With so much outrage right now about the Confederate flag, I thought these facts below are interesting. This is not a thread to debate if the flag should fly over a government building, etc.. What has been bothering me is that I know that today's society seems to agree that the South fought for slavery, and the North against it--a black and white issue (pun intended). That is false.
Whether the flag should come down or not can be left for a different debate, but here is some food for thought that the Civil War was not fought solely for the issue of slavery. In fact, Lincoln himself was not necessarily against it, but the Emancipation Proclamation was a strategic move to keep European powers from allying with the South...
On Lincoln and the North
* Lincoln married into a slave-owning family.
* In 1847 Lincoln said, “Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better.”
* During the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln said “I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”
* During Lincoln’s first inaugural address in 1861 he said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” He continued by saying he fully supported the Fugitive Slave laws and that he has never recanted his views but has repeated them many times over.
* Various Union Army reports, including those from Gen. Sherman, talk about the total destruction not only of Southern property but of the Southern people themselves. Gen. Sherman remarked, “to the persistent secessionist, why, death is mercy, and the quicker he or she is disposed of the better.”
* Racism was alive and well in the North. New Jersey banned African Americans from voting in 1807, Connecticut in 1814, Rhode Island in 1822, and Pennsylvania in 1838.
* The New York riots of 1863, which saw the deaths and injuries of over 2,100 people, were the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history aside from the war itself.
* Economics and the fear of lost revenue was a driving factor in the North's invasion of the South.
* Slaves who came under the control of the Union Army were often impressed (forced) to fight and engage in back breaking manual labor, such as in the construction of fortifications.
On the South
* Less than 5% of Southern white men owned slaves.
* The Confederate Constitution explicitly banned the importation of slaves from other countries – the US Constitution did not.
* The first Jewish person to hold a cabinet-level position in any North American country was the Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin.
* The last Confederate General to surrender was Gen. Stand Waite, a Cherokee.
* Thousands of American Indians, African Americans, and other minorities served and fought for the Confederacy, many of whom volunteered.
* There were multiple plans to end slavery after the war was over, indeed, in 1865 the Confederate government officially allowed blacks to serve in the military.
* There were over 260,000 free blacks in the southern states in 1860.
Yes, the Confederacy and the many different Confederate flags are part of our past. However, that past influenced an entire century and in some ways it continues to influence our present. Without the past we would not have our present. The past gives us a foundation and guides our future. Ignoring the past only serves to damage our future. Not recognizing that our past was far more complicated than taught in government funded schools or promoted by the media leads us all down a dangerous path.
People see the American flag as a symbol of freedom and peace. Others see it as a symbol of oppression and war. Likewise, people see different things in the flags of the Confederacy. The racial problems that we face today began over 400 years ago and were ingrained in American life with the adoption of the US Constitution. The Civil War was fought for many reasons, but the idea that every Northerner was fighting to end slavery and bring about true equality is completely false, just as false as the idea that every Southerner was fighting to keep slavery.
Whether the flag should come down or not can be left for a different debate, but here is some food for thought that the Civil War was not fought solely for the issue of slavery. In fact, Lincoln himself was not necessarily against it, but the Emancipation Proclamation was a strategic move to keep European powers from allying with the South...
On Lincoln and the North
* Lincoln married into a slave-owning family.
* In 1847 Lincoln said, “Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better.”
* During the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln said “I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”
* During Lincoln’s first inaugural address in 1861 he said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” He continued by saying he fully supported the Fugitive Slave laws and that he has never recanted his views but has repeated them many times over.
* Various Union Army reports, including those from Gen. Sherman, talk about the total destruction not only of Southern property but of the Southern people themselves. Gen. Sherman remarked, “to the persistent secessionist, why, death is mercy, and the quicker he or she is disposed of the better.”
* Racism was alive and well in the North. New Jersey banned African Americans from voting in 1807, Connecticut in 1814, Rhode Island in 1822, and Pennsylvania in 1838.
* The New York riots of 1863, which saw the deaths and injuries of over 2,100 people, were the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history aside from the war itself.
* Economics and the fear of lost revenue was a driving factor in the North's invasion of the South.
* Slaves who came under the control of the Union Army were often impressed (forced) to fight and engage in back breaking manual labor, such as in the construction of fortifications.
On the South
* Less than 5% of Southern white men owned slaves.
* The Confederate Constitution explicitly banned the importation of slaves from other countries – the US Constitution did not.
* The first Jewish person to hold a cabinet-level position in any North American country was the Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin.
* The last Confederate General to surrender was Gen. Stand Waite, a Cherokee.
* Thousands of American Indians, African Americans, and other minorities served and fought for the Confederacy, many of whom volunteered.
* There were multiple plans to end slavery after the war was over, indeed, in 1865 the Confederate government officially allowed blacks to serve in the military.
* There were over 260,000 free blacks in the southern states in 1860.
Yes, the Confederacy and the many different Confederate flags are part of our past. However, that past influenced an entire century and in some ways it continues to influence our present. Without the past we would not have our present. The past gives us a foundation and guides our future. Ignoring the past only serves to damage our future. Not recognizing that our past was far more complicated than taught in government funded schools or promoted by the media leads us all down a dangerous path.
People see the American flag as a symbol of freedom and peace. Others see it as a symbol of oppression and war. Likewise, people see different things in the flags of the Confederacy. The racial problems that we face today began over 400 years ago and were ingrained in American life with the adoption of the US Constitution. The Civil War was fought for many reasons, but the idea that every Northerner was fighting to end slavery and bring about true equality is completely false, just as false as the idea that every Southerner was fighting to keep slavery.
