RANT & CHAT - No Politics

[Bird of Prey]

The legal "pretext" of the war was States Rights, but the war itself was fought over slavery. Take the issue of slavery out of this argument and there never would have been a war. The State of Gerogia tries to make this Constitutional argument (see below) but even they can't make it with out asserting that problem is slavery. Ah, this is the history that I read. What is the history that you read?


my oh my oh my.
We have bought the whole story haven't we?

"legal pretext"?

Meaning we have to have a legal reason to fight?

I'll not deny that slavery was an important issue. But clearly not "THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE". One of Lincoln's platform pieces was asserting the power of the federal government over that of the states. That, coupled with his anti-slavery stance, led to South Carolina's Secession upon his election. In Lincoln's inaugural address he declared he had no intention of ending slavery in those states where it already existed. The debate over slavery had been raging for more than 20 years leading up to the start of the civil war. Blood had been shed several times already over the issue, But until the Federal government began considering using it's powers to dictate/mandate/supersede states rights in ALL MATTERS, not just slavery...no state, North or South was considering secession. One of the reasons for Lincoln's delay in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was his and the cabinet's concern that several states "on the fences" (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri for example) might side with the Confederates (especially considering that they were all "slaveholding" states). Only once it became clear that the war would conclude with the Confederate defeat (see below) did he go ahead with "freeing the slaves".
Also, understand that this was an Economic issue as well. Having built it's economy based on Slave labor, the South would have taken decades to recover from the economic effects of the end of slavery with or with out a war. If you want to really get down to the nitty gritty of what the war was about...it was about one group of people wanting to dictate to another group of people HOW they should go about living.
Throughout history, this attitude as typically been a precursor to war. When one group tells another that "you are doing it WRONG, You must change!" a fight is bound to break out.

Next time you go reviewing historical works I suggest you read ALL OF THE INFORMATION. Not just that which supports your view.
It's kind of like reading the bible and just following the parts you "like".

BTW, I just love revisionists!

Oh, I am aware that some folks (southerners especially) felt that the South wasn't doomed until after Gettysburg (November 1863). But the real turning point came at Antietam (September 17 1862), when Lee failed to defeat the Army of the Potomac there, the French and British governments backed down from officially recognizing the Confederacy. as a result Lincoln felt confident enough in eventual victory to issue his preliminary E.P. 5 days after the battle (9/22/1862) and followed with the official E.P. on (1/1/1863).

It should be noted that the Confederate war plan consisted of inflicting heavy casualties upon the union troops in the hopes of forcing the Union to "sue for peace" as opposed to capturing territory. Although they were successful with the first part of the plan, Lincoln and his government's stubborn refusal to quit forced the Confederacy into a protracted conflict that they had no hope of winning.

A visit to your local library should provide a wealth of written material for you to peruse on this subject. Written from many different perspectives. I also highly recommend the Ken Burns documentary.
If you prefer a "quick read"
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1861.html



The Bird of Prey
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