Free Republic

In the years leading up to the Civil War, many Northerners and Southerners alike wanted the federal government to take a more aggressive approach toward acquiring new territory. In fact, some private citizens, known as filibusters, took matters into their own hands. They raised small armies illegally; ventured into Mexico, Cuba, and South America; and attempted to seize control of the lands. One particularly successful filibuster, William Walker, actually made himself president of Nicaragua and ruled from 1856 to 1857. For the most part, these filibusters were just men in search of adventure. Others, however, were Southern imperialists who wanted...

All across the South, statues of Confederate heroes are being removed, warehoused, and in some cases destroyed. They are being removed under the false assumption that they are "symbols" of racism. That assumption is based on a grossly simplistic understanding of Southern history. In a letter of Dec. 27, 1856 to his wife, Robert E. Lee called slavery a "moral and political evil." During his life, he emancipated slaves, created schools for slaves, and aided the passage of slaves to Liberia. In the context of the antebellum South, Lee was decidedly an enlightened individual. It is surprising that his statues...

Third Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Jonesboro, Illinois September 15, 1858 MR. DOUGLAS' SPEECH. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I appear before you today in pursuance of a previous notice, and have made arrangements with Mr. Lincoln to divide time, and discuss with him the leading political topics that now agitate the country. Prior to 1854 this country was divided into two great political parties known as Whig and Democratic. These parties differed from each other on certain questions which were then deemed to be important to the best interests of the Republic. Whig and Democrats differed about a bank, the...