May I quote you Mr. Lincoln

       Last Friday, our Sons of Confederate Veterans camp had Carl Jones speaking to us about the constitution and what it had to do with the War Between the States. For anyone who hasn't heard Carl talk, you have missed out. The man understands the U.S. Constitution better than most constitutional lawyers or supreme court justice's. During the course of the talk, we got on the topic of Ole Abe Lincoln and what he truly believed. It inspired me to write a blog using a few of his quotes to come to a conclusion of what the war was truly about. 

       We'll begin with dear Abraham speaking on the floor of congress on January 12, 1848. All italics in these quotes are mine.

       "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. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right, a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which a whole people of an existing government, may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people that can, may revolutionize, and make their own, of so much of the territory as they inhabit."

       As far as Lincoln waging war on the South because of his love for the African slaves, let's see what he says about them on September 18, 1858, just two years before the conflict begins. 

       "I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social or political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negro's, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people." 

       What does he say just before the war begins in a speech a group of northerners who opposed slavery. This was stated by Lincoln on February 27, 1860 in New York City. 

       "Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to let it alone where it is, because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation."

       What did he mean by the necessity of is presence in the nation. Lincoln was no idiot. He understood that if he freed the slaves upon taking office, he would ruin half the nations economy and that half was the one paying eighty-five percent of the Federal taxes at the time. 

       Let's take a look at a few quotes from his first inaugural address and see what we can learn about Abe Lincoln and his views on freeing the slaves.

       "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."

       So Mr. Lincoln what exactly would lead to war if your not invading the South over slavery?

       "The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government and to collect the duties and imposts (taxes); but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere."

       Now we get a better understanding. You will have 700,000 of your countrymen slain and many more disabled for the love of money. Can you tell what you your reply was when suggested by a member of your own cabinet to just allow the South to leave in peace?

       "Let the South go? Where then would we get our revenue?"

       Let us look at a speech that Mr. Lincoln gave to a group of freed blacks on August 14, 1862 so we can understand how you truly view the black race.

       "You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated."

       Eight days following this speech, what exactly did you write and say to Horace Greeley the New York newspaper editor. 

       "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could do by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that."

       This last quote I am posting is not by Mr. Lincoln, but by that newspaper editor that Lincoln was writing to above. 

       "If the Declaration of Independence justified the secession of 3,000,000 colonists in 1776, why did it not justify the secession of 5,000,000 Southerners from the Union in 1861?"

       That's a very good question. It's too bad ole Abe's not around to explain it to us. Wait, I believe he can. I refer you to the reply he gave to his cabinet member earlier in this post. "Where would we get our revenue?"

       

       

       

       

The Civil War was only fought for Slavery, money had nothing to do with it?

The Greatest President ever?

       I recently visited several Civil War blogs and only one have I had an argument with. Brooke Simpson has a blog called 'Crossroads' and he is one of those New England (historians you might say) who believes the South was entirely wrong and the North was entirely right. He refers to the Southerners who believe the war was a result of anything other than slavery as Neo-Confederates and we are all ignorant rednecks. 

       I attempted to discuss the war with Mr. Simpson in a polite way, but he refused to talk unless I agreed with everything he wrote. He then said that he didn't recognize me as a student of his and therefore I didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He asked me in a nice way to leave his blog by saying "thanks for stopping by" and therefore since I'm from Alabama, I'm an ignorant redneck. He is correct by assuming I'm not one of his students. I have over 400 books on the War Between the States and I'm no "ignorant redneck" as he believes. 

       He asked me to prove in my blog that the war was over something besides slavery. Mr. Simpson has led readers to believe he has a doctors degree. He even has to correct one writer with the fact that he has a masters degree. I have only three years of college and yet I can assure Mr. Simpson that I have read far more books than he has on that war. 

       Here is my side of the argument. I will not lower myself to the level of saying I don't believe slavery had anything to do with the war, yet unlike Mr. Simpson, I won't try and convince you that the war was entirely over the holy North waging a war against the South because slavery was wrong. As a Christian I believe slavery is wrong and would never own another human being. I have enough common sense to know that the war was fought over much more than slavery. If the war was fought over slavery, then someone needs to explain to me why 190,000 blacks fought in the Confederate Army.

       If money had nothing to do with the war, then someone needs to explain the tariff issue to me. The arguments over tariff's had begun in the early 1800's. In 1828, the Tariff of Abominations was passed through Congress. Things began to heat up and in 1832, Congress passed another tariff that was intended to calm South Carolina, but it was too little, too late. South Carolina declared these tariff's null and void according to the Constitution of the United States. The constitution gave the Federal government the right to regulate commerce, coin money and defend the national boundaries. 

       As soon as the Southern states left the Union (a right that had been taught at West Point in 1828), the United States Congress passed the Morrill Tariff. Passage was possible because many low-tariff Southerners had left Congress after their states declared their secession. The Morrill Tariff raised rates to protect and encourage industry and the high wages of industrial workers. Two additional tariffs sponsored by Morrill, each one higher, were passed during Abraham Lincoln's administration. The high rates of the Morrill tariff inaugurated a period of continuous trade protection in the United States that lasted until the Underwood Tariff of 1913. In its first year of operation, the Morrill Tariff increased the effective rate collected on dutiable imports by approximately 70%.

       According to Mr. Simpson the above had nothing to do with the war. It is just a coincidence that the passage of a high tariff occurred during the war while the Southern Congressmen were absent. But, let's see if slavery really ended with the defeat of the South in 1865 as Mr. Simpson would want you to believe. Here is a quote from wikipedia on slavery. "A few captives from other tribes who were used as slaves were not freed when African-American slaves were emancipated. Ute Woman, a Ute captured by the Arapaho and later sold to a Cheyenne, was one example. Used as a prostitute for sale to American soldiers at Cantonment in the Indian Territory, she lived in slavery until about 1880 when she died of a hemorrhage resulting from 'excessive sexual intercourse'."

       So, in the New England world of ignoring what really happened in this nations past the above never happened. The South, along with the American Indians deserved what they got because they did not bow down to the almighty Federal government. According to Mr. Simpson, money had nothing to do with the war and because I'm not one of his students, I have no idea what I'm talking about.