My personal mixed feelings about the Confederate flag removal

[nat4900]

I have no lost love for the Confederate flag and since this symbol has been hijacked by racists, perhaps it is best to take it down from public venues.

My problem, however, is with the many pundits who are vehemently stating that the bloody Civil War was JUST about the perpetuation of slavery. As an amateur reader of hundreds of CW books and diaries, my own conclusion is that...yes, slavery was a factor in the secession, but not the only factor.

It is estimated that only about 3 to 4 % of soldiers who fought for the South were actual slave owners; true, war is usually left up to the young and the poor, but many southerners also fought for the idea of states' rights over the dominance of a federal government.

We must bear in mind that the union was still relatively young in the 1850-60s and that many, such as Robert E. Lee, chose to identify himself more as a Virginian than a Federalist.

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[MarathonMike]

It's always nice to read a post from someone who knows his history.

 

[IsaacNewton]

The South went to war to maintain an economy based on slavery. There is nothing noble about that.

You are saying they fought for the right of states to tell the federal government, "we have the right to have any economy we want, including one based on slavery".

The two cannot be separated. They could have said, "we'll stop slavery but you aren't going to tell us how to run our economy". Why couldn't they? Because their economy was irretractibly intertwined with slavery. It in fact was the fabric of their economy.

You can't make these things noble.

 

[blackhawk]

I have no lost love for the Confederate flag and since this symbol has been hijacked by racists, perhaps it is best to take it down from public venues.

My problem, however, is with the many pundits who are vehemently stating that the bloody Civil War was JUST about the perpetuation of slavery. As an amateur reader of hundreds of CW books and diaries, my own conclusion is that...yes, slavery was a factor in the secession, but not the only factor.

It is estimated that only about 3 to 4 % of soldiers who fought for the South were actual slave owners; true, war is usually left up to the young and the poor, but many southerners also fought for the idea of states' rights over the dominance of a federal government.

We must bear in mind that the union was still relatively young in the 1850-60s and that many, such as Robert E. Lee, chose to identify himself more as a Virginian than a Federalist.

.

This is one the rare occasions we are in bipartisan agreement.

 

[nat4900]

You are saying they fought for the right of states to tell the federal government, "we have the right to have any economy we want, including one based on slavery".

Well, not quite. The way you're phrasing it refutes my original premise; i.e., that the war was SOLELY over slavery.
As I stated above, the union was relatively young and the issue of states' rights versus a federal authority was still a thorny one and the south felt that what Washington D.C. mandated did not always address the needs of a Texan or Alabaman.
By the way, perhaps the best way to analyze the conviction for the war by the north, may be the late enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation.....not at the beginning of the conflict but toward the last year of the war.

 

[nat4900]

BTW, the institution of slavery is, without doubt, an evil one and if I thought that the taking down of the Confederate flag would be a major step toward the eradication of racism, I'd be all for it......But it is not that simple and my friends on the left well know this..

 

[BlindBoo]

slavery was a factor in the secession, but not the only factor.

But it was the main factor. Without it there would have been no need for secession.

 

[BlindBoo]

an economy based on slavery. There is nothing noble about that.

But put into historical perspective slavery of one sort or another had existed mostly forever in our history so we shouldn't expect them to live up our modern morals. Farming was/is hard work without power equipment.

 

[nat4900]

But it was the main factor. Without it there would have been no need for secession.

I disagree...........As I stated in the O/P only about 3-4% of confederate soldiers owned slaves (and those 3-4% were probably all officers)............It would be very hard to get southerners to fight as effectively as they did for so many years for a concept (slavery) which they did not partake in.

 

[blackhawk]

I was flipping around on the TV and ran accross reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard and they hadn't edited out the Confederate flag on the roof of the car the General Lee. I wonder how they let that slip by?