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To: Nosterrex
English Civil War for one.

Yeah, well Charles I might disagree with you on that one for a start. Loyalist leaders who were shot following the second civil war might register a complaint. The Irish might have a bone or two to pick with you on the 'suffered less' claim following the third civil war. In fact the wars were very bloody - the percentage of civilan dead from the three civil wars and the subsequent actions of Cromwell's government were far greater than the U.S. Civil War - and the repression especially following the third one was extreme.

47 posted on 06/11/2009 10:56:57 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur
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To: Non-Sequitur
The problem is whether or not the American Civil War was a civil war? Only in the broadest definition could it be considered one. In that definition, the American Revolutionary War would be classified as a civil war. Usually in a civil war you have at the minimum one faction trying to overthrow the government, but the South never wanted to overthrow the Union. The South wanted independence from the Union and to be permitted to form its own government. This is why it is nearly impossible when we start trying to compare the American Civil War with civil war in other countries to find examples in history. It is not a good analogy.
A better analogy is to look at independence or secessionist movements rather than civil wars. But in regards to the English Civil War, which was a genuine civil war, Parliament overthrew the monarchy; however, as soon as Cromwell died, the monarchy was reinstalled. I do not see the conflicts with either Ireland and Scotland as civil wars. They are closer to independence or secessionist movements, much like the American Revolutionary war. I have absolutely no idea how many Irish were killed in those wars. But at least 600,000 Americans died in the 1860’s and I am not certain if Ireland even had a population of 600,000 in the 1500’s.
The South has still not recovered from the affects of the Civil War. Reconstructionist treated the South far worse than the US treated either Germany or Japan after WWII. If the South had gotten half the economic support that the US has given Iraq, the South would be far stronger today than it is.
I understand that from your point that being assimilated back into the Union is a good thing; however, the South did not want to be reassimilated back into the Union, it wanted its independence from the Union. They were Confederate by choice, and Union by force. It would be similar to the colonists being reassimilated under British rule if the American Revolution had failed.
48 posted on 06/11/2009 11:52:44 AM PDT by Nosterrex
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