150th Anniversary of the US Civil War: Time to revisit The War and the Lincoln Administration

This is an interesting blog at the New York Times, Ive been reading. Thought I would share...

Quote : DISUNION [nytimes.com] One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Americans went to war with themselves. Disunion revisits and reconsiders America's most perilous period -- using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.

You can backtrack to the first article and catch up...Starts Nov. 1rst and with the rapidly nearing Presidential Election.

Some nice goings on around here in Charleston SC. Lectures from McPherson of "Battle Cry Freedom" fame, the last comprehensive and authoritative study of the US Civil War. The Sons of Confederate Veterans Seccession Ball on Dec 20th. Planned Orchestral presentation of War Music and Tunes. Plus the big Fireworks Display in Charleston Harbor on April 12th 2011, with Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, Charleston Battery, Castle Pickney, and Fort Johnson, Cummings Point on Morris Island and Steven's Ironclad Floating Battery [Floating Battery of Charleston Harbor].

Strange post for a debate thread. No position stated, nor even a question to debate.

I wish Lincoln would have let them leave.

Quote from Rebound : I wish Lincoln would have let them leave.

Let whom leave?

Quote from Rebound : I wish Lincoln would have let them leave.

It certainly would have been interesting, if the south had been left to secede. I believe this was the first major instance of the Federal government overstepping its authority on a large scale, and set the stage for years to come.

The problem was that the North was not willing to let the tax revenue from the South get away.

150th Anniversary of the Civil War... I bet there'll be some reenactments. LARPing isn't just for fantasy geeks!

Quote from somewhere else : Harry Turtledove has a whole series of alternate history novels on this theme. His idea was that without the South, the North would become more "European", would eventually elect a socialist government, and so on. Meanwhile the CSA would eventually have to free the slaves just to move into the modern world. They would continute to fight wars every generation, like France and Germany.

I stole this from elsewhere as I have not run into any of the novels but now I will place them on my want list

As to my personal opinion if the South ahd won or been let go, with the passage of time either a reunion or some sort of defacto reunion via trade agreements and treatys would have occured.

Quote from 124nic8 : Strange post for a debate thread. No position stated, nor even a question to debate.

It is pretty clear that the Southern States were in the right. Dont you think? And that the Northern States were fighting an war of political and economic subjugation. Plus the Lincoln Administration trashed the letter and the spirit of the US Constitution in so many ways and so profoundly and deeply, its hard to get your mind around it.

Quote from EscapeVelo : It is pretty clear that the Southern States were in the right.

Slavery?

Quote from Rebound : Slavery?

Slavery still goes on today in Africa between tribes. Could slavery be a black culture thing?

Quote from Rebound : Slavery?

The US was a slaver state, and the South was offered Constitutional slavery guarantees before the war. It wasnt about Slavery, it was about the subjugation of the South as a political and economic mercantilist colonial holding, protected markets, perverse taxation and spending.

One has only to look at what the next 40 years of Repulbican governance resulted in to see what the war was about. Masses of wealth accrued to the Financial and Industrial interests of the NorthEast.....so much so that the period is known as the Era of the Robber Barrons.

One thing I always find interesting, is that the South and the Confederacy, with regards to the North/US and the War of 1861 are fertile ground to apply standard Leftwing Anti-Imperialist values and priniciples too, and yet its almost impossible to find a Leftwinger who makes that case. Though they will defend a whole host of the most vile regimes on Earth these days against Western European Cultural and Otherwise Imperialism....so that even takes Slavery out of the equation.

I have some ideas on why that is.

Quote from EscapeVelo : One has only to look at what the next 40 years of Repulbican governance resulted in to see what the war was about. Masses of wealth accrued to the Financial and Industrial interests of the NorthEast.....so much so that the period is known as the Era of the Robber Barrons.

What happened after that with the Republicans and Democrats? Because some people like to say Republicans and Democrats "switched parties" in the 60s, and so that sounds like it would make those Republican Robber Barrons after the Civil War be today's Democrats.

Fort Sumter is definitely a place to make one carefully think about both sides of the war. It was a sad time for our nation. While I believe neither side was clearly in the right, I am glad we were able to remain one nation.

I plan on visiting Ft. Sumter in April. Since I do not have access to a private way of getting there, I am limited to the hour the public tour allows. This will be my third time going. I know I will learn even more about our history.