Rewriting of History?
Another look at Lincoln and the Civil War
This post will probably be a controversial topic, especially to those who would consider themselves conservative minded, as I do. My intention is not to start an argument, but to begin a discussion that is long overdue.
I grew up with parents who loved history, American history. They taught me about the Founding Fathers and about the great honor it is to be an American (I still believe this to be true). They also taught be that Abraham Lincoln was a hero and that he was responsible for ending slavery and saving our country. I believe that they had honest intentions and were giving me the knowledge that had been passed to them.
When COVID19 hit in 2020 there was a lot of debate about Lockdowns, masks, vaccines, “essential workers”, and travel restrictions. Some of the states refused to abide by the federal mandates, to which of course, the federal government responded by saying that the states didn’t have the authority do that. This argument got me to thinking about states rights and the reasons the South wanted to leave the Union in the 1800’s. I started wondering: did we miss something with the civil war? Did the Southern states actually have a legitimate argument against the federal government? Was the purpose of the Civil War really for the freedom of black slaves, or were there other issues involved? I have begun reading books and have learned some things that I feel Americans, especially those who think of Lincoln as a hero, need to know.
Here is a snapshot of a few things that I have learned so far:
Colonization: Lincoln did not believe that the “negro” was equal to whites. He was a member of the Illinois Colonization Club, and up to three days before his assassination he was working with members of his Cabinet on the logistics of how to deport all of the Negros. His original thought was to send them back to Africa, but later decided it would be cheaper to drop them off in Central America.
Habeas Corpus/Marshall Law: There were many people in the North who were just fine with the South separating from the Union. Lincoln put thousands of journalists in prison for opposing his political views. Francis Scott Key’s grandson was a journalist in Baltimore who openly opposed Lincoln. He was put in prison for two years in Fort McHenry, the same place that his grandfather wrote the Star Spangled Banner. Not only were these people put in prison, but they were refused legal justice. The Supreme Court at the time ruled that this was un-Constitutional, but that did not stop Lincoln.
Mercantilism/ Tariffs: The Southern agrarian economy relied heavily on imports and exports from other countries. The Northern industrial economy wanted to eliminate competition with other countries so they could charge higher prices to the South for the products that they manufactured. Therefore, the North imposed heavy tariffs on foreign imports and exports. This benefited the North in two ways: 1. The South was encouraged to buy from Northern manufacturing 2. The North financially benefited from the money collected through Tariffs. Today we might call this “redistribution of wealth”. When Lincoln took office the tariff rates where very high and through his presidency he continued raising the rates until they were over 50%. Lincoln was a fan of big government and he was a big supporter of using government funds for industrial progress. If you get mad at politicians today for legislating in favor of corporate lobbyists instead of the average citizen, you need to understand that Lincoln was a big player in creating the modern political climate.
War Crimes: Some of the tactics employed by Lincoln during the war were no less than barbaric. Many of the International Rules of War were broken. General Sherman, who has the praise of many contemporary historians, was a butcher. His men burned cities, destroyed homes, farms, churches and raped women. I don’t understand how we can justify these actions by simply saying “War is Hell”. Would we feel that way if a foreign country was doing those things to our homes and families? I have heard that in Southern libraries there are journals written by folks who lived through those times. I would love to go read them someday.
Also, there is a decent amount of evidence to suggest that Ft. Sumpter was a setup. Lincoln had promised to abandon Ft Sumpter, but when it came time for the Union to leave Lincoln sent ships to resupply it, knowing that it would instigate a response. He basically tricked the South into firing the first shot so he would have a stronger case to sell his fellow Northerners for going to war.
I know that all of the issues I have touched on go far deeper than my overview. I am still learning, but what I have learned so far has taught me a big lesson… History, as it is written in textbooks, is not objective. Since the 1930’s there has been an intentional effort to only tell one side of Civil War history. This brings me to the big question, this is the reason why I feel this topic is so relevant and important today, here’s the question… IF WE HAVE BEEN PROPAGANDIZED FOR 160 YEARS ABOUT A PRESIDENT AND A MAJOR WAR, WHAT WILL OUR DESCENDANTS BE TAUGHT ABOUT OUR HISTORY? We must do all we can to pass on the true story of our history.
This is a great article for this who bought into the idea that the Civil War was all about slavery. The thing to always remember about history, is the winners write it, at least their version of it.