Over the nineteenth century, relations between the North and South became progressively more strained as the regions began to differ more and more in both their economies and their ideals. The Northern economy expanded further into industry and modernization and had far less need for slavery compared to the Southern economy, which was based primarily on large plantations requiring considerable amounts of cheap labor. Gradually, many Northerners came to view slavery as an unjust institution, and with the westward expansion of the United States, the permittance of slavery in the newly gained territories began a highly contested issue. In the election of 1860, the Republican Party adopted a stance against the expansion of slavery, with Abraham Lincoln as their presidential candidate. Despite being excluded from Southern ballots, Abraham Lincoln won the election, leading the South to feel as though they no longer had any say in their government. Shortly after the election, several Southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, marking the beginning of the Civil War (Hassler).
By 1864, the Confederacy could not win the war by overtaking the North, but it could potentially outlast the fighting. Had war-weary Northerners voted Lincoln out of office in the upcoming election, a different president may have ended the war. However, the South had to maintain control of their two most important cities: Richmond, the capital, and Atlanta (Davis). Atlanta, Georgia, was the conjunction of three major railroads: the Georgia, the Monroe, and the Western and Atlantic, which established the city as a major transportation hub. During the Civil War, Atlanta became a critical manufacturer and distributor of weapons and ammunition to the Confederacy (Ambrose). In the summer of 1864, Union General William T. Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign. He planned to cut the supply lines into Atlanta, capture the city, and push further into Georgia from there. By July 20th, Sherman had cut three of four supply lines into the city and began to bombard Atlanta, which housed Confederate General John B. Hood and his army. On August 25th, Sherman withdrew from Atlanta and marched most of his army to Jonesboro, where they cut off the last railroad line into the city. With no other sources of supplies, the Confederate forces within Atlanta were forced to evacuate on August 30th, and Union forces entered on September 2nd (Davis). Before leaving Atlanta on his famous March to the Sea, Sherman called for the demolition of all structures that could be used to continue the war effort, not including private residences and buildings. However, several of his men committed arson in areas not marked for destruction, resulting in the loss of many homes, businesses, and much of the downtown area of Atlanta. Sherman’s victory in Atlanta bolstered Northern morale and secured re-election for Lincoln, which dissolved all hopes that the Confederacy would prevail (Ambrose). Sherman’s subsequent March to the Sea was intended to dispel the belief of Southerners that their government and its army could protect them through the destruction of their property and land, with the ultimate goal of ending the war with as little actual loss of life as possible. On his army’s path through Georgia, Sherman’s men arbitrarily raided farms and plantations, killed animals, ransacked houses, and took as much food as they could carry, leaving hardship and fear in their wake (“Scorched Earth”).
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Reconstruction in the South consisted of two major phases: Presidential Reconstruction and Radical Reconstruction. After the assassination of Lincoln, the task of reconstructing the South fell to President Andrew Johnson. Johnson granted pardons to thousands of former high-ranking Confederates and only required former Confederate states to repeal secession, accept the Thirteenth Amendment, and cancel Confederate war debts to rejoin the Union. Former Confederate leaders won many of the new offices in Southern governments, and several states enacted black codes, restrictions designed to disenfranchise freedmen and to reestablish the pre-war plantation hierarchy. After Johnson vetoed bills intended to aid freedmen, the Republican party turned against him and began Radical Reconstruction. Under Radical Reconstruction, Southern states were required to write a new constitution and guarantee African Americans full rights as citizens and the right to vote. Former Confederate officials were not allowed to vote on these issues, and the military enforced all laws aiding freedmen in the South. These policies were predictably unpopular amongst white Southerners, and increasingly hostile opposition spawned organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. Constant opposition from white Southerners led to the decline of Northern investment in Reconstruction, resulting in its end in 1877 (Foner).
