hamburg where blacks were in larger population but failed to compare it with the white majority states. The formation of black militia was possible in Hamburg due to the larger population of African-Americans. He has presented his conclusion on the basis of one town which can be seen as a weakness. It was better to compare the conditions of Hamburg with other states before reaching to a conclusion. Budiansky’s has used Hamburg for capturing the terrorized state of entire black nation. This reflects weakness of the thesis because a strong essay require more evidence and events for proving the claims. It is also possible that the conditions which prevailed in Hamburg were different from other states of America so it is not appropriate to conclude that the entire black nation continued to suffer even after the implementation of civil rights legislation. Similarly, the conditions of blacks at other states could have been more worst because they were living in white majority cities.

The aspects of events highlighted by Budiansky about South Carolina in 1876 that I find most shocking are the formation of black militia in Hamburg due to terror. It is shocking to know that freedom to the blacks exposed them to hostile situations. The amendments were unacceptable among southern white Democrats and they responded with violence and bullets. Their mission was to reestablish the ‘Old South’ by oppressing blacks. Southern whites were unable to accept equal rights and freedom of African Americans that convinced them to reject the civil rights legislation. As white democrats were gained more votes so they believed that it is a white men government. It is shocking to know that white leaders were still using force and violence which reflects vagueness of the civil right laws. The story of blacks at Hamburg is inspiring because the African-American population stood for their rights by forming black militia. Without their resistance to the oppressive behaviors of white southern or democrats they would have never attained freedom. Their determination allowed them to fight against the powerful white Democrats which ultimately caused end of the negro rule. The event is also inspiring because it gives a message of struggles leading to freedom of blacks.