The Civil War wasn’t about slavery
by Walter Willliams. Published in “Jewish World Review”, 12/2/98
The problems that led to the Civil War are the same problems today -- big,
intrusive government. The reason we don’t face the specter of another Civil War
is because today’s Americans don’t have yesteryear’s spirit of liberty and
constitutional respect, and political statesmanship is in short supply.
Actually, the war of 1861 was not a civil war. A civil war is a conflict between
two or more factions trying to take over a government. In 1861, Confederate
President Jefferson Davis was no more interested in taking over Washington than
George Washington was interested in taking over England in 1776. Like
Washington, Davis was seeking independence. Therefore, the war of 1861 should
be called “The War Between the States” or the “War for Southern Independence.”
The more bitter southerner might call it the “War of Northern Aggression.”
History books have misled today’s Americans to believe the war was fought to
free slaves.
Statements from the time suggest otherwise. In President Lincoln’s first inaugural
address, he said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so.
During the war, in an 1862 letter to the New York Daily Tribune editor Horace
Greeley, Lincoln said, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the
Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery.” A recent article by
Baltimore’s Loyola College Professor Thomas DiLorenzo titled “The Great
Centralizer,” in the Independent Review (Fall 1998), cites quotation after
quotation of similar northern sentiment about slavery.
Honest Abe Lincoln’s intentions, as well as that of many northern politicians, were
summarized by Stephen Douglas during the presidential debates. Douglas
accused Lincoln of wanting to “impose on the nation a uniformity of local laws and institutions and a moral homogeneity dictated by the central government” that “place at defiance the intentions of the republic’s founders.” Douglas was right,
and Lincoln’s vision for our nation has now been accomplished beyond anything he could have possibly dreamed.
A precursor for a War Between the States came in 1832, when South Carolina
called a convention to nullify tariff acts of 1828 and 1832, referred to as the
“Tariffs of Abominations.” A compromise lowering the tariff was reached,
averting secession and possibly war. The North favored protective tariffs for their
manufacturing industry. The South, which exported agricultural products to and
imported manufactured goods from Europe, favored free trade and was hurt by the
tariffs. Plus, a northern-dominated Congress enacted laws similar to Britain’s
Navigation Acts to protect northern shipping interests.
Shortly after Lincoln’s election, Congress passed the highly protectionist
Morrill tariffs.
That’s when the South seceded, setting up a new government. Their
constitution was nearly identical to the U.S. Constitution except that it outlawed
protectionist tariffs, business handouts and mandated a two-thirds majority vote
for all spending measures.
The only good coming from the War Between the States was the abolition of
slavery. The great principle enunciated in the Declaration of Independence that
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed” was overturned by force of arms. By destroying the
states’ right to secession, Abraham Lincoln opened the door to the kind of
unconstrained, despotic, arrogant government we have today, something the
framers of the Constitution could not have possibly imagined.
States should again challenge Washington’s unconstitutional acts through
nullification. But you tell me where we can find leaders with the love, courage and
respect for our Constitution like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John C.
Calhoun.
--------------------------------------------------
1) Bold for stress added by Dennis.
2) For those who believe it significant, note that Mr. Williams is a black man.
3) Compare this with what is being taught to our children.
4) Please contemplate our current government and ask yourself whether the
Democrats and Republicans would be willing to turn their backs on over 130 years
of federalist treachery and suddenly return to Constitutional law. Then vote your
conscience - not your compromise.
[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited June 25, 1999).]
by Walter Willliams. Published in “Jewish World Review”, 12/2/98
The problems that led to the Civil War are the same problems today -- big,
intrusive government. The reason we don’t face the specter of another Civil War
is because today’s Americans don’t have yesteryear’s spirit of liberty and
constitutional respect, and political statesmanship is in short supply.
Actually, the war of 1861 was not a civil war. A civil war is a conflict between
two or more factions trying to take over a government. In 1861, Confederate
President Jefferson Davis was no more interested in taking over Washington than
George Washington was interested in taking over England in 1776. Like
Washington, Davis was seeking independence. Therefore, the war of 1861 should
be called “The War Between the States” or the “War for Southern Independence.”
The more bitter southerner might call it the “War of Northern Aggression.”
History books have misled today’s Americans to believe the war was fought to
free slaves.
Statements from the time suggest otherwise. In President Lincoln’s first inaugural
address, he said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so.
During the war, in an 1862 letter to the New York Daily Tribune editor Horace
Greeley, Lincoln said, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the
Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery.” A recent article by
Baltimore’s Loyola College Professor Thomas DiLorenzo titled “The Great
Centralizer,” in the Independent Review (Fall 1998), cites quotation after
quotation of similar northern sentiment about slavery.
Honest Abe Lincoln’s intentions, as well as that of many northern politicians, were
summarized by Stephen Douglas during the presidential debates. Douglas
accused Lincoln of wanting to “impose on the nation a uniformity of local laws and institutions and a moral homogeneity dictated by the central government” that “place at defiance the intentions of the republic’s founders.” Douglas was right,
and Lincoln’s vision for our nation has now been accomplished beyond anything he could have possibly dreamed.
A precursor for a War Between the States came in 1832, when South Carolina
called a convention to nullify tariff acts of 1828 and 1832, referred to as the
“Tariffs of Abominations.” A compromise lowering the tariff was reached,
averting secession and possibly war. The North favored protective tariffs for their
manufacturing industry. The South, which exported agricultural products to and
imported manufactured goods from Europe, favored free trade and was hurt by the
tariffs. Plus, a northern-dominated Congress enacted laws similar to Britain’s
Navigation Acts to protect northern shipping interests.
Shortly after Lincoln’s election, Congress passed the highly protectionist
Morrill tariffs.
That’s when the South seceded, setting up a new government. Their
constitution was nearly identical to the U.S. Constitution except that it outlawed
protectionist tariffs, business handouts and mandated a two-thirds majority vote
for all spending measures.
The only good coming from the War Between the States was the abolition of
slavery. The great principle enunciated in the Declaration of Independence that
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed” was overturned by force of arms. By destroying the
states’ right to secession, Abraham Lincoln opened the door to the kind of
unconstrained, despotic, arrogant government we have today, something the
framers of the Constitution could not have possibly imagined.
States should again challenge Washington’s unconstitutional acts through
nullification. But you tell me where we can find leaders with the love, courage and
respect for our Constitution like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John C.
Calhoun.
--------------------------------------------------
1) Bold for stress added by Dennis.
2) For those who believe it significant, note that Mr. Williams is a black man.
3) Compare this with what is being taught to our children.
4) Please contemplate our current government and ask yourself whether the
Democrats and Republicans would be willing to turn their backs on over 130 years
of federalist treachery and suddenly return to Constitutional law. Then vote your
conscience - not your compromise.
[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited June 25, 1999).]
