[FLT-bird]

Yep. Against a flood of sources on both sides as well as foreign at the time....against a guy considered to be the pre-eminent historian in the first half of the 20th century in Charles Beard, against a well known expert on historical tax in Charles Adams they have....”but in 1861 the exports for stuff other than cotton (never mind that cotton was 60% of all US exports) wasn’t down that much.....so that therefore proves they were growing lots of tobacco in Vermont and rice in Wisconsin and indigo in Connecticut).”

The desperation to deny reality is palpable.

[DiogenesLamp]

The desperation to deny reality is palpable.

I think this is because every bit of information that points to the real cause of the conflict has them thinking "but...but...but..... We're the good guys! That can't possibly be true! or if it is true, it must mean something different than what it appears to mean!"

To acknowledge the truth, is to tear down their idols, and they cannot bring themselves to do that. They hold Lincoln and company in the same esteem as do the Communists in Russia regarding Lenin and Stalin.

The people they grew up believing to be the good guys, in their minds cannot possibly be the bad guys.

[BroJoeK]

FLT-bird: "Against a flood of sources on both sides as well as foreign at the time....against a guy considered to be the pre-eminent historian in the first half of the 20th century in Charles Beard, against a well known expert on historical tax in Charles Adams..."

Actually there's been no data posted here from Charles Beard and the only apparently random numbers alleged from Charles Adams came from DiogenesLamp's post #157.

Sorry, not impressed.

FLT-bird: "The desperation to deny reality is palpable."

I got your "palpable" right here, pal.