It seems to me that the overall attitudes of many soldiers concerning the meaning and reason for the Civil War definitely changed throughout the course of events that took place. Whether or not there was a specific point in time that the attitude changed or a specific reason for their change is impossible to know completely, but it seems there are three distinctively different thoughts towards slavery specifically in the minds of the Union soldiers all at different points during the war. One of those points is the general understanding of the war and its meaning during the very beginning, when the war is primarily about equality and liberty, and attacking the primary feature of the south; that being slavery. As time passes, the understanding evolves, and starts to change some of its features to define the boundaries of African American Rights. However, there is also a point where the ideas seem to shift toward the main reason being atonement for the country’s sins of racism.
In the beginning of the war, Manning shows us that the main reason for the war against the South in the minds of the soldiers was for slavery. The idea of slavery was alien enough to the Northerner’s that it was relatively easy to support the abolition of forced labor, especially when they lived around paid labor for quite some time. Manning even tells us that, “…in the late summer and fall, a full year ahead of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union rank and file began to insist on the destruction of slavery…” (p. 218). The journals show us a sense of fighting for liberty and equality; the principles the country was founded on. In order to prevail and be taken seriously in the world, the Union had to last.
This idea changes as the war goes on, however. The idea of African American Rights starts to spread, to which the Union soldiers become evasive of such complicated issues at the time. Although it was okay to fight for the abolition of slavery, the rights were under debated or avoided, and became a complex issue. This idea is relatively present at the beginning, but becomes gradually more prevalent throughout the war until another change of significant notice happens.
After the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Manning shows us that the battles were “…widely perceived in the Union ranks as God’s direct intervention on behalf of the Union and true freedom…” (p. 220). She goes on to state that the war became about the atonement of the country and its racism towards the slaves. This gives the fight against slavery a whole new meaning, and even starts to tie in the rights of the freed slaves. John Moore argues that the Union must now be “…based upon equality and freedom to all white, black or copper colored.” (p. 188).
These different attitudes towards the purpose of the Civil War have many similarities. The main theme is slavery, but the angles vary from relative indifference at the beginning to a divine purpose towards the end. This range of ideas throughout time shows the dynamic nature of the purpose for the Civil War and the attitude towards slavery and slaves themselves. In short, although the war might have been primarily about slaves, the angles at which the soldiers arrive at that theme vary drastically, especially throughout time.

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