Unbelievably that some of you defend the actions of the North as they burned and pillaged there way through the south setting up a Great Depression in the south for decades. The brick and stone remains of burned out textile mills tell a tragic tale of grave economic injustice perpetrated on the South.
Yanks gave out candy & flowers to southern women & children...NOT...
- Thread starter SayWhatDawg
- Start date
The political leaders of the south brought it on themselves. They made the stupid and arrogant decision to commit treason against their country and make war against a people who were numerically, financially, and technologically superior to them.
Was trying to stir the pot a little in remembrance of a fine Southern Gentleman. RIP TEE.
Financially? I think not, hence the reason for the war. The south was better off than the north, maybe, you should look at the tax collections for the time period. There was a reason Lincoln said, "we cant afford to let the south succeed" The South paid far more that its far share of taxes before the war. Just four Southern States–Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia–paid 75% of all federal taxes. Just think, three out of every four dollars sent to Washington, D.C. were from just four Southern States and all the other Southern States contributed as well. Why should they have to pay the bill for public spending in the North? I stole that last part.
And it's NOT treason to answer your States call to arms in response to a tyrannical government without representation.
WRONG. The only federal taxes in the antebellum era were excise taxes placed on goods imported from foreign countries. The south had no manufacturing base and most of its liquid wealth was tied up in foreign credit houses. The south's "wealth" was measured by, and concentrated in, the value of cotton and in world markets and the perceived value of slave labor.
In contrast, the northern economy was incredibly productive and diversified. By 1860, 90 percent of the nation's manufacturing output came from northern states. The north produced 17 times more cotton and woolen textiles than the south, 30 times more leather goods, 20 times more pig iron, and 32 times more firearms. Even in agriculture, the northern states outproduced the south. By 1860, the free states had nearly twice the value of farm machinery per acre and per farm worker as did the slave states, leading to increased productivity. As a result, in 1860, the northern states produced half of the nation's corn, four-fifths of its wheat, and seven-eighths of its oats.
When the south made the incredibly stupid and arrogant decision to make war against the United States, the strength of a diversified economy based on free labor and the weakness of an economy based on one agricultural crop and slave labor became increasingly apparent. The United States' industrial and economic capacity soared during the war as the north continued its rapid industrialization to suppress the rebellion. In the south, a smaller industrial base, fewer rail lines, and an agricultural economy based upon slave labor made mobilization of resources more difficult. As the war dragged on, the United States' advantages in factories, railroads, and manpower put the confederacy at a great disadvantage.
I call your attention to Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution. "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."
Let's use Robert E. Lee as a textbook case of treason. Lee graduated from the United States Military Academy (not the Virginia Military Institute). He was commissioned an officer in the Regular Army of the United States (not the Virginia militia). To obtain that commission, Lee had to swear the following oath: "I, _____, appointed a _____ in the Army of the United States, do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whatsoever, and observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the rules and articles for the government of the Armies of the United States."
There is no wiggle room in that oath for allegiance to one's state superseding allegiance to the federal government. Lee was a traitor; he renounced his duty to his country and he deserves to be lighted down in history with his fellow turncoat, Benedict Arnold.
The south was paying 90% of the collected tariffs. I would probably be pretty pissed about that, oh, and getting nothing in return,mwhile money was being used for railroads and ports in the north.
Southern state governments did not like tariffs, nor did they want to participate in Henry Clay's "American System" of disbursing the proceeds of public domain land sales to the states for use in building roads, bridges, rail lines, and ports---even in their own states.
So if you believe they committed treason based on the constitution , then I would be correct to assume that your dear commie leader and Hitlery should both be tried for treason as well, right?
Who are you referring to? Sorry but I am not fluent in paranoid wingnut-ese.
There in lies the reason why the war was fought - state's rights. Lee's loyalty to his own state was greater than the loyalty to his country which was likewise why the southern states seceded and their residents took up arms for them.
The poor and middle class in the South were not fighting for slavery. They didn't own slaves nor need them. They were fighting for their states. A commonly overlooked part of the history being taught today. People don't understand state's rights and what it truly means. The war was not about slavery.
This nation is called "The United States" for a reason - because it was a conglomeration of formerly separate colonies that were loosely tied together. The Civil War was fought over just how loosely tied they were.
Exactly Arch,
What Whitepowerpug fails to understand is the UNITED States was only a LOOSE confederation in and of itself, NOT the Ultra-authoritarian Big Brother of today. He may have a quick command of a few quotes but he is truly only an academic fledgling at best when he has NO grasp of how at that time the STATE you lived in was the ultimate authority and your state represented YOUR best interests as a citizen.
From one of the MANY Confederate Monuments:
Erected A. D. 1884
By the People of Georgia
To 290 of her sons who
Lie in this cemetery
Go, stranger, and tell it
in Georgia, that we died here
in obedience to her law.
1861 - 1865
When duty called they came
When country called they died
The brave
die never, being deathless. They
but change their country's arms
for more - their country's heart.
No different than England claiming to own Scotland and Ireland
by force and demanding money through some obscure legal
document wrung from someone by force.
If you can't see this government is doing the same thing (usurping
States rights) now all over again you have blinders on.
I don't want to be around you if the Republicans take the office of POTUS and have both the House and the Senate. THEN you will understand how the State is supposed to represent you against tyranny, but only then will you see how this Federal government
has usurped the powers from the individual. I don't want either party
stealing the rights of States or individuals for it's own end.
What Whitepowerpug fails to understand is the UNITED States was only a LOOSE confederation in and of itself, NOT the Ultra-authoritarian Big Brother of today. He may have a quick command of a few quotes but he is truly only an academic fledgling at best when he has NO grasp of how at that time the STATE you lived in was the ultimate authority and your state represented YOUR best interests as a citizen.
From one of the MANY Confederate Monuments:
Erected A. D. 1884
By the People of Georgia
To 290 of her sons who
Lie in this cemetery
Go, stranger, and tell it
in Georgia, that we died here
in obedience to her law.
1861 - 1865
When duty called they came
When country called they died
The brave
die never, being deathless. They
but change their country's arms
for more - their country's heart.
No different than England claiming to own Scotland and Ireland
by force and demanding money through some obscure legal
document wrung from someone by force.
If you can't see this government is doing the same thing (usurping
States rights) now all over again you have blinders on.
I don't want to be around you if the Republicans take the office of POTUS and have both the House and the Senate. THEN you will understand how the State is supposed to represent you against tyranny, but only then will you see how this Federal government
has usurped the powers from the individual. I don't want either party
stealing the rights of States or individuals for it's own end.
