Because the Civil War wasn’t really about slavery.....
It’s a shame that it took 23 replies before someone stated the obvious.
Of coarse the state right most in question was whether or not people could own slaves is besides the point.
I was trying to explain that to my son, but it didn’t get it. I’ll have to study a bit more (being a Yankee and all).
I wonder, would the North have paid for the slaves using the revenues from the various taxes on the South’s agricultural products?
Heh. Replace “slaves” with “healthcare”.....
Ding, ding, ding! I was reading to see when somebody would point this out, congrats.
Glad someone said it — took me years of being out of school and studying on my own (was born and raised in the “Land of Lincoln”) to really understand the Confederates’ side of the story. When one understands that it REALLY wasn’t about slaves, but that their objections were really about the 10th Amendment and the overstepping of the Federal Government you’re getting somewhere near the truth then...
It’s also a great object lesson into a relatively current event in which we can see the “victors write the history” very clearly.
The sad thing is that the whole subject is so fraught with emotion for so many to this day that one cannot have an intellectual discussion on this topic without having to defend oneself against charges of racism... at least that has been my experience. If one shows respect for the Confederates at all (again in my experience), you find your IQ seemingly drops 100 points in the eyes of the person across from you... But again, when one has been taught over and over that it was all about the slaves what would you expect?
It’s the loss of this understanding of how our Republic was supposed to work in light of the 10th Amendment that has led us to the position we find ourselves in today.
[PS - 21twelve; I don’t know how old your son is, but don’t give up... It was extremely enlightening to me when I was able to not only see “both sides”, but able to actually understand some of the more complex issues behind it — it also greatly assists me to this day in regards to always having a “questioning” mind when it comes to any government official or agency. Wish I could give you some advice on how to perhaps counterract what your son may be learning in school, but all of my understanding came after I was already an adult... As for my children - well we homeschool, so it’s easier to give them a more balanced view, IMHO.)