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The sesesh aimed to get what they wanted at the point of a gun.
Amazing! That also seemed to be the mind-set of the American Colonists about a century before.

But when you think of one group you think of the Declaration of Independence, and the other you think of the whip, branding iron and shackles.

Walt

...and another thing, go look at the good perfesser's web site. Anybody who wants to hang up a bigger'n life size photo of Che Gueverra to idolize is somebody I would just about knee jerk want to be on the opposite side of an issue on general principles. This'un here is not much different.

My wife got her degree in history at the U. of Colo. in the '70s. She asked me to go to a lecture one day with her because the prof. was "very good". Up to that point I had alwyas just bought the South/Bad North/Good party line. This fellow in 90 minutes really showed how it was one hell of a lot more complicated than that. He showed out of all the issues slavery was just a small part, Industrialization was changing the face of America, agrarianism was not going to be sustainable in the face of a wave of Industry advancing in the North. The riches of the West were just beginning to be tapped and transportation to the Gold of California was one of the most important issues facing Congress for decades before the War. Just research the Bills and debates that were in Congress at the time. The most important factor that the War was fought over was whether a railroad West would go through Ohio or Atlanta. I heard a powerful argument that day that pretty well convinced me. Sure, my ancestors sang the songs and marched off to war as soldiers always have, knowin just only so much as the folks callin' the shots wanted 'em to. But when looked back at with the full knowledge of history we are expected to do better than they did. Even Longstreet himself said that had the South freed the slaves at the begining of the War it would have not turned out the way it did. The Norhtern soldier wouldn't have gone South without that motivation, but, as they say "Who benefits"? The railraod went through Ohio and Southern agrarianism was destroyed forever.