Prompt #1 Reflections on the Civil War

My APUSH and IB History teacher, Mr. Ludlam with a smorgasbord of desserts.

The majority of my Civil War knowledge was imbued upon me by my junior AP US History teacher Mr. Ludlam. Mr. Ludlam was famous on campus and off for being very impassioned, strict, and a shouter (he would shout for almost every lecture, I kid you not). The Civil War was a topic of great interest to Mr. Ludlam for many reasons, most of which I cannot remember. But I do remember the main reason which was that it was an event that centered around one of his idols: Abraham Lincoln. When it came to learning the Civil War in APUSH my junior year, Mr. Ludlam made sure to make us think about and focus on the causes of the war. Everything from literature, politics, sociology, and economics, was discussed in class and expanded upon in essays.

Mr. Ludlam pounded into our heads the fact that Abraham Lincoln was never for the freedom of slaves from the very beginning of his presidency, but rather a proponent of keeping slavery from expanding; by doing so, Mr. Ludlam got the misconception that the Civil War was fought purely for the freedom of slaves out of our heads. Due to Mr. Ludlam's thoroughness in teaching the many reasons for the start of the Civil War, he was able to teach us to form and prove our own opinions regarding the causes of the Civil War.

Professor Fahs' lectures of the Civil War are a lot more quiet and calm than the Civil War lectures I remember, but they are also filled with detail and insight. Though we went over Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison's impact in the 19th century, it was not the main focus of the APUSH curriculum and therefore not focused on in detail. Focusing on Frederick Douglass and the abolitionist movement showed me new ideas and theories around the causes of the Civil War. Therefore I can supplement my own theories regarding the cause of the Civil War by using Frederick Douglass' actions and African American involvement's contingency as proof that the war was not purely about slavery but a big factor and major driving force.