Via Billy
by Al Benson Jr.
Several years ago I read an interesting little book by historian Webb Garrison called
Lincoln’s Little War–How his carefully crafted plans went astray.
According to the Internet it is still available at Barnes and Noble and you can check it out at
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
The brief commentary on the Barnes & Noble page says, in part,
“This intriguing book by historian Webb Garrison explores how Lincoln’s
plans for a small police action soon escalated into the bloodiest war in
American history, and how Lincoln sought to absolve himself of any
responsibility.” That seems to be a pretty accurate statement, and
another author, Frank van der Linden, back in 1998, said basically the
same thing in his book
Lincoln–The Road to War. I think van der
Linden made one error overall. He seemed to feel the whole issue of
the war and between the states, was one of slavery, so he majored on
that one aspect. But in his writing as a whole has has come up with a
lot of information you don’t usually get from the cultural Marxist
“historians” in our day.
In Virginia, before she seceded, van der Linden noted there was a
“peace convention” which was devised to try to “patch up the Union”
before things went too far and most Virginians, before secession, were
willing to wait and see what the outcome of that would be. They didn’t
really wish to secede, but…”they would not be submissionists–a dirty
word in the South, meaning those who would submit to anything Lincoln
might do. They certainly would ‘coerce’ another Southern state or send
soldiers to fight against their neighbors. That was unthinkable. Lincoln
failed to understand the Southerners emotions.” He felt that because,
at that point, Virginians were willing to abide in the Union, that they
always would, no matter what he did, and he thought of the secessionists
as a “little band of troublemakers. His blindness to the masses’
instinctive aversion to any federal coercion caused him to follow a
totally mistaken policy of firmly opposing compromise.” In other words
he had the typical Yankee/Marxist worldview–“do it MY way–or else!”
It was noted by van der Linden that after the firing on Fort Sumter,
“Lincoln’s aim all along, had been to paint the secessionists as ‘the
aggressors’ and present himself as the apostle of peace…Lincoln also
knew that those unarmed supply vessels, which he had sent to Charleston,
were escorted by warships under orders to fire in case of
attack…Lincoln expected a war to result from his scenario, and it did.
‘The plan succeeded,’ he told his Illinois friend, Orville Browning.
‘They attacked Sumter–it fell, and thus did more service than it
otherwise could.” And then he pulled a typical Obamaesque move–he called
for the governors of the various states to provide 75,000 militia to
enforce the federal laws. And van der Linden stated: ” As the slim
legal basis for his policy, Lincoln relied upon a 1795 law he
interpreted as giving him this authority, which amounted to summoning a
‘posse comitatus’ of record size–seventy-five thousand men–to enforce
the federal laws.” So it would seem that, in April, when Sumter fell, he
didn’t actually declare war (although in effect he did) and he planned
to have the militia ready in Washington to “enforce the federal laws.”
When he called Congress into special session, because only they can
declare war, he waited until the Fourth of July for Congress’ opening
date. So why didn’t he do this in April when the crisis was supposedly
on the country and the folks in Washington were supposedly waiting for
the “rebels” to batter down the gates? On page 280 of his book van der
Linden tells us. “Carl Schurz, the brilliant young German devoted to the
Republican cause, provided the answer in a letter to Lincoln in early
April: ‘Some time ago you told me you did not want to call an extra
session of Congress for fear of reopening the compromise agitation.’
Schurz suggested that, after a show of force to defend the forts,
Lincoln should call Congress back and then, ‘the enthusiasm of the
masses will be great and overwhelming and Congress will be obliged to
give you any legislation you ask for.’…Lincoln heeded Schurz’s political
advice;…”
So here we have a situation where one of the key Forty-Eighter
socialists that Donnie Kennedy and I have written about in our book
Lincoln’s Marxists is
giving the president of the United States advice, which he followed,
about when to call Congress back into session so they will be apt to
give him what he wants–a war on the South that will end up destroying
their culture, their faith, their history, and then “reconstructing”
all these on a whole new basis. Anyone who thinks these socialists and
Marxists had no real effect on the federal government and its policies
just hasn’t bothered connecting the dots from them until now.
Folks, please, start doing the homework and learning some real
history instead of just swallowing the bilge they taught you in school,
because most of what they taught you in school was intended to keep you
fat, dumb and ignorant. If you don’t understand what your past was all
about then you have no guideline whatever to help you work toward a
better future for your children and grandchildren. One of the great
unwritten chapters in the history of this country is the influence the
socialists and Marxists had in this country from the years just before
the War of Northern Aggression up to an including how. Their influence
is much stronger here now because of what they began back then–and most
people don’t have a clue.
Why do you suppose you have the Marxist aberation in the White House
that this country is presently saddled with? Think there’s no
connection between now and then? I realize it might take time away from
the Reality Shows, and that’s a rough go for most folks nowadays, but
you all had better start finding out what the cultural Marxists have
been up to in this country since 1848 and shortly thereafter–and then
start comparing it with what you seen going on nowadays. Then ask the
Lord’s guidance as to what you can do about it.