It is 1861 in the southern state of Georgia, where the South is on the verge of declaring war with the North. On the family-owned plantation of Tara, Scarlett O’Hara, a young teenage girl who cannot bear to be anything but the primary object of affection of every young man she meets, is distraught when she discovers that Ashley Wilkes is going to marry his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. At his family’s celebratory barbeque, Scarlett all but throws herself at his feet, only to be rejected, much to the amusement of Rhett Butler, who takes a particular interest in Scarlett. Scarlett, seething from Ashley’s rejection, impetuously marries Charles Hamilton, just before all the young Southern gentlemen joyously leave to enlist in the newly declared Civil War. He dies of pneumonia a few months later, widowing Scarlett, who is more upset by how she must wear all black than by her husband’s death. Her mother suggests she visit Melanie in Atlanta to cure her sullenness, and Scarlett agrees only for the chance to see Ashley again. She attends a charity ball, where she encounters Rhett. Rhett bids for a dance with her and, despite her status as a mourning widow, Scarlett gladly accepts, to the shock and disapproval of everyone else at the ball. Ashley returns home from the war for Christmas, and Scarlett once again prostrates herself to him, this time managing to secure a kiss. He asks Scarlett to look after Melanie, and she agrees, a promise that she comes to regret once she cannot leave Atlanta because Melanie is bedridden from pregnancy. Scarlett is forced to deliver Melanie’s child alone when the local doctor is unable to assist, as he is desperately needed to help the hundreds of dying soldiers on the streets. Once Melanie’s child is born, Scarlett sends for Rhett, who she hopes will take them back to Tara. He brings them halfway with a stolen horse and cart before leaving to enlist in the Confederate Army, much to the chagrin of Scarlett. Scarlett manages to reach Tara just before her horse dies of exhaustion, only to find the plantation ransacked and mostly abandoned. Her mother has died of typhoid fever, her sisters are recovering from sickness, her father has gone insane, and only two slaves-- Pork and Mammy-- remain. With all the odds stacked against her, Scarlett nevertheless steals her resolve and somehow conducts Tara through the war. In the spring of 1865, with the end of the war, Melanie’s generosity transforms Tara into a refuge for tired Confederate soldiers to rest and have a meal, despite Scarlett’s disapproval. One soldier tells Melanie that Ashley is alive in a Yankee prison, and immediately after, he arrives in Tara. When Northern carpetbaggers impose high taxes on the plantation, Scarlett, still desperately pining for Ashley, begs him to run away with her. Ashley admits that he loves and admires her, but refuses to abandon his wife and son. He then says that he intends to move to New York City to work as a banker, but when Scarlett goes into hysterics, Melanie scolds Ashley and proposes that they stay in Tara and help Scarlett. A former overseer of Tara, wealthy after collaborating with carpetbaggers, offers to buy the plantation from Scarlett, but she refuses to sell and throws dirt in his face. Scarlett’s father, having witnessed the exchange, chases after the overseer on a horse, but falls and breaks his neck. Having no other recourse for money, Scarlett visits Rhett in the city jail of Atlanta. She attempts to portray life at Tara as paradise, but Rhett sees through her and refuses to lend her money, saying that the Union would be upon him in an instant. While still in town, Scarlett comes across Frank Kennedy, who wishes to marry her sister, Suellen. Upon realizing that he has become a prosperous merchant, Scarlett pretends that Suellen has already married another man and marries Frank herself to get the money she needs to save Tara. She moves to Atlanta and begins to manage Frank’s business, making profitable deals with Northern entrepreneurs and employing cheap convict labor in the sawmill. On one trip through the woods, two men from a nearby shantytown, populated by dangerous criminals, attack Scarlett. Big Sam, a former slave of Tara, saves her, but although she is unharmed, news of the attack spreads quickly. A group of men, including Frank and Ashley, decide to enact justice upon the shantytown, but the Union army catches wind of their plot. Rhett shows up on Scarlett’s doorstep, asking Melanie where the meeting is and promising to do what he can once she tells him. He returns with Ashley and Dr. Meade a few hours later, all of them seemingly drunk, and convinces the Union captain waiting to arrest the men that they were at Belle Watling’s bordello. In reality, the men had fought in a skirmish in the shantytown that left Ashley wounded and Frank dead. In the days after, Scarlett drinks heavily due to guilt over Frank, whom she treated terribly and failed to even inquire about when the men returned. She confesses to Rhett that she is afraid she will go to hell, who subsequently proposes to her. Scarlett accepts but claims that it is only for his money. They spend an exorbitant honeymoon in New Orleans before returning to Atlanta, where Rhett buys a large mansion. They have a daughter together, Bonnie Blue, named for her bright blue eyes. Rhett spoils Bonnie and does everything in his power to ensure that society in Atlanta will accept and respect her. Meanwhile, Scarlett continues to obsess over Ashley