April is Confederate History Month (Decatur, White: transplants, to live, assess)

[Tdiddy0027]

Originally Posted by stars&bars

I do like honoring the Confederate soldiers for the cause they fought for,so I guess you have a problem on your hands?

The problem exists, but it doesn't lie in me, it lies in you. Let's have a little history lesson. When our country was founded, we were an agrarian economy and many of the founding fathers were southern so..slavery was conveniently overlooked. The north became more industrialized while the south created an agricultural, slave based economy. By the early days of the 19th century, there was a call by some for abolition (mainly from folks up north) which helped create a harsh cultural divide between states rights but it was honestly a call for the right own slaves- human chattek. When Abe Lincoln was elected, the southern states seceded from the union one by one out of fear that he would abolish slavery.
So- you can beat around the bush all you want but you can't avoid the fact that the civil war and everything leading up to it was based on slavery. Yes, that was the culture of the day and many men fought valiantly for a cause that was ingrained in their heads but today we all should realize that the concept of slavery was immoral in every sense of the word. Why should we honor this? Many good German men fought bravely for de fuhrer but what would the world say if Germany celebrated Nazi history month? Why should America do the same?

[Motion]

The problem I see with this and comparing a Confederate history month to those of others is that this makes it seem as if the Confederacy was right and they fought the Civil War for some noble reasons. Basically during this month isn't it going to have to be taught that the Confederates were wrong on slavery and wrong for breaking from the union? So what's to celebrate exactly?

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Tdiddy0027

The problem exists, but it doesn't lie in me, it lies in you. Let's have a little history lesson. When our country was founded, we were an agrarian economy and many of the founding fathers were southern so..slavery was conveniently overlooked. The north became more industrialized while the south created an agricultural, slave based economy. By the early days of the 19th century, there was a call by some for abolition (mainly from folks up north) which helped create a harsh cultural divide between states rights but it was honestly a call for the right own slaves- human chattek. When Abe Lincoln was elected, the southern states seceded from the union one by one out of fear that he would abolish slavery.
So- you can beat around the bush all you want but you can't avoid the fact that the civil war and everything leading up to it was based on slavery. Yes, that was the culture of the day and many men fought valiantly for a cause that was ingrained in their heads but today we all should realize that the concept of slavery was immoral in every sense of the word. Why should we honor this? Many good German men fought bravely for de fuhrer but what would the world say if Germany celebrated Nazi history month? Why should America do the same?

A very common (and incorrect) myth. Not to say that the concept of slavery is abhorrent to any decent human being, but the core issue of the War Between The States was State's Rights, not slavery. The southern states strongly felt that the federal government did not have the constitutional authority to dictate a abolitionist policy, and resented the precedent of the feds interfering in matters of state law.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Motion

The problem I see with this and comparing a Confederate history month to those of others is that this makes it seem as if the Confederacy was right and they fought the Civil War for some noble reasons. Basically during this month isn't it going to have to be taught that the Confederates were wrong on slavery and wrong for breaking from the union? So what's to celebrate exactly?

LD just posted a good response.

I'm certain that there is a transcript of the legislators' reasons for this decision if anyone needs to know more.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

A very common (and incorrect) myth. Not to say that the concept of slavery is abhorrent to any decent human being, but the core issue of the War Between The States was State's Rights, not slavery. The southern states strongly felt that the federal government did not have the constitutional authority to dictate a abolitionist policy, and resented the precedent of the feds interfering in matters of state law.

Yup, and even today the legality of the Confederacy's actions prior to the Civil War are not completely clear. They might have been, they might not have been. There appear to be substantive arguments on both sides of the issue, at least from the moderate amount of reading I've done on the subject.

[skelo31]

They fought because the South's economy was totally different than the North's. The South's depeneded on agriculture. The North's on industrialization. The North was more represented and passed laws that benefited them almost all of the time. This hurt the South's economy, so the South chose to break away and start it's own nation for the benefit of it's citizens. The U.S. constitution does not allow for any state to "break away" from the Union. Therefore the North sent soldiers down South to maintain the Union. That is why the "Civil War" is often called, "The War of Northern Aggression." I'm glad the Souh did not suceed from the Union with that said. I'm proud to be an American!

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by skelo31

They fought because the South's economy was totally different than the North's. The South's depeneded on agriculture. The North's on industrialization. The North was more represented and passed laws that benefited them almost all of the time. This hurt the South's economy, so the South chose to break away and start it's own nation for the benefit of it's citizens. The U.S. constitution does not allow for any state to "break away" from the Union. Therefore the North sent soldiers down South to maintain the Union. That is why the "Civil War" is often called, "The War of Northern Aggression." I'm glad the Souh did not suceed from the Union with that said. I'm proud to be an American!

That's how I feel. That historical period was significant --Learn from the past and go forward. After 911 I certainly became more aware of what was more right than wrong with the US.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

A very common (and incorrect) myth. Not to say that the concept of slavery is abhorrent to any decent human being, but the core issue of the War Between The States was State's Rights, not slavery. The southern states strongly felt that the federal government did not have the constitutional authority to dictate a abolitionist policy, and resented the precedent of the feds interfering in matters of state law.

That's misleading and inaccurate. Not a myth at all.

Sure the states were trying to assert "state's rights" but those rights were centered around slavery. The election of 1860 was all about slavery and the "rights" of southern states to keep slaves. Prior to that several things like the Dred Scott case and changes to the Missouri compromise had come to a head over the years for the north, and the election of Lincoln was "the straw that broke the camel's back" for many southerners who saw him and Republicans as abhorrent to their way of life.

I'm a firm believer in the 10th amendment which has been largely forgotten and abandoned, but I think southerners like to romanticize the causes of the Civil War and pretend that it was a noble and principled cause. I disagree with those assessments, and even if that characterization of the causes and beginning of the war are correct, do we want to celebrate the south starting a rebellion to fight for those "rights" and beliefs, and do we want to celebrate the aftermath of the war and the period from 1865 to 1965 here in the south? It happened, but let's put it away and remember it took place to learn from it, but not celebrate it.

[gaflsc]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Sure the states were trying to assert "state's rights" but those rights were centered around slavery.

Hardly. The state's rights initiative was based upon fair taxation & representation, ideals under which this nation was founded on. Never forget slavery was actively practiced in Pennsylvania, and that the slave trade brought money to owners & investors in places such as Boston & Philly.

I also do believe there's provisions for states to legally break away from the USA in the Articles of Confederation (which is one reason the "C" in CSA means what it did: They followed the letter of the law!).

[Chadro77]

Some say 250,000 Southern Americans died in the Civil War if you include battle deaths, Disease etc. etc. Maybe it was known as CSA at the time but they were still Americans damnit. Alot of Southerners today can trace there roots back to these folks, and they are 100% American. I don't see any problem with putting a month aside to honor their memory. This shouldn't be a state decision though, I think the Federal Government should designate a month to remember the Civil War and ALL the Americans who died fighting it. BOTH sides.