[quote=briansd1][quote=Allan from Fallbrook] My son and his classmates were told that the Civil War was fought over slavery (it wasn’t), and nary a mention of the real reasons behind the war.
[/quote]
That’s debatable.
Although some would arque the the Civil War was over state rights, the evidence is that the war was indeed over slavery.
I happen to think that economics trumps all other issues. And without slavery, the South had no economy.[/quote]
Brian: Debatable? Not from the Northern point of view. The war started in 1861, but the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t signed until 1863. Bluntly stated, the North really didn’t give much of a shit about slavery, and Lincoln’s own writings and speeches confirm this.
This was the collision of two competing cultures: A rapidly industrializing North and the South, which was wholly dependent on King Cotton. You’re correct about economics trumping all else, and it did in this case, but for different reasons.
None of those different reasons are discussed in class anymore, however. We’re too busy focusing on self-esteem and thinking good thoughts and not using hurtful words.
