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If slavery was not a component of the civil war, would someone please care to explain Alexander Stephens' "Cornerstone Speech?"
For those who aren't aware, he was the vice president of the confederacy...
Who ever said slavery was not an issue? It would be foolish to say that. It would be equally if not much more foolish to say it was the only issue and/or that it was not bound up in larger issues. Four of the seceding states specifically mentioned slavery...but seven others didn't mention it at all. Jefferson Davis never mentioned it in his inaugural address.
Anyway, the "cornerstone speech" thing is often trotted out as if it is the alpha and omega and the argument is thus concluded. But thing is, Stephens remarks were not very well-received by other Southern delegates/officials when they met to form the provisional Confederate government. ("A Government of Our Own" by William C. Davis. pg. 294-295), and his speech was not delivered as official CSA policy.
He (Stephens) later insisted (during a day and age he really didn't have to) he was misunderstood. Matter of fact, by the standards of the day and age, he appeared to be a "liberal" on racial issues (he also opposed secession).
My own opinion of slavery, as often expressed, was that if the institution was not the best, or could not be made the best, for both races, looking to the advancement and progress of both, physically and morally, it ought to be abolished. It was far from being what it might and ought to have been. Education was denied. This was wrong. I ever condemned the wrong. Marriage was not recognized. This was a wrong that I condemned. Many things connected with it did not meet my approval but excited my disgust, abhorrence, and detestation. The same I may say of things connected with the best institutions in the best communities in which my lot has been cast. Great improvements were, however, going on in the condition of blacks in the South. Their general physical condition not only as to necessaries but as to comforts was better in my own neighbourhood in 1860, than was that of the whites when I can first recollect, say 1820. Much greater would have been made, I verily believe, but for outside agitation. I have but small doubt that education would have been allowed long ago in Georgia, except for outside pressure which stopped internal reform.
Also, funny that a production is made by the "cornerstone speech", but CSA President Jefferson Davis' are ignored (or even known):
"I tried all in my power to avert this war. I saw it coming for twelve years; I worked night and day to prevent it, but I could not. The North was mad and blind, it would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came and now it must go on till the last man of this generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize the musket and fight our battles, unless you acknowledge our right to self government. We are not fighting for slavery, we are fighting for independence, and that, or extermination." Jefferson Davis, CSA
Or Pat Cleburnes:
"It is said slavery is all we are fighting for, and if we give it up we give up all. Even if this were true, which we deny, slavery is not all our enemies are fighting for. It is merely the pretense to establish sectional superiority and a more centralized form of government, and to deprive us of our rights and liberties.” Pat Cleburne, Maj. Gen. CSA
January, 1864
Here is another good link to an analysis of the "cornerstone speech":
If slavery was not a component of the civil war, would someone please care to explain Alexander Stephens' "Cornerstone Speech?"
For those who aren't aware, he was the vice president of the confederacy...
FTR, my dad is from the South, most of my family is in the South. We have an old 8mm of my dad, as a little boy, dressed up in a Confederate uniform shooting capuns when he was a kid. I have nothing against the region or the people who live there now by any stretch. But this whole "It wasn't about slavery... it was about states' rights!" is only true in that the main state's right up for debate was whether or not it was legal, moral, or right to own slaves. No one should be held accountable for their ancerstors' actions, but history is history.
No one is saying slavery wasn't a component of the civil war. What I am saying is it wasn't an issue for already existing slave states as there wasn't anything anyone could have done about it to end it outside of the respective state legislatures. Congress would have never had enough votes to abolish slavery in the union so it was never a factor in already existing slave states which Lincoln conceded. It was always the issue of slavery in new territories. Both sides tried to compromise several times with the compromise measures and the kansas-nebraska act. Neither worked and both times the problem arose from slave states trying to one up free states. The 13th amendment was able to be passed and signed into law ONLY because the south lost.
As a temporary transplant to the South myself, I can tell you, at least from my part, that a greater part of the South garners much respect. It's only the at-will labor, obduracy to let go of past, forty-acres-and-a-mule, old money, it's-not-what-you-know-but-who-you-know, holier-than-thou, educationally-challenged politician, you-ain't-from-here-are-ya parts that I have contempt for, but the sweet potato pie, bluegrass bands, BBQ, college football, sweet-talking ladies and long summers (not to mention a whole lot of other things) are JUST FINE WITH ME.
