In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released Tuesday, roughly one in four Americans said they sympathize more with the Confederacy than the Union, a figure that rises to nearly four in ten among white Southerners.Slavery was not the main reason the Confederate states left the Union? Bullshit. Ok, I guess maybe it was states' rights. The states' rights to consider people property! The GOP is an embarrassment.
When asked the reason behind the Civil War, whether it was fought over slavery or states' rights, 52 percent of all Americas said the leaders of the Confederacy seceded to keep slavery legal in their state, but a sizeable 42 percent minority said slavery was not the main reason why those states seceded.
"The results of that question show that there are still racial, political and geographic divisions over the Civil War that still exists a century and a half later," CNN Polling Director Holland Keating said.
When broken down by political party, most Democrats said southern states seceded over slavery, independents were split and most Republicans said slavery was not the main reason that Confederate states left the Union.
Republicans were also most likely to say they admired the leaders of the southern states during the Civil War, with eight in 10 Republicans expressing admiration for the leaders in the South, virtually identical to the 79 percent of Republicans who admired the northern leaders during the Civil War.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Still Fighting the Civil War
Via Yglesias and others, a CNN poll:
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My favorite history teacher made a compelling arguement that the civil war was not fought over slavery or state's rights but over money. Slavery was the basis of the South's sole economic base (cotton) and the industrial North threatened that base with tarrifs and a significant trade deficit. The tarrifs were passed by the Federal government and infringed on the rights of the Southern states to control international commerce.
ReplyDeleteA common arguement I have heard is that the majority of the men fighting for the South were not slave holders, less than 10% of the South owned slaves. However, the men fighting believed in the possibility of buying some slaves and becoming one of the landed rich.
The right of the states to control exports didn't work with the original US (Pre-Constitutional) Confederacy, why did the Southerners think it would work then?
I believe money was at the root of the Civil War. Slavery, as the cornerstone of the Southern economy and state's rights (tarrifs) are key monetary factors leading to the dissolution of the Union.
I could be wrong, but I would be happy to argue it over a beer.
Money WAS at the root of the civil war, as almost all the capital investment in the South was in slaves, and the election of Abraham Lincoln caused the South to believe that that capital was going to go to nothing. Whereas the North had invested capital in manufacturing and transportation.
ReplyDeleteHowever one slices it, slavery and the attempt to continue slavery was the heart of secession. Anyone who makes any other case is trying to downplay the role of slavery.
I do not look forward to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the treason of the people of the South against our nation, and the pro-Confederate orations of so many people today. Here is an interesting link I saw today. I think it is stretching a little, but it is still interesting.
http://www.correntewire.com/truth_about_confederacy
It was one of Naked Capitalism's links today. I considered highlighting it.