These threads seem to have commonality.
The southern apologist side accuses the other of saying the conflict was ONLY about slavery, when I have seen very few actually saying such an idiotic thing. In the history of the world, I doubt there has ever been a war that was ONLY about one thing.
Then some of them take it a step farther. Since the war was about more than slavery, that particular issue wasn’t really that important.
Did most southerners fight primarily to protect slavery? No, they fought because their homes were being invaded.
But their homes were being invaded because their leaders made a bunch of bad choices, and the common people of the South were paying the price for them.
Should southern symbols and southerners today be forever tarred with guilt? Of course not. But neither should they defensively claim the roots of the cause for which their ancestors fought were righteous.
The Declaration of Independence gets tossed around a lot on these threads to justify secession. The problem is that the DoI is a moral document. The Founders knew perfectly well they’d succeed or fail by the test of war. The DoI simply tried to show why they deserved to be independent, why their secession was right.
Not because they wanted to break off, but in response to a long train of injuries. Even then, revolution is only justified, per the DoI, in defense of or the expansion of human freedom.
Which means that a revolution to protect slavery is the direct opposite of the type of revolution the DoI attempted to justify.
Sherman Logan - I have enjoyed reading your posts on this thread. I have learned something - sometimes a Yank says something that actually makes sense :)
Our homes will be invaded because our leaders have made a bunch of bad choices, and the common people of the USoA will be paying the price for them.