Lincoln was anti-slavery but he was not an abolitionist. As indicated in his famous statement, saving the union was his top priority.
Slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War. Only Southern states allowed slavery. It is virtually impossible to conceive of there ever having been a Civil War without slavery. Yes, there were other issues that aggrevated the South, but none of them had the clout that slavery had. No other issue had the power to split the nation like slavery did, and cause families to take up arms against each other.
Preservation of the union and ending slavery were two sides of the same coin. Inexorably intertwined, not to be separated. These are Lincoln's words, at his second inauguration in 1864: Lincoln's second inaugural address You had to admire Lincoln's ability to communicate, in a fashion we know nothing of today. So eloquent and concise. His second inaugural couldn't have taken 10 minutes to give. After some of his speeches, like the Gettysburg Address, reports are that people were just stunned by the concise ability to get right to the crux of the matter, with power and eloquence. When you go to the Lincoln Memorial, you are stuck by the silence. There are always lots of people there, and its quiet. As I recall, on the left is the Gettysburg Address, and on the right is his second inaugural address. You read them, and just say to yourself, this man was a genius of some kind.
i happened to be flicking through the channels and caught a fake documentary on the South winning the war.In the mockumentary there were commercials.They were to say the least thought provoking and disturbing. By William Shunn The year is 2004. A controversial documentary produced by the British Broadcasting Service is airing on network television, completely uncut, for the first time on these shores. The documentary recounts the rise of the Confederate States of America as viewed from the outside, stripped of domestic whitewash. The story is familiar to any American schoolchild. In 1862, with the War of Northern Aggression in full swing, Confederate President Jefferson Davis dispatches his secretary of state, Judah P. Benjamin, across the Atlantic to plead with England and France for military support. By casting the war as an issue of freedom and states' rights rather than one of slavery, Benjamin manages to sway public opinion in Europe. With British and French troops on their flanks, Gen. Robert E. Lee wins a decisive victory at Gettysburg in July of 1863 and turns the tide of the war. http://www.scifi.com/sfw/screen/sfw12291.html Some of the commercials in this movie which i thought were fake ,were real products.Here is just one example...Coon chicken Inn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJpDnjOpUbA
The war being fought primarily over slavery is one of the greatest myths perpetuated by American historians. Only a small minority of Southrons owned slaves, and the popular will of the people would not have shelled out the overwhelming support for the war to help rich folks keep their slaves. As you stated Lincoln was not an abolitionist. The states were not pushed to secession upon fears of abolition. Maryland, Deleware, Kentucky, and what became West Virginia, certainly were not afraid of abolition. The divergence of econimic interests between the industrial north and the aggrarian south was the true primary cause of the war. Slavery was only a symptom of the cause.
I never heard of this show, but I wasn't surprised to see that one of the great race-baiters of our generation, Spike Lee, was heavily involved. The idea that the South would still have a slave-based economy in the 21st Century, with QVC-style TV channels devoted to selling slaves ("and as always, we'll sell Kunta with his family, or break them up!") made me want to vomit.
I agree .I had a few problems with this movie.First ,even if the South wins , I don't think the entire united states becomes the confederate states of america.Second,I think slavery dies out before the turn of the century even if the south wins. I was surprised to see so many commercials that were for actual products that had existed.Darkie toothpaste,Sambo axel grease,gold dust twins soap were just a few examples of things that were uncomfortable to watch .
