Misleading Causes of the American Civil War

Flopping Aces ^ | 12-30-23 | Scott Malensek

[Fury]

. There had been several smaller attempts at slave rebellion in the South as well. Given the choice to keep slavery or to risk being butchered in retaliation, most powerful people in the South chose to keep slavery.

Slaves rebellions were always a possibility. But that's to be expected when people are treated as property, and slaveowners were right to be scared of a slave rebellion.

As noted in another thread:

"Of course, Federal assistance and requirements to return fugitive slaves ramped up even more slaves being given assistance to go to Canada, being hidden, and some states making return of fugitive skates as time consuming as possible.

That’s not to say that slaves should not have tried to escape, or rebel, or States should not have fought the return of fugitive slaves. Those did occur, were encouraged and should have been."

[Bonemaker]

“All you need is the ability to read those documents to understand their reasons.”

Lot’s of other things to read out there mate. For openers, try any of Thomas Delorenzo’s works. Might open your eyes...they did mine and I was brainwashed like everyone else in school about the Civil War.

[Paal Gulli]

Anybody who insists it was slavery and only slavery, period, is so historically ignorant they’re not worth arguing with.

[FlingWingFlyer]

If I remember correctly, the retarded far left took us through a period of retardism when the “afro-centrists” claimed that there was absolutely no connections between African slaves and the Civil War. Whatever happened to that? Remember, the Africans used to fly around the pyramids in jets.

[justme4now]

From Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley [Newspaper Clipping], August 22, 1862

(snip)

I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution.

The sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.”

If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them.
If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. 

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.

If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. 

SOURCE PAGE

[FlingWingFlyer]

If I remember correctly, the retarded far left took us through a period of retardism when the “afro-centrists” claimed that there was absolutely no connections between African slaves and the Civil War. Whatever happened to that? Remember, the Africans used to fly around the pyramids in jets.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Interesting map but not detailed enough. In the state I live in Arkansas, all voted for secession except Benton and Madison Counties. The state decided they needed a 100 % secession vote so had another vote. Someone in Madison County said something disparaging about Benton County that they so infuriated them they voted pro Secession. That left Madison County against. The State decided Madison County’s vote did not count so secession was decided on.

As for what the map calls “Unorganized Territory” was the Indian Territory. They had no say in the matter but when war broke out they went with the South. the few who chose not to secede joined with John Ross, chief of the Cherokees and fled to Union Territory. All others joined with Stand Watie another Cherokee chief who became the last Confederate General to lay down his arms.

The tribes that made or were negotiating treaties with the Confederacy.
Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Comanches, Wachitas, Kiowas, Pottawattamies, Chickasaws, Osages,
Seminoles, Senecas, Shawnees, Quawpaws.
The South also had Indian agents operating all throughout the High Plains and mountain region stirring up other tribes such as the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Navajo and Apaches to make war on the Union at that time.
Their traditional enemies, Pawnee, Kaw, Osage (well, most of them) remained loyal to the Union.
The pro-Union Osages wiped out a party of Confederate officers heading for Colorado. On them were found instructions to...
#1, encourage southerners in Colorado to join the Confederate army.....and
#2, ENCOURAGE THE INDIAN TRIBES TO ATTACK SETTLERS IN THE KANSAS-COLORADO AREA.
That party was wiped out. Who knows how many other Confederate parties made it through with the same instructions.
“There is little doubt that the recent outbreak in the Northwest (Minnesota Uprising) has resulted from the efforts of secession agents operating through Canadian Indians and fur-traders.”—Mr Giddings, US Counsul-general in Canada

[enumerated]

I never thought there could be a more naive and simple-minded statement than when a four-year-old proclaims babies are delivered by storks.

Congratulations, you proved me wrong.

[cowboyusa]

The war would not have been perpetual if Jackson had been President, because he would have won it in several mounths and hanged all the traitors.

[DiogenesLamp]

I thought Lincoln once said if he could preserve the union by embracing slavery, he would. I can’t recall the source so I could be wrong-I won’t swear to it. Does anybody know?

He said it a lot, including in his first inaugural address, but the most famous occasion in which he said it was his letter to Horace Greeley.

"I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.” If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views."

[cowboyusa]

Treason had to be stoped.

[Political Junkie Too]

...it is a modern litmus test for many people on the left, i.e. people who likely weren’t going to vote for her anyway.

...which is why Republicans have to learn how not to answer these "gotcha" questions that have no "great relevance 163 years later."

If asked what the cause of the Civil War was, simply say:

Why? Did you miss that class in high school? I'm here to talk about my vision for the country in 2024. If you want to learn about the Civil War, I suggest you watch the famous documentary by Ken Burns.

Next question...

-PJ

[cowboyusa]

The confederacy had a bigger Government than the Union. Yes, Lincoln was too much of a Whig. That would not have happened under Jackson, who would hav3 crushed treason quickly. Lincoln was a softy.

[impactplayer]

Treason? Most today believe that leaving the Union was a legal option - but the North could not live with it - so there was war. But history is written by the “winners”, so this side is not widely known.

[Bonemaker]

"The point is, had everyone just left it alone, the effect would have eventually reached all the states, and it would have been eliminated peacefully."

And with the oncoming Industrial Revolution and modernization in general, the war was unneeded and catastrophic. Shelby Foote, who is probably one of the most prolific and objective scholars/writers on the subject, is quoted:

"Right now I'm thinking a good deal about emancipation. One of our sins was slavery, another was emancipation. It's a paradox. In theory, emancipation was one of the glories of our democracy - and it was. But the way it was done led to tragedy, turning four million people loose with no jobs or trades or learning. And then in 1877 for a few electoral votes, just abandoning them entirely. A huge amount of pain and trouble resulted. Everybody in America is still paying for it.”

[DiogenesLamp]

The war was instigated by the North because the North could not exist financially without the Southern tariff revenue.

The North could exist without the Southern produced tariff revenue, but it would mean a lot of money leaving the pockets of wealthy powerful men in the North who liked having that money coming into their pockets.

They weren't going to allow the South to walk away.

The North would have just been cut off from it's addiction to Southern produced money, and like a drug addict, they reacted violently, blamed others, and took out their rage on the victim.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

At the root of every conflict is greed and “love of money”.

The South, while not on the moral high ground with regards to slavery - had every right to succeed.

It’s a tragedy that over 500,000 of some of our best were destroyed in a conflict that could have been avoided.

[Bonemaker]

“But that’s to be expected when people are treated as property, and slaveowners were right to be scared of a slave rebellion.”

I’ve often wondered about that. If slavery was as horrible as we’ve been led to believe, why wasn’t there massive, overwhelming rebellion? Hmmm?

[HandyDandy]

Spok, please note that DiogenesLamp clips off the final sentence. This is the easy “tell” that he is not being completely honest. It is an earmark of a Lost Causer.

[smokingfrog]

A lot of people have never heard of nullification I would wager.