Civil War History - Secession and PoliticsWas it Slavery, or was it States Rights? Perhaps it was the election of Lincoln? What were the real reasons for Southern Secession and what were the political issues in this time of war? Find your answers here in the Secession and Politics Disussion.
Then you agree with the statement that the South was NOT going to give up on the institution of slavery before, during or even immediately after the war, thereby invalidating the idea that it was slowly dying out in the South, that in fact, it was firmly rooted in the social and economic life of the region, and no one there seriously considered the idea of abolishing it?
Unionblue
PS Take your shot, Tommy, I'm giving you a 'free' one to explain your comment above, although I am pretty sure it will be a comment about slavery being 'permitted' today and for some odd reason, be seen as some sort of excuse for the South of the 1860's.
(Message edited by Unionblue on November 04, 2004)
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
From my pet corner, I view your pet corner that can be described as one small word also.
You have already guessed mine. Slavery.
Funny, I have never been able to equate the word as small or 'tiny' as you put it. Given in such a light tends to demean it, render it unimportant somehow, like in a historical context, it could be considered almost an annoyance instead of a crucial fact of history when applied to the Civil War or the War of the Rebellion.
When applied in that context, it is almost as incredible a statement as those who say the Holocaust never happened, like that story of that one man who used to run the gas chamber at a state prision, who 'proved' there wasn't enough room in the gas chambers at the concentration camps to have really killed over six million people.
In my own opinion, slavery was hardly 'tiny.' It was a 'big' word, a 'big' problem that covered the entire political and economic landscape of the country in the years before and during the Civil War. It effected everything and everyone and was the biggest political question that clawed at the guts of this nation during its time. And it led to the deaths of more Americans than any other cause or problem this nation has ever had to deal with and we are still dealing with the effects of slavery to this day. It is not just my small, 'tiny' corner that says this, but history and current events.
To try and 'wave off' slavery as the cause of the Civil War, or as at least one of the most important reasons for the war, is to try and perpetuate a huge, historical lie at worst and present twisted, sloppy history at best.
But you knew I was going to say something along this line, so it should be no surprise to you or anyone else on the board.
My word for your corner would be a small word also.
Denial.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
(Message edited by Unionblue on November 09, 2004)
(Message edited by Unionblue on November 10, 2004)
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
The first southern commissioners to Britain reported in May 1861 that,
"...the public mind here is entirely opposed to the Government of the Confederate States of America on the question of slavery...The sincerity and universality of this feeling embarrass the Government in dealing with the question of our recognition."
(William L. Yancy and A. Dudley Mann to Robert Toombs, May 21, 1861.)
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
Neil, slavery was quite a big word, but just one small corner of the whole picture. To focus entirely on that single corner and refusing to look at the rest of the thing, is like living in Hong Kong without any meaningful proficiency in Cantonese. By taking a linguistically deficient stance, though one can get by just fine, one still misses most of what is going on around him, and therefore develops a distorted and incomplete perspective of the place.
So, I insist on viewing the entire picture, and on learning to speak Cantonese.
But I am very interested to hear your one-word description of my "pet" view, as I've been unable to articulate it so concisely, and may find your description to be quite useful.
In a sense, you are right, but unless you view the entire war through the lens of slavery, you misinterpret the 'language' the entire war was spoken in.
Mun how nay day,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
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