I have been asked to respond to several questions. Besides being very controversial, several are very difficult, I have decided to respond from me not the textbooks. Up front one is me being a smart butt! The first question “Was why did the South secede”? That has been debated since the day they seceded. Face Book has been limiting the size of posts so if I have to continue I’ll use the question adding part II, etc. Here is what South Carolina said, “AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled The Constitution of the United States of America. We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, That the ordinance adopted by us in convention on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved. Done at Charleston the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty”. Source: Official Records, Ser. IV, vol. 1, p. 1. Here is What I Really Said in the Cornerstone Speech Alexander Hamilton Stephens ‘As for my Savanna speech, about which so much has been said and in regrd to which I am represented as setting forth slavery as the corner-stone of the Confederacy, it is proper for me to state that that speech was extemporaneous, the reporters notes, which were very imperfect, were hastily corrected by me; and were published without further revision and with several glaring errors. “…. (Slavery was without doubt the occasion of secession; out of it rose the breach of compact, for instance, on the part of several Northern States in refusing to comply with Constitutional obligations as to rendition of fugitives from service, a course betraying total disregard for all constitutional barriers and guarantees.)…”’ EDITED by ME “Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens”, 1910 And John Gordon stated in part: Causes of the Civil War Reminiscences Of The Civil War, (Chapter I) By John B. Gordon, Maj. Gen. CSA “There is no book in existence, I believe, in which the ordinary reader can find an analysis of the issues between the two sections, which fairly represents both the North and the South. Although it would require volumes to contain the great arguments, I shall attempt here to give a brief summary of the causes of our sectional controversy, and it will be my purpose to state the cases of the two sections so impartially that just-minded people on both sides will admit the statement to be judicially fair. If asked what was the real issue involved in our unparalleled conflict, the average American citizen will reply, The negro; and it is fair to say that had there been no slavery there would have been no war. No other proof, however, is needed than the undeniable fact that at any period of the war from its beginning to near its close the South could have saved slavery by simply laying down its arms and returning to the Union. The South maintained with the depth of religious conviction that the Union formed under the Constitution was a Union of consent and not of force; that the original States were not the creatures but the creators of the Union; that these States had gained their independence, their freedom, and their sovereignty from the mother country, and had not surrendered these on entering the Union; that by the express terms of the Constitution all rights and powers not delegated were reserved to the States; and the South challenged the North to find one trace of authority in that Constitution for invading and coercing a sovereign State”. EDITED by ME Then John Mosby I always understood that we went to War on account of the thing we quarreled with the North about. I never heard of any other cause of quarrel than slavery. I am not ashamed that my family were slaveholders. The South went to war on account of slavery. I am not as honored for having fought on the side of slavery--a soldier fights for his country the South was my country. Mosby 1907 So while I appreciate these of you who think my opinion counts, I assure you with all my heart and soul not to mention the fact my wife assures me I don’t have an opinion; the last thing anyone you should be doing is listening to me. My only goal is to get “you” to look for the truth, research, read the pro and the con of the authors (I swear to you each of them has many good and educational things to say, just realize they are human and make mistakes). Please don’t allow your hearts to run roughshod over commonsense and your brains. The more I read and the more I understand I find myself asking if the argument over why we fought might not be anything more than an understanding of words; definitions; explanations or views? I am not sure I can put into words what I mean but allow me to try. What if slavery and States’ rights are one in the same? A conception still very much alive and well in the South even today, Southroners seem to feel a strong central government is the worst thing besides Microsoft Vista, They don’t care if it is slavery, gun rights, taxes it is no ones business besides theirs. Lincoln never intended to take the slaves in fact he promised us unlimited usage but we refused, why was that? I think it was a multitude of things, tariffs, taxes, slaves, whisky, Mexico really anything they (I don’t say Southroners because I don’t feel they were alone in this argument. I think the rich; many a religious view and especially these in the Government both North and South did not want a compromise, I think some wanted war and all of them wanted to be rich. “…southerners’ realization that Congress was passing laws literally codifying protection of northern factories and merchants prompted Thomas Cooper, president of South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina), to ask, “Is it worth our while to continue this union of states, where the North demand to be our master?” “Are we to exist in the union merely as an object of taxation?” You have seen the recent studies about percentage of slave owners and they make a big deal out of it; “Southerners cannot admit to the truth a good example is slave ownership they try to deflect the reason for the war by lying...”. They now claim we all profited from slavery that is strange when nowhere else in the world did slavery show a profit for anyone outside the slave trade in fact it held the rest of society back. If I with my slaves could keep the practice of leather work down with cheap labor it would certainly be true you profited from buying a piece at a discount but would that make up for price and demand if I could sell a piece for more profit and you are in competition and due to fancy work you raise your price. That money we are pumping into the economy would benefit a much larger part of society. Does it make any sense? It should explain many things. At the end we were willing to grant the black his freedom yet they claim we cannot see the truth, when “If you tell the truth, you dont have to remember anything.”. So, why did we secede? Was it over tariffs? Yes! Was it over States Rights? Yes! Was it over Slavery? Yes? Was it over big money? YES! Before you get the rail to run me out of town again, can I feed my dogs? The last time it took me two days to walk back home. Gary.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 15:24:58 +0000
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