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Slavery wasn't the only factor. It was, however, a major factor. What's important is not why the North fought, but why the Confederate states wanted secession. We know the North wanted to preserve the Union.
A few persons will try to pass that "slaves had it better than being free" or "slavery wasn't all bad". This comes up when some people can't refute that slavery was a large part of the Confederate cause. We can both agree that slavery was slavery, period. I'd rather be dead than a slave. Freedom is important. Of course some people will try and argue otherwise. I've never read Uncle Tom's Cabin. However, I've watched movies about slavery. Night John, Roots, Queen. At the end of the day, a chattel slave had no autonomy. He/she was property to the slave master. A slave was forbidden to learn how to read or write. Not allowed to do anything that a free person could do. Of course, some persons likely wish slavery existed and will try to downplay how grim being a slave is to get you to agree with slavery.
You should read Uncle Tom's cabin. Fantastic easy read. Stowe was able to eloquently explain how slavery is evil regardless of the situation a slave might be in.. It was really the catalyst to the Abolitionist movement which certainly ignited the fire eaters in South Carolina. I don't think its a stretch to say that without Uncle Tom's Cabin, there would have been no Civil War.
I have also read Roots.. fantastic read, although there is some discredit concerning the validity of Alex Haley story, you cant deny the fabulous writing. The movie Roots was recently remade and was better than the original, if you ask me but i can see how some would not agree...
Slavery wasn't the only factor. It was, however, a major factor. What's important is not why the North fought, but why the Confederate states wanted secession. We know the North wanted to preserve the Union.
A few persons will try to pass that "slaves had it better than being free" or "slavery wasn't all bad". This comes up when some people can't refute that slavery was a large part of the Confederate cause. We can both agree that slavery was slavery, period. I'd rather be dead than a slave. Freedom is important. Of course some people will try and argue otherwise. I've never read Uncle Tom's Cabin. However, I've watched movies about slavery. Night John, Roots, Queen. At the end of the day, a chattel slave had no autonomy. He/she was property to the slave master. A slave was forbidden to learn how to read or write. Not allowed to do anything that a free person could do. Of course, some persons likely wish slavery existed and will try to downplay how grim being a slave is to get you to agree with slavery.
That is not true and you know it......there wasn't a majority in 1860 to amend the constitution to abolish slavery, not even in the North.
If the South stayed in the Union, Slavery would have been legal until a majority would have amended the constitution decades later. All we know for a fact that the majority didn't exist in 1860.
If Lincoln would have let the South go and recognized their independence the war would never have occurred.
The South declared their independence and the North reject it by war, that's it!, the rest is just smoke...........the reasons for the North to fight is important that you keep minimizing because they were the aggressors and their intentions for fighting had nothing to do with slavery.
your problem is that you ignore all the reasons why people in the South fought and died against Northern aggression and want to demonize all of them. The majority of them didn't own slaves but they sure weren't going to let the North invade them and destroy their towns to impose a high tax on them.
reminds me of Muslims, they might not agree 100% with their corrupt ruling class but they are not going to let outsiders come and invade and occupy their lands to impose a tax and kill their brothers and neighbors. They will fight the invaders 'til death........you have to respect that.
I think these days, the disconnect is more between a predominantly white subset of Americans vs. the rest of the population of all races (including many whites). In many more educated and progressive settings both in the South and elsewhere today, the Confederate flag is an unacceptable symbol - period. Unfortunately this country has a long history of racial division and healing the wounds from our past (in many cases, very recent past) is not an easy process.
The Confederate flag does not serve a constructive purpose today and just helps to divide and distract people who may have much in common, aside from their race - which is exactly what certain politicians and others in power want. In 2019 it is not a meaningful symbol for the contemporary South, but of a more backward looking, non-inclusive mindset that is independent of geography. Resistance to change is a constant presence throughout history, and unfortunately scapegoating of vulnerable, out of power groups is a by-product of this resistance. But the Confederate flag is likely to become more and more relegated to the fringes of society in the future.
I do see the disconnect that you are talking about to a certain extent within the White population. Metro Atlanta is like a microcosm for the disconnect. When I was in school, the kids who were the most gung-ho about the Confederate flag were the kids who were kind of nonchalant about school, who had a kind of "redneck" culture about them.And that kind of culture can be found in somewhat high amounts in places like Paulding County, Bartow County, Douglas County. If I go to Marietta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, I don't see people flying Confederate flags. These tend to either be more progressive, or the least, more people who are educated.
In some ways, the racial divisions have not completely healed. Issues like the Confederate flag are basically a microcosm of all of this.
The Confederate flag is basically a divisive, controversial symbol. The Confederate cause was basically a divisive cause. In a region with a history of stark racial divides, a symbol that unites people of all races is needed. So far the Confederate flag fails at that miserably. And it is important to understand why.
