U.S. Civil War

[strother]

Just curious. What is the popular conception of why the southern states seceeded from the U.S.?

[steve911]

I believe it was slavery.

[bryanthompson]

Bush's great-great-great-great grandfather probably had something to do with it.

[Moneyguy1]

Economics.

[mikester]

Middle Eastern Oil is my guess.

Or the whole question about if a 914 is NARP or not.

[dd74]

Economic autonomy, to which slavery held a large part.

[Joe Bob]

States rights versus Federal, economics, slave versus free state representation in Congress.....westward expansion, slaves in free states.....yada yada

[strother]

Everyone answering seems to be from California. Any Southerners here?

[techweenie]

I think Moneyguy & dd have it right.

Economics. It's really at the root of just about all wars.

[Joe Bob]

Originally posted by strother
Everyone answering seems to be from California. Any Southerners here?

Nope...they're still busy fighting the war....

[Moneyguy1]

Mike..Having a daughter living in Alabama, I would guess that many of them are still fighting the war in one way or another. Before I moved to AZ from NYS, I always tried to find a rental car with a southern license plate!!

[Moses]

Actually, Mikez nailed it. Complicated stuff. For the leaders of industry in the north, it was pure economics. The southern wealthy viewed it as economic jealousy and the poor white southerner saw it as a cultural attack. . Abolition was a red-hot social issue in the north that occupied the editorial page of every newspaper and was fueled in northern churches.

[strother]

These are all well-informed (or good-humored) posts. My curiousity isn't about the actual causes of the war -- one would expect that a war that kills millions and millions would not have simple causes -- rather, I am curious about popular thought. Here in Texas (which some Texans fancy to be part of the Deep South!), some people call it the "War of Northern Aggression."

[red-beard]

Lincoln turned it into a "Moral" war to keep the Europeans out of it...

[fintstone]

Well now, I would agree with the states rights/economics posts as the causes for sure....but I would also consider it a "war of northern agression."

[Joe Bob]

Originally posted by strother
These are all well-informed (or good-humored) posts. My curiousity isn't about the actual causes of the war -- one would expect that a war that kills millions and millions would not have simple causes -- rather, I am curious about popular thought. Here in Texas (which some Texans fancy to be part of the Deep South!), some people call it the "War of Northern Aggression."

The South originally was going to fight a defensive war. Keeping the Federal troops at bay.....but since the North had so few good commanders....most of the US General Staff were from the South.....the South kept kicking the Feds ass....

Check out Bull Run and Bull Run part deux....the philosophy later changed with the economic embargos, the blockade and the lack of European intervention when the cotton was shut off.

It was a stupid war of pride....made worse by the profiteers....

[Moses]

Originally posted by red-beard
Lincoln turned it into a "Moral" war to keep the Europeans out of it...

Only southerners cling to that bit of fiction. In the north, abolition was the King Kong of all social issues. It was divisive and rancorous. Abe Lincoln carefully crafted his position on the issue to win his election.

[Joe Bob]

Heck....if the South was a little more aggressive in the early stages of the war, they could have overrun Washington DC and the end would have been a lot different...

[WOODPIE]

Simple fact is, it was about grits.

[Joe Bob]

Instant or al dente?