I don’t want to cause Ron Paul any extra grief, but I would note that Ron Paul stated his opposition to Lincoln and the War on national television just a few weeks ago and gave a reasonable answer when he was asked about this. Among other things, he said:
How much would that cost compared to killing 600,000 Americans and where it lingered for 100 years? I mean, the hatred and all that existed. So every other major country in the world got rid of slavery without a civil war.
Those who would like to defend the Unionist cause should ask themselves: “Is there any other conflict where I would view the invading, aggressive party driven by ideology and, among a few, religious fanaticism as the obviously right side?” The story of the War is that it was tragic, in that it was between two flawed peoples (as all peoples are more or less flawed) who warred against one another to the ultimate detriment of both. Moreover, unlike in classical tragedies where the hero is destined to suffer, that conflict was avoidable.
Nowadays, it is possible for some modern historians to see the massacres in the Vendee as a French-on-French ideological “genocide” of sorts, but it seems that we are still a surprisingly long way from coming to terms with our destructive revolutionary experience in the mid-19th century.
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January 17th, 2008 at 8:45 am
OldNewEngland
This isn’t relevant to this exact post, but I’m must say Daniel, I think it’s strange how you observe “the North” as a monolithic entity (or even a polity unto its own). In general, you use the word “Yankee” too easily. I’m a Yankee, born and bred. My family has lived and prospered in the same 50 mile radius since the 17th century. Mom’s DAR, our house is littered with portraits of the old boy presidents (particularly Washington), etc. In short, I’ve got the blueblood of a patriot in me. And I don’t consider Lincoln to be a Yankee in the least. He was a coarse, impoverished farmer from the Midwest. That has nothing to do with the maritime Yankee folk, many of whom cared a great little for the war, even if in the end they accepted it as a necessity (once the thing got on, it wasn’t stopping…).
Sorry if this seems random, it’s just I’ve only just now registered, and I’ve been meaning to say something along these lines for a while now. Peace, and God bless.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Daniel Larison
That’s a fair point. I have tended to lump Northerners together when I’m talking about these things and have too easily reduced “the North” to a certain radical political cause, which is what I’m usually complaining that other people do to various countries, so I should be more careful. My ancestors on one side are mainly New England and New Jersey folk, who likewise did not care for the war. You’re also right about Lincoln. Thanks for pointing these things out.