Posted on 07/25/2006 10:19:23 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
The goal was accomplished once the declaration of secession was signed. Fort Sumter was bombarded because it was occupied by a foreign army, who refused to leave.
The fact that slavery was, and is, a blight on the history of the States (North and South) cannot be disputed, but to continuously argue that it was the sole reason for the Civil War is simply wrong. Slavery did play a major role in the start of the war, but not because the South wanted so much to keep slaves, it was more due to the way the Federal government wanted to abolish it. As wrong as slavery was, it was protected by the constitution. Say what you will, but States Rights, and denial of such, was a very major issue contributing to the start of the war.
Why should they? It was their fort.
Slavery did play a major role in the start of the war, but not because the South wanted so much to keep slaves, it was more due to the way the Federal government wanted to abolish it.
I would ask you for a single quote from Lincoln prior to the rebellion stating he planned on abolishing slavery. Contain it, yes. Prevent its expansion, yes. But abolish it, not. The southern states weren't about to sit back and see that happen, so they rebelled.
Say what you will, but States Rights, and denial of such, was a very major issue contributing to the start of the war.
And what state's right was being denied or threatened?
"What they did do is delay our economic punch for 100 years,"
Well said!
"If you recall United States military installations were bombed by organized insurrectionists. Today we call that terrorism and counter the terrorists accordingly, as Lincoln did."
No, they were an Organized State Militia that were authorized by the State of SC to remove the Federal troops from SC.
That's BS
Blessings still occur.
I think we may have lost the fight, but in the end we won! Ever notice that you don't see folks moving North when they retire? Lots of reasons for this, and none good for the Northern states.
The Confederate flag is beautiful and a part of the history of the South. The whole flap is nonsensical! Slaves were first brought to the north, where folks tried to use them for labor but, since they came from Africa, they could not survive the cold winters. Let's do some research and find who those slave owners were. Then we can remove the American flags from our northern states.
Sometimes I think there's a lot of envy of southerners. Maybe that's why we keep being invaded by people who formerly lived in the north.
Makes about as much sense as the stars and bars being bad...: ) <<< me
I don't know about that. We have that many fewer crabby, whining, complaining, black-socks-with-shorts-wearing, left-turn-signal-leaving-on, doing-40-in-a-60-zone, senior citizens to deal with. That's not such a bad thing. I can think of a couple more you can take, if I can get my mother-in-law to move.
Actually the NCAA dropped that. Chief Illiniwek and the Flordia State Seminole get to stay.
But they still bombarded a federal military facility and tried to kill the troops stationed there. And you didn't think we'd get a ilttle pissed at that?
Male Bovine Fecal Effluvia. The Stars and Bars is a symbol of honor and valor.
It's the PC brigades such as the NAASomeCP that have bastardized it and tried to change the meaning.
That is akin to claiming the 2nd Marine Battalion and 101st Airborne is fighting in Iraq over oil because President Bush and VP Dick Cheney are affiliated with or involved in the oil business.
No, their reason for fighting was an attempt to thwart the formation of a centralized government which they perceived and much feared would come to resemble the monarchy from which their ancestors had previously declared their independence and protection of the liberty they fought to achieve. Swearing one's "lives and fortunes" to perpetuate that goal of freely governed states was by far more important to them than was to keep any individual or people in bonds. Slavery was an issue, but it wasn't the primary issue of contention until the North made it so and for that issue alone, many Southerners or Northerners would not have fought.
The Southerners' principle summons to service was to protect their state, which they answered - just as those of the North did. Had either been given slavery alone as the issue to fight for, there wouldn't have been any conflict or any would have been short lived, for the Northern counterparts didn't want the Negro among them and hadn't intended to battle to "free" them.
To wit: note the declining determination among the CSA to continue battling once slavery BECAME the North's central claim for its aggression against the South. Had the slaves' freedom been a paramount objective, Lincoln would have openly declared it within his Gettysburg Address, but his prime motivator was preservation of the Union. Even the Lincoln Memorial states on the right hand wall that Lincoln's objective was the preservation of the Union.
Since the latter part of 19th century, the Federal government has taught publicly educated school children "freeing the slave" as its excuse to justify centralizing its power and for expanding its control over the states and the individual. Many have accepted that excuse as legitimate, many have not, many don't care.
And again, absent their leadership's launching a war to protect their institution of slavery then they would not have had to figt over anything. Once cannot divorce the cause of the conflict from the going off to fight.
Since the latter part of 19th century, the Federal government has taught publicly educated school children "freeing the slave" as its excuse to justify centralizing its power and for expanding its control over the states and the individual. Many have accepted that excuse as legitimate, many have not, many don't care.
Well it has taught that slavery was the reason why the North fought the war, which is something I've never agreed with.
Using a contemporary mindset to gauge 19th century "feelings" is flawed logic.
In 1861 the only daily Federal influence in the lives of an American was if one interacted with the US Postal Service. The love of Federalism wasn't embraced with the fervor it is today, nor did it have nanny state tentacles as it does today.
The organization, existance and acceptance of State Militias as being the entity that protected a given state from a threat was as common as Interstate (Federal) Highways are today.
The leaders of the south believed the were within their rights to kill occupying Federal troops.
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