'The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns' Episode Review: 'The Cause: 1861'
Beginning with a
searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the
causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern
abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and
states' rights, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in
1860, the firing on Fort Sumter, and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides.
Along the way the series' major figures are introduced: Abraham Lincoln,
Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and a host of lesser-known
but equally vivid characters. The episode comes to a climax with the disastrous
Union defeat at Manassas, Virginia, where both sides learn it is to be a very
long war. From the episode guide at PBS.org
It's hard to believe that almost 30 years have passed since
Ken Burns' The Civil War premiered on September 23, 1990, when the
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aired The Cause: 1861, the first of
nine episodes about America's bloodiest war.
Written by Geoffrey C. Ward (The War) and Burns, The Cause: 1861 is ostensibly set in the war's first year but actually covers a great deal more ground than that, going as far back as the birth of the United States; the episode traces the roots of the war to America's birth as an independent nation with a well-entrenched slaveholding society in the South.
As a nation, we began by declaring that "All men are created equal." We now practically read it, "All men are created equal, except Negroes." Soon, it will read "All men are created equal, except Negroes, and Foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty. To Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy. - Abraham Lincoln
As in all the subsequent episodes of the series, The Cause: 1861 starts with an anecdote about a specific person or event: in this case, the odd coincidence that Wilmer McLean owned property in Manassas, Virginia, on which part of the First Battle of Bull Run was fought, then - after moving his family to a "quiet little crossroads called Appomattox Court House" to get away from the fighting - witnessed Lee's surrender to Grant in April of 1865.
"So Wilmer McLean could rightfully say," says narrator David McCullough, "that 'the war began in my backyard and ended in my front parlor.'"
The prologue then "telescopes" out to give the viewer a general outline of what's to come, ranging from a series of facts and figures - three million Americans fought in the Civil War; 600,000 soldiers and civilians died in it, it was fought in 10,000 places - to some commentary by notable writers, historians, and even a few politicians on the greater meaning of the Civil War and its causes, especially slavery, sectional divisions between North and South, the Westward Movement, and the abolitionist movement.
The Cause: 1861 does a good job of covering the stormy events that led to the birth of the Confederate States of America, and the viewer is introduced to individuals who shaped the history of the Civil War, including Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, and Robert E. Lee.
Although the series as a whole is far from perfect – in a later episode, the number of Union soldiers under the age of 16 is greatly overstated - The Cause: 1861 is a good example of how painstakingly researched it is, not only in the macrocosm of “the Big Picture” dealing with the issues of slavery, secession, and the campaigns that followed the outbreak of the war, but also the microcosm – the experience of war through the eyes of participants, ranging from Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to enlisted men such as Elisha Hunt Rhodes and Sam Watkins.
He also uses what’s known as the "Ken Burns Effect": slow pans in and out over paintings and still photographs that, when coupled with the narration, music and sound effects, counteract the static nature of the graphics and add drama and emotional content.
Adding to the use of the Ken Burns Effect is the choice of historians, writers, and political commentators who offer their insight, expertise, and opinions on the Civil War.
Written by Geoffrey C. Ward (The War) and Burns, The Cause: 1861 is ostensibly set in the war's first year but actually covers a great deal more ground than that, going as far back as the birth of the United States; the episode traces the roots of the war to America's birth as an independent nation with a well-entrenched slaveholding society in the South.
As a nation, we began by declaring that "All men are created equal." We now practically read it, "All men are created equal, except Negroes." Soon, it will read "All men are created equal, except Negroes, and Foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty. To Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy. - Abraham Lincoln
As in all the subsequent episodes of the series, The Cause: 1861 starts with an anecdote about a specific person or event: in this case, the odd coincidence that Wilmer McLean owned property in Manassas, Virginia, on which part of the First Battle of Bull Run was fought, then - after moving his family to a "quiet little crossroads called Appomattox Court House" to get away from the fighting - witnessed Lee's surrender to Grant in April of 1865.
