That's a quaint notion, but I'm not sure there were any other solutions which would have both preserved the union and freed the slaves. I'd be interested in hearing some. Hindsight is 20/20, of course.
As to the Confederacy and the South; my major bone of contention in all of this is how it has become (in the last 20 yrs or so) almost verboten to have any sort of respect for not just the Confederacy, but for all of the men who fought for it.
I totally agree, and do not want to be incorrectly associated with those elements.
Finally, while your understanding of the history of the Democratic and Republican parties is admirable, I hope you don’t think it has any relevance today.
Indeed I do think it has relevance, because the Democratic Party persisted in its racism, disenfranchising, oppressing and murdering blacks for many many many decades after the Civil War, through at least the WWII period.
I have little respect in general for Hannity's shallow analyses, but I totally disagree regarding relevance. If more blacks knew the history of the Democratic and Republican parties from the Civil War era through the Civil Rights era, they would begin to see that they are still being kept on the Democratic plantation of poverty, dependence and malaise.
Maybe then they could understand why MLK was a Republican, and why a higher percentage of Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act than did Democrats, flawed as it may have been.
How the Democrats have been able to sweep 100+ years of their racist history under the rug, and then garner the undying support of the majority of the black community, is beyond me. I can only suppose that it has to do with the enticing Welfare State which many blacks (and many non-blacks) have become willingly dependent on.
Therefore, IMHO, the history I have referenced is relevant, especially if it is studied in detail over a large expanse of time, and not merely based on one frozen snapshot from long ago.
I have found David Barton's American History in Black and White to be highly informative in exposing the racist core of the Democratic party, which exhibited murderous Tyranny against blacks continuously for a good 100 years after the Civil War.
Well, let’s say for arguments sake that slavery would have persisted for 2 or 3 more decades. Sure, that would have been terrible, but do you think it would have been worse than the hundreds of thousands who died, and that many more who were maimed?
I’m glad we at least seem to agree on Hannity. Even though I agree with him on most issues, I find him to be a very unimaginative thinker.
As to the relevance of the Democrats and Republicans ancient (politically speaking) history; I don’t think we are going to see eye to eye here. The Democrats today are the party of big government, racial preferences, and wealth redistribution. Unfortunately that obviously appeals to most black voters. I’d agree that these things aren’t good for them as a community, but it is what it is, and I don’t think that it would make any difference if every black American knew the history of the Democrats. What does that have to do with today when the Republicans are out to starve their children and keep them out of jobs and college?
And MLK is another interesting what-if? What if he had lived? Where would his politics have gone? I think he would have ended up firmly on the Left, and would have supported policies of racial preferences and generous welfare.