At 03:13 PM 3/1/2004 -0600 Dan Minette wrote:
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Julia Thompson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Some of those doing the fighting were fighting for states' rights, so
>> arguably it was *fought* over that.
>>
>> A lot of those in the South put their state above the nation. Lee
>> wouldn't fight for the Union because his Virginia was part of the
>> Confederacy.
Dan pretty much beat me to this, but I wanted to phrase essentially what he
was saying in simpler terms.
A friend of mine and I recently had a long discussion regarding the
motivations of the "ordinary Confederate soldier" with an outstanding NPS
Ranger at Richmond National Battlefield - Cold Harbor a couple weekends
ago.
He pointed out that every white Southerner knew that he was fighting to
defend a system that ensured that no matter how low you were, no matter how
much you messed up, in this system you were always "better" than every
single black man.
In addition, while it is true that most white Southerners did not own
slaves, a great majority of them were likely employed by, had very close
family members employed by, or otherwise commercially relied upon the
business of - the local slave-holding plantation owner. Thus, it is fair
to say that a majority of white Southerners were part of the "slave
economy", even if not owning slaves directly.
Thus, even for the rank-and-file of the Confederate army it is pretty safe
to say that they were "fighting for slavery", even if this would not be
specifically articulated in their own minds.
JDG
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