You should read Uncle Tom's cabin. Fantastic easy read. Stowe was able to eloquently explain how slavery is evil regardless of the situation a slave might be in.. It was really the catalyst to the Abolitionist movement which certainly ignited the fire eaters in South Carolina. I don't think its a stretch to say that without Uncle Tom's Cabin, there would have been no Civil War.
I have also read Roots.. fantastic read, although there is some discredit concerning the validity of Alex Haley story, you cant deny the fabulous writing. The movie Roots was recently remade and was better than the original, if you ask me but i can see how some would not agree...
Wonder if the 'Lost Cause' mythologies would've lasted as long without Gone With The Wind?
Legend has it that the myths author Margaret Mitchell learned as a child about the heroic battles, Southern bravery, Yankee treachery, & the Southern 'way of life' had her so befuddled she didn't even realize the Confederacy had actually lost the War until she was a teenager.
Guessing too that The Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman & yup it's referring to that Klan) had a hand in prolonging the propaganda, historical distortion, evasion, denial etc.
You should read Uncle Tom's cabin. Fantastic easy read. Stowe was able to eloquently explain how slavery is evil regardless of the situation a slave might be in.. It was really the catalyst to the Abolitionist movement which certainly ignited the fire eaters in South Carolina. I don't think its a stretch to say that without Uncle Tom's Cabin, there would have been no Civil War.
I have also read Roots.. fantastic read, although there is some discredit concerning the validity of Alex Haley story, you cant deny the fabulous writing. The movie Roots was recently remade and was better than the original, if you ask me but i can see how some would not agree...
I never thought about reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, so it will surprise me what I see in the book.
I've watched Roots. I watched the version with Levar Burton and John Amos in it. We both can agree that slavery is evil. For a human being to treat another human being as property and not a human being, that is evil. What went on was just horrible. And some of the things I saw in Roots reminded me that the slave owners were somewhat disconnected and at the same time not so disconnected. Slaves were treated as property, bought and sold. At the same time, they were afraid to teach the slaves how to read. They were afraid to afford slaves the same rights as anyone else in America. Looking back at slavery, it is sick and disgusting that anyone would try to downplay it or try to make it seem like "hey, it wasn't so bad". Only a sick person would think like that. A sick and sad person.
Wonder if the 'Lost Cause' mythologies would've lasted as long without Gone With The Wind?
Legend has it that the myths author Margaret Mitchell learned as a child about the heroic battles, Southern bravery, Yankee treachery, & the Southern 'way of life' had her so befuddled she didn't even realize the Confederacy had actually lost the War until she was a teenager.
Guessing too that The Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman & yup it's referring to that Klan) had a hand in prolonging the propaganda, historical distortion, evasion, denial etc.
I think the Lost Cause would have lasted a long time without Gone With The Wind, at last without the movie version. Birth of A Nation might have prolonged it. However, there is something to understand. There were plenty of Confederate monuments going up. That was enough to continue that Lost Cause myth. Jim Crow had a way of continuing the Lost Cause. When the Civil Rights movement started, this is when a spike in schools named for Confederate generals took place. The Confederate flag became a symbol of resistance against civil rights. The Lost Cause would have continued without Gone With The Wind.
I never thought about reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, so it will surprise me what I see in the book.
They were afraid to afford slaves the same rights as anyone else in America. Looking back at slavery, it is sick and disgusting that anyone would try to downplay it or try to make it seem like "hey, it wasn't so bad". Only a sick person would think like that. A sick and sad person.
For those with no morals...or the so-called Christian slave-loving morals expounded by the Confederates, there is another factoid - SLAVERY DID NOT PAY. It was a terrible economic system and resulted in disease, destitute and backwardness that cost many more lives than the Civil War.
That makes it even more insulting...to insist on a way of life which is bad for everyone involved.
Even today...in most areas where slavery thrived, the economic situation lags behind the rest of the USA.
For those who want to read more.....a book called The Children is the most personal account of the brave people who forced the integration of the South...and, yes, most were very young.
It's important to keep in mind that any BS we hear about "Slavery Ended" is just that. One only need to read about Lynching, Segregation, Voter rejection, etc. to see that it didn't end. Imagine - pictures like this one - in the same decade we went to the moon and were flying in Jet Airliners.
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Originally Posted by ChiGeekGuest
Wonder if the 'Lost Cause' mythologies would've lasted as long without Gone With The Wind?
Legend has it that the myths author Margaret Mitchell learned as a child about the heroic battles, Southern bravery, Yankee treachery, & the Southern 'way of life' had her so befuddled she didn't even realize the Confederacy had actually lost the War until she was a teenager.
Guessing too that The Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman & yup it's referring to that Klan) had a hand in prolonging the propaganda, historical distortion, evasion, denial etc.
Speaking of 'Lost Cause' mythologies, this video sums it up:
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