My aunt literally thought Atlanta was all dirt roads when she heard the Olympics had been awarded to Atlanta.
My in-laws in NYC thought the concept of buses and trains was new to me because I was from Atlanta.
It takes time for people to let go of their ignorances...
They now see ATL as a big city, but they both still have low opinions of it, because it's not LA or NYC. Plus, we still perpetuate the stereotypes in movies and TV shows that Southerners can't read, and inbreed, and are racists, and all drink moonshine, and carry confederate flags and rifles (I realize that there is a LOT more shows on TV now-a-days that say the opposite, than shows that show the stereotypes, but it only takes a drop when there are already pre-conceived ignorances). It'll just take some time...
The south has a lot going for it and its pretty awesome however the politics for the south really hold it back. The bible belt conservatives need to go and ASAP, you'll see what I mean when you hear some of the speeches by southern conservatives like Rick Perry on T.V during the election.
People like Perry aren't the image for everyone in a region of 110 million people or a state with 26 million people but people will think it anyways because he got this far in his political career. Get rid of those idiot politicians and respect will be thrown your way.
Things that affect your every day life that are based in the South:
NASA
Coca-Cola
American Airlines
Delta Airlines
CNN
Texas Instruments Calculators
Dell Computers
Bank of America
AT&T
and a whole slew of fast-food places- Popeye's, Smoothie King, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, just to name a few.
Also, for the idiot Jay from a few pages back, I went to Rice University. It's currently ranked #17 in the country, ahead of other places like Brandeis, Tufts and Carnegie Mellon. The average ACT scores of incoming freshmen places it in the top 5 colleges by admission standards. Also ranked above those three schools are Emory in Atlanta, Vanderbilt in Nashville, and Duke in N.C.
I'm amazed at how underrated Tennessee and Nashville are on this forum. It's beautiful, rich, culturally influential, athletically enviable, and the weather is some of the most mild you can have in the entire country.
I love Tennessee and Nashville, would hope to live there one day just to try it out for a bit but I'm always astonished at how remarkably underrated it is on this site. Seriously though.
The south has a lot going for it and its pretty awesome however the politics for the south really hold it back. The bible belt conservatives need to go and ASAP, you'll see what I mean when you hear some of the speeches by southern conservatives like Rick Perry on T.V during the election.
People like Perry aren't the image for everyone in a region of 110 million people or a state with 26 million people but people will think it anyways because he got this far in his political career. Get rid of those idiot politicians and respect will be thrown your way.
(Other Southern companies that affect everyone's everyday life):
Home Depot
UPS
Wal-Mart
FedEx
Aflac
NCR
Rubermaid
SunTrust
Chick-Fil-A
AirTran
CDC Headquarters
Fidelity
Office Depot
Ryder
Lowe's
Bank of America
BB&T
Family Dollar
Goodrich
LabCorp
Capital One
Freddie Mac
SAIC
Norfolk Southern
General Dynamics
CarMax
Advanced Auto Parts
AutoZone
Amerigroup
AT&T
Dr. Pepper
Exxon Mobile
Blockbuster
Gamestop
Radioshack
J.C. Penney
Sysco
Waste Management
Whole Foods
and the list goes on...
I'm no liberal, but there is no way that you can say that with places like:
Atlanta
New Orleans
Miami
Memphis
Myrtle Beach
Daytona Beach
Houston
Dallas
All being the hearts of the South...
The south is well known for Mardi Gras, party life, drunkeness, gay pride, strip clubs, clubs, drugs, motorcycle gangs and motorcycle parties, beach parties, wild colleges and universities, etc... The South is where the party is... So, sorry but the South is not nearly represented by "conservatives" either...
Again, I'm no "liberal," however I understand his point because I see how these people who call themselves "Christian Conservatives," hold us all back by trying so hard to hold on to their "good ol days" and vote down changes because they don't want their neighborhoods changing. Move to the freak'n country then!!!!!!! Cities are meant to grow. It's that slow mentality that is holding the South back and is the reason for things like Marta not having train service in Cobb Co. and Gwinnett Co. in Atlanta, The Connector in NC never happening (because people thought a train connecting all the Metro areas would bring the "inner city" out to their rural/suburban communities. Like anyone's going to rob your home, then hop on a train w/ a TV)...
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