Rhonda Minden wrote:
Under the Republican Pres Lincoln, they fought to free the s***es, Dems fought to keep them.
Nothing could be farther from the t***h. But many people believe it because history is written by the winners of wars, not by the losers.
I won't get into a long explanation of what caused the war, but will point out a few facts:
S***ery was legal in all the states that seceded plus four that remained in the union.
U.S. Grant owned s***es which he kept until s***ery was abolished in December 1865, eight months after the end of the war, by the 13th amendment. The four s***e states that remained in the union also kept s***es until 12/65.
Lincoln, in his first inauguration address, stated plainly and unequivicably that he had no intention of interferring with s***ery in the states where it was legal.
The Corwin amendment, which had easily enough support in congress and by Lincoln would have been passed if the first seven states to secede would return to the union. That amendment would have prohibited any government interference in the practice of s***ery in the states where it was legal and further prohibited any future revision to that amendment. If s***ery had been the cause of the war, the seceded states would have jumped at the chance to have s***ery made legal forever.
The war took the lives of 600,000 people and left untold thousands maimed for life. It resulted in the l**ting, pillaging, burning, of several states, and the rape and murder of thousands more, all at the orders of a few union generals. If s***ery had been the cause, the entire war could have been prevented simply by passing laws outlawing s***ery.
The actual cause of the war was money. Too long a story to include here. It would take another thread.