Well said, Cabin4.
Welcome to the forum. On behalf of my co-moderator, Ga.windbreak, and myself, I hope you'll stick around. It's always good to have new company come to visit. It's always better when they stay for a while.
ironfoot, you stick around, too. A good ole argument ain't worth having if it ain't got two sides to it.
In a big way, it boils down to interpretation. For those of us who were (and still are) directly affected by this war, we are more than aware of its illegality, just as Cab said. As for myself, I'm only 3 generations removed from the war, so the stories and journals are still fresh. I know what my ancestors thought of slavery and how those slaves were treated, and what they thought of (and still think) of my ancestors. The fact that 90% of them stayed on the place after the war speaks volumes to that affect. In fact, more blacks moved there after the war. And a portion of the land was deeded to several of the families, which still live there to this day. I see them and speak to them often. I know them, personally. They are some of the finest people I know. If I were to break down on the side of the road, I wouldn't hesitate to call on any one of them for help, and they would give it graciously.
One has to keep in perspective when talking about the war. The states didn't say in so many words that they were trying to preserve slavery. They said they were trying to preserve their RIGHTS to their PROPERTY, which was guaranteed them in the Constitution. And when you put it into perspective that 98% of every white person in America (North & South) believed in the Exact Same Thing, the preservation of slavery theory dissolves right in front of your eyes.
Hypocrisy also plays a huge role in that interpretation, in that, while those few from the North were crying foul, they held slaves at the same time. It's always funny to me how Northerners just simply... forget that. Those same hypocrites also forget that 8 Northern states passed laws to prevent free blacks from not only living in those states, they couldn't even enter them. Not one Southern state ever passed such a law before, during, or after the war.
About 95% of the points brought up in this forum are not even arguable because they are so well documented. If you'll notice, the Northerners are usually pretty quick to clam up when we show that documentation. That's because they can't argue with the Truth.
SBG
DEO VINDICE