[MinstrelBoy]

It also destroyed the idea of state's rights as they should be.

[Non-Sequitur]

A civil war is a struggle between two or more factions seeking to control the central government.

I don't know where Dr. Williams get's his definition but every on-line dictionary I've checked defines a civil war as " war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country." Which is an accurate defintion of what happened.

[mac_truck]

First, although it was not President Lincoln's intent, it freed slaves in the Confederate States.

Lincoln's first intent was to preserve the Union. However, Lincoln certainly did intend to free southern slaves when he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation.

[sierrahome]

We basically went from:
The United States "Are", to
The United Stated "Is".

[sandydipper]

Live free or die - get government out of my life.

[Theophilus]

Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States, no more wanted to take over Washington, D.C. than George Washington wanted to take over London in 1776.

Technically, this is incorrect since Washington was certainly THE military objective of the South. It might be better to say that the South had no intent to conquer the North except in such a way as to dissuade aggression. But even that statement is meaningless since conquering the North was as out of the question for the South as conquering London was out of the question for Washington.

[spodefly]

BTTT

[CurlyBill]

I thought you guys might be interested. This thread needs an injection of common sense and historical accuracy.

[Zack Nguyen]

First, although it was not President Lincoln's intent, it freed slaves in the Confederate States.

This is incomplete. It was not Lincoln's original intent. It became his intent later, as the the cause of the slaves became his own. Lincoln underwent an ideological transition during his term, as second inaugural address makes clear.

[stainlessbanner]

< placeholder >

[Ditto]

When Congress enacted the Morrill Act (1861), raising tariffs to unprecedented levels, the South Carolina convention unanimously adopted and Ordinance of Secession...

Oh brother! Can we pitch-in and buy poor Walter a calander? Maybe a 6th grade history book even?

[colorado tanker]

The issue of slavery dominated the political debate in the 1850's and the Southern states seceded because Lincoln was elected President and was anti-slavery, even though he had no intention of pushing for immediate emancipation. (He hoped that restricting slavery in the territories would hasten it's demise in the South.) Any other reading of the history of the time is just dishonest.

The Beard thesis that all American history can be explained by economics has been debunked. It's really nothing more that the Marxist view of history in disguise. In American history, ideas matter, as the Democrats just learned again in 2004.

[lodwick]

Dr.Williams nails yet another one.

Thanks for the post.

[Ohioan]

I am happy to bump another fine column by one of the few remaining, widely circulated, columnists in America with both integrity and common sense. Professor Williams has long defined important issues, both contemporary and historic, with a clarity that should help students of any age, tighten their own focus.

Thank you for posting this!

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[wardaddy]

FR's resident southbashing posse will now stoop to slamming Walter Williams too in order to try to sate their insatiable appetite for moral superiority and sanctimonious arse-orifice-ness.

It never ends...social PC revisionists masquerading as "conservatives".

Walter Williams=Good Company

I'll take Walter Williams over a Morris Dees or Julian Bond any day. The South Bashers must love their comrades in arms.

"Worst Evil To Have Ever Existed"....signing off...lol

[XJarhead]

Perhaps this is the biggest reason to be ticked off at those southern knuckleheads who tried to secede.

The perhaps worthy idea of secession became inextricably linked with slavery. If the critical issue had been something other than slavery, they probably would have gotten support from Europe, or maybe the North would not even have cared enough to stop them. Or the even better result is that the mere threat of secession would have acted as a brake on the federal government acquiring more power. We would have stayed a united country, but a far more free one because of the ever present threat of secession.

Instead, secession became tied to slavery, and died the same death. A real tragedy.

[Professional Engineer]

bttt

[foreverfree]

bump

[Free and Armed]

Dag blasted Lincoln lovers! Git yur fancy-talkin sweater wearin asses outta Dixie!