The sesquicentennial of the American Civil War is upon us, and we can expect a lot more conversation in the coming months regarding the causes and effects of that catastrophic war.
Several editorials have recently been published in major newspapers making sure we all know what the real cause of the War was: Slavery. Locally, Gary Dickson reaffirmed this point of view in an editorial entitled “Nothing to Celebrate.”
This view typically hinges on two premises: First, that President Abraham Lincoln was committed “to end slavery in America,” and second, that when the Deep South seceded, they referred to their belief in the inferiority of blacks and their rightly being slaves as justification. Essentially, the idea is that the South was wrong, the North was right, and it is wrong for Americans today to celebrate Confederate heritage.
But these editorials miss the mark. Often they either conveniently leave out important facts or distort them to prove their point.
Via Jamey, SDYC
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Challenging The Accepted View Of The Civil War (Sic)
First of all, no one says Lincoln fought back against the Southern violence to end slavery.
ReplyDeleteLincoln, and everyone else, were saying just the opposite.
Second, the Southern leaders Ultimatums were quite clear -- spread slavery against the will of the people, against states rights, or face war.
http://fivedemands.blogspot.com/
@seeker...
ReplyDeleteWhat a ridiculous assertion to say that it was Southern violence that was the cause of the war. Had Lincoln not invaded the seceded States and new Confederate nation, there would have been no war. I challenge you to provide evidence of your assertion that the South issued an ultimatum to the rump of the United States that they had to accept slavery within their borders.