Re: [DL] Freeing the Slaves

["Mr. Christopher McGlothlin, M.Ed." <sosentinel@adelphia.net>]

At 01:17 AM 8/1/2002, Mr. Peter Berard wrote:
>But weren't the policymakers interested in keeping slavery alive?

         Yes, they were the >10% I referred to earlier.

>  And
>couldn't policymakers dupe the great amount of people into fighting for them?
>
>Just a suggestion.

         And not an unreasonable one, but one the historical record does 
not support. Initially, there was considerable resistance to secession--in 
fact, in some areas, it never went away (western Virginia and east 
Tennessee are the best, but far from the only, examples).
         It would have remained so, had it not been for one event. Lincoln 
deserves a lot of credit for many things, but his call for armed volunteers 
after Fort Sumter saved the Confederacy. This ham-fisted gesture changed 
The War from "Greedy Southern aristocrats want to keep their slaves" to 
"protect our homes and families" for the vast majority of Southerners. Most 
critically, it directly led to the secession of six more States, and pushed 
Robert E. Lee to choose the Gray instead of the Blue.
         There are many books on the subject, but George C. Rable's _The 
Confederate Republic_ is my personal favorite. I highly recommend it if 
you're interested in exploring this topic.

Deo Vindice,
Mr. Christopher L. McGlothlin, M.Ed.

Educator & Freelance RPG Writer
Member, Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design
Moderator of the New Gamers Order Listserver

"Look upon me! I'll show you the life of the mind!"
--Charlie Meadows (John Goodman), _Barton Fink_