8 dead in SC church shooting

[BmorePat87]

(06-24-2015, 11:16 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: We're not talking about the Stars and Bars here, we're talking about the Southern Cross.

There was an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch recently that touched on some of the things going on around us. We're having the battle flag removed from license plates here and we will likely see removals of the flag in other places. There were some that made mention of the statues around the state of Confederate leaders and how they view them the same way. Streets, schools, etc. The thing is that these men weren't fighting to maintain slavery.

R.E. Lee is as contradictory on the topic as Jefferson, but his fight was because his state had seceded. Jackson, Lee's right hand man for much of the war, was opposed to the institution and while he owned slaves for a portion of his life the records indicated they were not treated as such. He also established a school for them (illegally) and was a proponent of their literacy. These men were fighting in defense of Virginia, not in defense of slavery. Most of the men hoisting the muskets to their shoulders were not likely to ever own slaves themselves and they held no more prejudice towards people of color than those in the north.

The slavery aspect of the Civil War was the game of the politicians. Even so it is interesting to think of it in such a way because Lincoln wasn't going to emancipate the slaves and said as much. He knew how catastrophic that would be to the country and so was willing to take a more moderate approach to things. Anyway, it was about slavery to the politicians, but to the thousands upon thousands that made the grass red through the war on behalf of the CSA it was about defending their homes. They did not, and still do not, see secession as a treasonous act. They saw, and still see, the federal government as the aggressive force. They were no more criminals than the colonists during the American Revolution and are only seen as such because their revolution was not successful. Had the colonists failed during their war for independence history would be viewing our entire country the same way the North views the South.

Thanks for the clarification. Forgot that "stars and bars" is used for the actual Confederate Flag. I understand that most Southerners could not afford to own slaves and that they incorrectly believed the Union was the aggressor, but that really doesn't excuse them. It's really not different from the "just following orders" excuse for Nazis. I mean... they believed the Jews were to blame for their economic woes...