"So Wilmer McLean could rightfully say," says narrator David McCullough, "that 'the war began in my backyard and ended in my front parlor.'"
The prologue then "telescopes" out to give the viewer a general outline of what's to come, ranging from a series of facts and figures - three million Americans fought in the Civil War; 600,000 soldiers and civilians died in it, it was fought in 10,000 places - to some commentary by notable writers, historians, and even a few politicians on the greater meaning of the Civil War and its causes, especially slavery, sectional divisions between North and South, the Westward Movement, and the abolitionist movement.
The Cause: 1861 does a good job of covering the stormy events that led to the birth of the Confederate States of America, and the viewer is introduced to individuals who shaped the history of the Civil War, including Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, and Robert E. Lee.
Although the series as a whole is far from perfect – in a later episode, the number of Union soldiers under the age of 16 is greatly overstated - The Cause: 1861 is a good example of how painstakingly researched it is, not only in the macrocosm of “the Big Picture” dealing with the issues of slavery, secession, and the campaigns that followed the outbreak of the war, but also the microcosm – the experience of war through the eyes of participants, ranging from Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to enlisted men such as Elisha Hunt Rhodes and Sam Watkins.
He also uses what’s known as the "Ken Burns Effect": slow pans in and out over paintings and still photographs that, when coupled with the narration, music and sound effects, counteract the static nature of the graphics and add drama and emotional content.
Adding to the use of the Ken Burns Effect is the choice of historians, writers, and political commentators who offer their insight, expertise, and opinions on the Civil War.
The commentator who stands out the most for the series’ fans is the
late Shelby Foote, who – despite having written a three-volume history of the
war – was a relatively unknown poet and sometime historian until the premiere
of The Civil War. His Mississippi drawl, his lively eyes, and his poignant
observations are definitely noteworthy.
Along with Foote, viewers will hear from historian Barbara Fields, ex-Congressman James Symington, writer Ed Bearss, and other Civil War historians and ‘buffs.” Mainly, however, they’ll be treated to readings from letters and diaries written by such diverse individuals as Mary Chesnut, the wife of an ex-Senator from Georgia, Gen. George B. McClellan, the ineffective Union general who would later run as a Presidential candidate in 1864, and George Templeton Strong, a shrewd New York observer who didn’t exactly like Lincoln but didn’t like the secessionists much, either.
For me, this first episode of The Civil War is a refreshing antidote to all the dry lectures and boring presentations about the War Between the States my fellow American History students and I endured in both high school and college. I'd read a few general histories on the topic - most of them by Bruce Catton - on my own, but most of the teachers I had tended to concentrate way too much on the economic and political causes of the war and didn't tell us students much about the people who fought the war on either side. That's one of the reasons why I was initially hesitant to even watch The Civil War when it was first broadcast. However, after watching The Cause: 1861, I became caught up in the drama, the courage, and the compelling humanity behind Burns' monumental achievement.
And, hopefully, so will you.
Along with Foote, viewers will hear from historian Barbara Fields, ex-Congressman James Symington, writer Ed Bearss, and other Civil War historians and ‘buffs.” Mainly, however, they’ll be treated to readings from letters and diaries written by such diverse individuals as Mary Chesnut, the wife of an ex-Senator from Georgia, Gen. George B. McClellan, the ineffective Union general who would later run as a Presidential candidate in 1864, and George Templeton Strong, a shrewd New York observer who didn’t exactly like Lincoln but didn’t like the secessionists much, either.
For me, this first episode of The Civil War is a refreshing antidote to all the dry lectures and boring presentations about the War Between the States my fellow American History students and I endured in both high school and college. I'd read a few general histories on the topic - most of them by Bruce Catton - on my own, but most of the teachers I had tended to concentrate way too much on the economic and political causes of the war and didn't tell us students much about the people who fought the war on either side. That's one of the reasons why I was initially hesitant to even watch The Civil War when it was first broadcast. However, after watching The Cause: 1861, I became caught up in the drama, the courage, and the compelling humanity behind Burns' monumental achievement.
And, hopefully, so will you.
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