Geico266

Boy, do you have a lot to learn about the South. The war never ended, it's just a cease fire. Them Southern boys are just biding their time cause the "South will RISE AGAIN!"

Geico266

Beagle1, I'm impressed! You actually put several thoughts & intentional reasoning into that post.

Can I get a referal to your meds doctor? They seem to be working well.

Christov

We had and still do have a lot of pride in our part of the land. There is a lot of resentment that is still around due to the way the US Government treated the Southern states. Why were tariffs imposed on products and goods from the South, but not the North? Why was there unfair representation for the Southern states? A lot of people think the war was over slavery. BS!! If that was the case then why did only 5% of the entire Southern population own slaves? Slavery at the time was an American thing, not just a Southern thing. If you look back through history all slaves were brought into this country under which flag? Correct, the American flag. If slavery was that much of a concern to Abe Lincoln why did he not offer Southerners the $500,000 estimated value on the slaves instead of spending over $2,000,000 in the war? Also why, if slavery was the main issue of the war was the emancipation proclamation issued at the END of the war and not the beginning? The reasons were purely political.
By the way the constitution is written there was no reason why the South was not justified in seceeding from the Union. They had the right idea. The North realized that they needed the South for the rivers, seaports and agricultural assets, and just wanted to be greedy. Southerners are also accused of treason against the US. If that was the case, why were no Southern soldiers ever tried for treason in a court of law? Why, because it wouldn't stand up. Jefferson Davis requested a trial for these very issues and after 2 years of waiting, the case was dismissed. The North wanted to keep the truth hidden, and by dismissing the case of Jefferson Davis they were able to save face and rewrite history in the uncorrect manner it is today.

Begle1

Ultimately the South had every right to succeed from the Union, as that was in their best interest. However, the North had an equal right to prevent the successions, which were treasonous to the United States, in order to protect their interests. And so it came down to an armed conflict, a single war that utterly eclipsed the costs of any European war since Reformation and is, without a challenger, the costliest war in American history.

But the war was necessary, and it is something for all Americans to honor. At stake was the issue of pride; the South fought for the belief that the country gained its strength from libertarian pride, that every individual worked together as the United States for their own self-interest. The North fought for the belief that the flag itself the object of pride, not the individual, and that it was every persons' pride to consecrate his country over himself.

Both beliefs were totally American. Both beliefs were present from the time that Hamilton and Jefferson splintered the Washington unity in the late 1700's. Those same conflicting stances on the issue of pride remain the real issue in today's politics; do we define the United States, or does the United States define us? Are we loyal to our country, or ourselves? That is the American question, and the Civil War was but one of many attempts for us to find the answer. And in conclusion the war taught us all that, in order to be a true American, we must possess both kinds of pride; and the same processes of reconciliation, which will always lead to conflict of one kind or another, is a vital part of who we are as individuals and who we are as a country.

And of course slavery wasn't the issue. That was the spark, not the tinder.





Oh, and while you're in South Texas be sure to visit the Alamo. I mean, how can you avoid the Alamo? It's one of the greatest symbols in American history! Of course, the point of this post was to suggest the Alamo, I'm not sidetracking into American political philosophical history at all or anything.

Fronty Owner

Christov.... The truth goes to the victors...

wannadiesel

OK guys, this one's done. Take it over to www.all-politics.net.