and refuses to sleep with Rhett anymore, saying that she does not want any more children. On the day of Ashley’s birthday party, India Wilkes and Mrs. Meade witness Scarlett hugging Ashley in the hardware store. Ashamed, Scarlett tries to avoid facing Melanie at the party, but Rhett forces her to go in a red gown wholly inappropriate for the occasion. Despite the rumors, Melanie welcomes Scarlett as warmly as ever. Later that night, Scarlett sneaks downstairs to drink only to find Rhett already extremely drunk. They argue, and Rhett ends up carrying her off to the bedroom, refusing to take no for an answer. Scarlett is unusually happy the next morning, but her contentment dissipates when Rhett comes to apologize and proposes a divorce. Scarlett refuses, and Rhett leaves on an extended trip to London with Bonnie. The two return several months later due to Bonnie's homesickness. Scarlett informs Rhett that she is pregnant again, but his cold responses enrage her. She tries to strike him, but he dodges, and she falls down the stairs, losing the baby. While recovering, Scarlett calls for him, but Rhett does not know and assumes that she hates him now. After Scarlett’s recovery, Rhett suggests to her that they let go of their anger and hatred for Bonnie’s sake, but during their discussion, Bonnie falls and breaks her neck while riding her horse, just like Scarlett’s father. Rhett rapidly deteriorates and locks himself in a room with his daughter's body, refusing to allow anyone else in. Only after a conversation with Melanie does he allow Bonnie’s body to be taken away for her funeral. However, immediately after meeting with Rhett, Melanie collapses due to apparent complications of her pregnancy. On her deathbed, she asks Scarlett to take care of Ashley, but upon seeing his heartbreak over Melanie’s death, Scarlett realizes that she never truly loved Ashley. She rushes home only to find Rhett preparing to leave, as he assumes that Scarlett will be overjoyed to have Ashley at last. Despite Scarlett’s profession of love for him, he tells her it is too late for them and that he is leaving for Charleston. Scarlett, in her despair, collapses on the staircase, but she thinks of Tara and resolves to make a new start.
Gone with the Wind is a lengthy saga chronicling the life of a misguided and self-centered young woman through the duration of the Civil War and several years of the Reconstruction that followed. To condense the considerable amount of time the film covers, the story progresses through large jumps between significant events in Scarlett’s life. The story is unusual in how the protagonist is not a virtuous person, but infuriating and tedious in how Scarlett never seems to improve or learn her lesson until the conclusion of the film. Scarlett’s infatuation with Ashley and her struggles to retain ownership of Tara are the two major conflicts of the film, and Scarlett sabotages and abuses countless people around her to achieve her desires. The only retribution that seems to leave an impact on her is at the end of the film and what happens after is left a mystery. The film provides a romanticized view of slavery, with most slaves appearing to be treated well and remaining loyal even after the Civil War, in contrast to the cruel treatment most slaves suffered through in Southern plantations. By cutting out the darker side of Southern plantation life, the film manages to characterize the loss of such a lifestyle following the Civil War all the more tragic. The African American characters depicted are also simple-minded and lack depth, creating the impression that they are inferior to the whites. When Scarlett returns to Tara, the mindlessness of the remaining house slaves becomes evident from how they pester her for guidance, as though they are incapable of thinking for themselves. In particular, Prissy is characterized as exceptionally whiny and incompetent, inciting Scarlett’s wrath several times. The film does not depict many historical events, but the few shown are true to history. General Sherman's troops did set Atlanta ablaze, although Sherman ordered the evacuation of all residents in the city long before he ordered its destruction (Ambrose). The destroyed and pillaged plantations Scarlett comes across on her journey back to Tara are characteristic of the total war tactics used by Union forces in the later years of the war. The arbitrary nature of the destruction wrought by Sherman’s army also makes it possible that Tara would be left ransacked but intact (“Scorched Earth”). The film does not present specific policies of Reconstruction, with Scarlett only seeming to be impacted by the high taxes imposed by Northern carpetbaggers on plantations like Tara. Historically, the South did experience exorbitantly high property taxes following the war and some of the motivation behind these taxes was to force white landowners to forfeit their property (Leigh). The film never references organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan directly, but the vigilante justice carried out by the white men after the attack on Scarlett strongly resembles the riots carried out by white Southerners on African Americans and Republicans after the Civil War (Grant). While the film provides some historical background regarding Southern life during and after the war, it focuses more on the drama of Scarlett's personal life, which does not render it particularly useful for learning about the Civil War.
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