Verified Document

Alexander Stephens Cornerstone Speech Essay

¶ … Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens' "Cornerstone Speech" The Civil War was by far the most costly war in terms of human life ever fought by the United States, and the events that precipitated this conflict on U.S. soil included the succession of seven Southern states by March 1861 to form the Confederate States of America. With President Jefferson Davis leading the way, his vice president, Alexander Stephens, delivered a speech in support of the Southern cause including assurances that the new constitution was an improvement on the old, and that commercial enterprises were free to engage in interstate and international commerce at their discretion. Citing concerns over Northern superiority in infrastructure that would make prosecuting the war challenging, the vice president also assured his audience that enormous investments had already been made throughout the South and that more would be made in the future. In sum, this speech was a drum-beater designed to persuade fence-sitters and encourage Southern believers in their cause. This paper provides an analysis and evaluation of Stephens' "Cornerstone Speech," followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Analysis and Evaluation

Anything was possible on March 21, 1861 when Confederate Vice President Alexander...

The mindset of the intended audience of this speech ranged from unwavering and unbridled enthusiasm for the Southern cause to skepticism concerning the Southern state's chances against the economically and militarily superior North. As the Confederate vice president, Stephens was in a good position to officially outline the fledgling government's policies and intentions as codified as the South's new constitution. In this regard, the vice president's language is consistent with respect to optimism and reassurances for his intended audience, which he emphasizes includes not only the persons in attendance, but people throughout the South and indeed the world.
The vice president manages to make several good points in support of his thesis that the Confederate States of America qualified for a nation on several counts, including most especially geographic territory and a burgeoning infrastructure. It is clear that the vice president is assuming that the intended audience is familiar with the Southern cause and recent events, but he also assumes that they do not fully understand the extent to which the new country is prepared to defend its interests irrespective of what the North brings to bear against it. Although the vice president makes several good points, some of the points he uses in support of the new country's constitution likely troubled some in attendance as well as other stakeholders because of the reduced transparency of governmental operations and the clear disdain for the press evinced in the speech. For instance, despite the insistence on…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Bear Globally, There Are Eight Bear Species
Words: 1190 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Bear Globally, there are eight bear species in the Family Ursidae (Order Carnivora), three of which are found in Canada: The Black bear, the brown bear and the polar bear. Black bear still occupy 85% of their historic Canadian range and 62% of the original North American range (Kolenosky and Strathearn 1987, Pelton 2000). In North America, black bears evolved as forest dwellers and most populations are currently stable or increasing (Brown,

Bear Sterns Collapse, How It
Words: 656 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

On March 14, 2008, Bear's stock dropped nearly 40% in the first half-hour of trading, effectively tolling the death-knell of Bear's existence as an independent entity (Boyd 2008). Only a temporary loan from J.P. Morgan Chase and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York prevented Bear from going bankrupt immediately. Who was affected and what happened in the markets Both investors and employees were affected: "I worked eight years at a

Bear the True Meaning of
Words: 1268 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Then they would break camp and go home," (217). When Old Ben was finally taken down, the hunters who had spent so long in pursuing him then had nothing left to contribute to their legend. Their purpose was completed, much like the South's long-gone glory days. Most of those who made up their party had little other talents than to track and hunt. The stray Mastiff, Lion, who "inferred not

Bear Witness Will Bear Witness
Words: 1609 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

" July, 1941 (p423) It is easy to see, even with the examples given from 1933-1941, the progression of the use of deleterious language, slang, phrases, descriptive terms, and the increased use of various media to project it. Klemperer asks himself why so many decent people he knew would all remark of Hitler: "You can't resist him." His conclusion is that National Socialism was a religion and its publicly staged spectacles, with

Polar Bear Habitat Powerful Yet Fragile; These
Words: 1481 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Polar Bear Habitat Powerful yet fragile; these words best describe the polar bear and the habitat where the bears reside. The polar bear is an animal of supreme beauty and power. Polar bears can kill swiftly with one powerful strike from their expansive paws. The inviting cuddly image of the polar bear hides the quiet power, of a fierce predator. Polar bears may be lost to the world forever if the

Teddy Bear Film Analysis Pitch
Words: 1748 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

One of the eyes is cracked. The last room Karen checks is the kitchen. She is still holding and petting the teddy bear when she stops in front of the sink. She stares at the spot on the counter where the teddy bear had landed that time that Mark threw it across the room. The camera is behind Karen but as she turns around, it focuses on the back of

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now