But the South was never destroyed, and would never have been destroyed, ever, until Confederates first provoked, then started, declared and waged war against the United States, much of it in Union states.
jeffersondem: "What I find striking is that at times in history, some classes of people have had THREE TIMES as much as others."
And yet it was the wealthiest Southern states which started & declared war against those poorest Northern states.
It would be as if, to use your examples, Bill Gates and those others most wealthy you cited first declared themselves seceded, Confederated and then actual war against the poorer United States.
You seem to suggest that would be senseless, and I'd totally agree.
“But the South was never destroyed, and would never have been destroyed, ever, until Confederates first provoked, then started, declared and waged war against the United States, much of it in Union states.”
Not only do your posts conflict with each other, you often can’t write a complete sentence without incorporating a contradiction.
Your sentence above reminds me of what the lawyer for a major U.S. manufacturer used to say routinely to EPA officials when defending against a citation: “Our company has never violated an EPA regulation. And we never will again.” Funny stuff.