Oklahomahawk
Boras' Client
I would love to join this conversation but I've often found that my qualifications (such as they are) for this type of discussion really haven't done me any good here. I do have a few questions for you guys, with a couple of caveats.
1.) Shelby Foote said something along the lines of, "The Southern states would never have entered into the Union had they not believed they could leave it if they saw fit at some point". I totally agree though I have always felt that secession was a really dumb move on their part.
2.) If the North was the shining beacon of freedom, hope, and all things Christ-like, as they claimed to be (then and now) why did New York state seriously consider seceding from the Union at the beginning of the conflict?
3.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did Lincoln have to go on an all out "full court pressure" tour of Congress to try and change the mind of enough members of Congress to get the 13th amendment passed.
4.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did Lincoln go to bed the night before the vote on the 13th amendment VERY unsure and nervous of how the vote was gonna go the next day?
5.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why didn't the Radical Republicans (that's what they were called at the time, don't blame me) not follow through with pretty much anything regarding the treatment of former slaves in the post-war South?
6.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did Congress go back on General Sherman's promise of "40 acres and a mule" to the former slaves after the war?
7.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did the millions of dollars passed by Congress to try and rebuild the South never make it anywhere past the coffers of the wealthiest Northerners?
And just as a change of pace:
1.) Legally speaking about how many slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation?
2.) It has already been pointed out that while Lincoln hated slavery and wanted the slaves freed, he absolutely DID NOT believe in anything approaching social equality between the races. Would the great emancipator really feel this way?
3.) Why were the Northern prison camps every bit as bad as Andersonville, which by the way got that Commandant hanged for war crimes (or whatever they called it back then)?
4.) If you don't like the hanging of Major Andre (and you probably shouldn't) I have two words (and a letter) for you. David O. Dodd.
5.) During the Muckraking Era, (roughly the first decade of the 20th century) a man named Ray Baker wrote a book called Following the Color Line, in which his research noted that as of 1908 about 90% of black people still lived in the South. If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, wouldn't 43 years be long enough to get that percentage a lot closer to 50-50?
6.) Why do Northerners want to hang all the rebels as traitors and condemn all slaveholders to death but give a 100% pass to the Founding Fathers who did the same thing?
OK, this ought to keep everybody busy blasting me, at least for a while. I'll check back later once I dig my helmet and Kevlar out of my closet. I might even ask to share someone's bunker if you guys know anybody who has one?
1.) Shelby Foote said something along the lines of, "The Southern states would never have entered into the Union had they not believed they could leave it if they saw fit at some point". I totally agree though I have always felt that secession was a really dumb move on their part.
2.) If the North was the shining beacon of freedom, hope, and all things Christ-like, as they claimed to be (then and now) why did New York state seriously consider seceding from the Union at the beginning of the conflict?
3.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did Lincoln have to go on an all out "full court pressure" tour of Congress to try and change the mind of enough members of Congress to get the 13th amendment passed.
4.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did Lincoln go to bed the night before the vote on the 13th amendment VERY unsure and nervous of how the vote was gonna go the next day?
5.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why didn't the Radical Republicans (that's what they were called at the time, don't blame me) not follow through with pretty much anything regarding the treatment of former slaves in the post-war South?
6.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did Congress go back on General Sherman's promise of "40 acres and a mule" to the former slaves after the war?
7.) If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, why did the millions of dollars passed by Congress to try and rebuild the South never make it anywhere past the coffers of the wealthiest Northerners?
And just as a change of pace:
1.) Legally speaking about how many slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation?
2.) It has already been pointed out that while Lincoln hated slavery and wanted the slaves freed, he absolutely DID NOT believe in anything approaching social equality between the races. Would the great emancipator really feel this way?
3.) Why were the Northern prison camps every bit as bad as Andersonville, which by the way got that Commandant hanged for war crimes (or whatever they called it back then)?
4.) If you don't like the hanging of Major Andre (and you probably shouldn't) I have two words (and a letter) for you. David O. Dodd.
5.) During the Muckraking Era, (roughly the first decade of the 20th century) a man named Ray Baker wrote a book called Following the Color Line, in which his research noted that as of 1908 about 90% of black people still lived in the South. If the North was such a beacon of freedom, yada yada yada, wouldn't 43 years be long enough to get that percentage a lot closer to 50-50?
6.) Why do Northerners want to hang all the rebels as traitors and condemn all slaveholders to death but give a 100% pass to the Founding Fathers who did the same thing?
OK, this ought to keep everybody busy blasting me, at least for a while. I'll check back later once I dig my helmet and Kevlar out of my closet. I might even ask to share someone's bunker if you guys know anybody who has one?
