The Civil War News & Views Open Discussion Forum

Re: Americans divided
In Response To: Re: Americans divided ()

I begin to understand why we take opposite side on so many issues. You’re using supposed events from 150 years ago to support an interpretation of contemporary American politics. You object to use of the term “Southern Rights” because it doesn’t fit your interpretations of the American past.

Like it or not, during the 1850s “Southern Rights” was the top issue for our ancestors. It largely meant equal protection and equal treatment under the law. You wrote,

Your narrowly focused responce fails to point out the common element in each of these issues, and that was the rule of law was being violated, and trust in the United States Government, that laws would be enforced fairly and equally was being eroded in each case.

Discussion of actual American history might be "narrowly focused" somewhere else. May I remind you, this is a Civil War message board, and Southern Rights issues were highly important to our ancestors. Other people may want to discuss real issues from the 1850s. In that case, Southern Rights should be reviewed and examined, not automatically rejected.

Edward, if you would stop to actually consider Southern Rights, that’s almost exactly what you wrote in the paragraph above. Those words and words much like yours were often repeated during the 1850s. When the Democratic Party split in 1860, convention members who nominated John C. Breckinridge for President called themselves “Southern Rights” Democrats.

Here’s their platform –
http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/1860_(Southern)_Democratic_Party_Platform

Southern Rights also included issues such as the acquisition of Cuba as a slave state. That might not easily be shoe-horned into your views of current-day politics &c. If so, I am not bothered.

Edward, does the title Bedford Forrest and His Critter Company sound familiar? Andrew Lytle published it in 1931, so nobody can describe Lytle as a 'modern-day revisionist.' The author opens with a chapter on events leading up to the war. If you have access to this book, please read Lytle's first chapter.

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