Major James Randolph's 'O, I M A Good Old Rebel'

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Two major conflicts for America are the Civil War and the Iraq War. In four years, the Civil War created 620,000 casualties; in eight years, the Iraq War created 4,486 casualties. Not only have these wars destroyed life for thousands of Americans, they have inspired many people to stand and voice their opinions upon these wars. Two men have created songs about how they or others feel about these wars. After the Civil War, Major James Randolph wrote the song titled “O, I’m a Good Old Rebel,” in which he shows just how much he despises the Union and how in the reconstruction he would not cooperate. In response to the Iraq War, Richard Thompson wrote the song “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me,” which is from an American soldier’s point of view, regarding what he sees in …show more content…

Stuart’s staff. After Lee resigned, Randolph decided that he would create something to help inspire and persuade the South to take up arms again and fight, whether through weapons or disobedience. Thus, his song was born. While it grew to be popular enough to reach London, it did not fulfill its intended goal. Throughout the song, Randolph uses different lines to connect with his intended audience. At one point in the song, he mentions that he “got wounded in three places / and starved at Point Lookout.” By bringing these facts into the song, he creates a small god complex for himself by stating that he was hurt and denied food, therefore, the Northerners are evil people and attempted to kill me. However, he survived, and people should be following him for his experiences. Another ploy that Randolph uses is the repetition of the lines “and I don't want no pardon / for anything I done.” When repeating this statement, he is saying that he is proud of what he did in the war and would gladly do it again, nor will he apologize, even if faced with treason. By repeating this, he attempts to get listeners to adopt that same mentality and join him in a second

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