American Civil War Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Civil War - Term Paper Example On the other part, North states were against slavery. The South wanted the new states to be slavery states, but the North wanted such states to be Free states. The southerners preferred wanted new territories to be granted the right to vote on whether they would be Free states or slave states according to the state’s rights. The issue of slavery was heightened by the North abolition movements such as the Free-state movements of Kansas. The southerners claimed that the federal government was prohibited by the tenth amendment from interfering with their right to own property and slaves. The southerners believed that the US constitution denied the states the right to act independently and decide whether to implement certain federal acts (Arnold and Wiener 19). The election of Abraham Lincoln as the President also stirred the slavery debate after he asserted that slavery should be abolished. South Carolina seceded from the Union with other seven states thus forming the Confederate States of America (CSA). The civil war broke after the secession of South Carolina and other south states that created the Confederate Constitution that granted more autonomy to the states. In February 1861, the south started seizing federal forts and repulsed the supply ships. Lincoln was inaugurated in March 1861 and vowed to fight secession of the south (Kingseed 41). Fort Sumter was attacked in April 1861 and the southern commanders allowed the Union troops to leave the fort safely. President Lincoln called for army volunteers and proclaimed a blockade of the south thus leading to the Bull Run battle in July 21, 1861. The Bull Run was the first major battle that was fought at Manassas Junction near Washington, D.C. The north lost the battle and the troops retreated to the capital. In the battle, Gen McDowell of north led 30,000 men against 22,000 southern troops but ultimately the North lost and Lincoln replaced McDowell with Gen McClellan. The battle of Shiloh was fought in Ap ril 1861 in Tennessee whereby both sides incurred heavy casualties with Gen Grant overcoming the southern forces (Kingseed 76). Another significant event was the Peninsular Campaign of March-July 1862 that occurred in South Virginia whereby Gen McClellan attacked Richmond via the South, but assumed defensive tactic rather than pressurizing for victory. In September 1862, the Antietam battle occurred in Maryland whereby more than 23,000 troops from both sides died with southern troops led by Gen Lee retreating to Virginia (Kingseed 88). In the same month of September 1862, President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation after the Antietam victory by claiming that all rebelling states would be finally freed and European nations should not participate in the war as it would amount making a decision on the issue of slavery (Rees 99). In July 1863, Vicksburg surrendered to Gen Grant and all the Mississippi River became under control of the Union forces. In March 1864, Gen Grant assaulted Richmond in Washington, DC and marched on with the fight even though he lost 55,000 soldiers in Central Virginia after encountering Gen Lee troops in his march to Richmond in May 1864. In the Atlanta to Savannah battle of September-December 1864, Gen Sherman of Union troops destroyed the railway lines, burned crops and destroyed all the buildings in order to demoralize the southern troops. In January, 1865, the confederacy

Visual Analysis and critical reflection Research Paper

Visual Analysis and critical reflection - Research Paper Example At the age of 16 he won a street painting competition that he entered into. He believes he is an autodidact who learns by doing. He has studied the techniques of old masters of street painting and started to make it his profession. Today he is a street painter and does not paint conventionally anymore. His early paintings led him to the title ‘maestro madonnari’ which means master street painter, and these paintings were mostly two-dimensional. As the street art developed, the three dimensional paintings came into effect. Muller first painted in 3D on a client’s car. He was eventually inspired by the ideas of Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner. He started painting illusion in 3D street paintings and his skills and drawing techniques made him the best in the world (WebUrbanist, 2013). Lava burst (Bored Panda, 2013) Mueller uses the street as his canvas and literally involves the viewers to the imagery. He uses hundreds of square meters of the pavement and paints to chal lenge the perceptions of the street walkers. This 3D painting of a lava burst was painted by Mueller on the 30th anniversary of international competition of street painters held in Geldern, Germany. He painted a large sized picture once more and created scenery which appeared apocalyptic. Mueller was 25 years old when he had given his entire life to street painting. He made several paintings all around Europe and aimed to earn through the transitory art. He became an organizer and committee member for street painting festivals and also set up the Internet board for street painters of Germany. This was a forum which promoted the solidarity amongst the various German street painters. He also presented the master works of old painters to people in his studio and drew perfect copied of those paintings. With the help of the old painters’ works, Mueller helped the ones interested in paintings to understand the depth of the art. Ice Age (Bored Panda, 2013) This is one of the best wo rks of Mueller and was completed in 5 days. It is a huge picture of the ice age and shows creative illusion. He needed about five assistants who helped him all day long in painting the huge painting. The illusion was painted by the application of the anamorphic technique to the huge pavement. The picture is approximately 250 square meters large. This was the most challenging painting made by Mueller and it was created for the Festival of World Culture in Ireland (2008). This painting was the most challenging one for Mueller because of the weather conditions of Ireland. Ireland’s weather often fluctuates and usually there are four seasons felt in one day. Sunshine, hailstorm and rain all were experienced within few hours. Mueller and his team of assistants did not think that they would get through with the painting, but they accepted the challenge and completed it. The street painters often face the difficulties with coping with weather conditions because all of their work is out on the streets. Rain is usually the biggest element to fight as the use of paints and chalks is done for these paintings. If the rain spoiled the painting overnight, Mueller would usually start a new one. Hence the weather issues are not a problem for Mueller as he says â€Å"once a painting is done, I somehow lose interest in it. It’s done and for me it is up to go for the next† (WebUrbanist, 2013). Gradually the changing trends have also redirected the interest of Mueller in his paintings. Thus he has