I got into an interesting discussion with someone recently about the effects of the Civil War in the United States. My friend was adamant about the war being about slavery, and I disagreed with them. I wasn't arguing that slavery wasn't an issue, I was simply pointing out that the war was not started based on slavery, and that the men of the southern states weren't as evil as some people would make them to be. Here are a few pointers in understanding the reasons behind the war.
1. Robert E. Lee, the general for the South, was originally asked to command the Army of the Potomac, on the side of the North. He refused, answering that he was a son of Virginia. He believed that states should have more control, and therefore he sided with the South.
2. When the southern states seceded from the North, constitutionally, Abraham Lincoln could not attack them, which he did not. The South attacked and took Fort Sumter, a Federal Fort. This action sparked the war.
3. One of the largest slave populations was located in Pennsylvania, a state on the side of the North. If the Civil War had begun on the basis of slavery, chances are Pennsylvania would have also seceded.
4. Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address was not made until several years into the war. This was the first major announcement pin pointing the issue of slavery within the country. The South collectively owned the most slaves, therefore freeing part of their population might benefit the North.
5. Economics played a major part in the Civil War. The South, mostly plantations and farms, relied on a working force to produce their crops. The North was far more industrial, setting up factories and having the capability to mass produce weapons. Indentured servants were common in the North, often abused far worse than slaves were, due to immigration from Europe, and therefore a healthy supply of extra hands.
My point is not to downplay the issue of slavery. What is most upsetting however is the common belief that slavery was settled by the Civil War. This was not true. Slavery continued on in other forms, mainly segregation, where the stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks are so important in our history. Slavery is just as important, and we as a people did not focus on that issue until later in our history, finally making strides to stop such a terrible practice.
The Civil War was mainly about states' rights and economics, where brothers fought each other on different sides, all over the issue of government. As often pointed out by some, South Carolina never surrendered. It was a question not of every person's rights, but of our chosen form of government. Slaves fought on both sides, some voluntarily, some ordered to do so. Remember that in the end they fought as men, and were respected by their friends and hated by their enemies the same way that we all are.
War is a terrible thing, but it is a product of who we are. Our constant aggressiveness goes hand in hand with our love and appreciation of the most delicate things. It is the power to destroy such beautiful things that makes us so terrible.
But to lose that aggression is to lose our humanity.
