Hey Spanky. Thanks for your post. Remember, you asked...
If you go back and look,
most of the negative talk about Yankees refers to Northerners living during the times leading up to, during, and after the War. As with anything, there are always exceptions. As for me, if or when I mention Yankees, or Northerners, I try to keep it strictly from a cultural standpoint. Culture played a large part in the differences between North & South back then, as well as today. That's not derogatory, just a fact. There have been dozens of people who have posted their stories on this forum who are either Northern, or who have lived up North for extended periods, who tell of how Southern whites work very closely and side by side with blacks, even to this day, while witnessing for themselves that things are much different up North. Almost all who have made such posts here have said that blacks and whites working closely together up North is almost nonexistent.
I have spoken to many elderly blacks here in Georgia who were born in the South, and moved up North, only to return to the South in retirement. ALL of them say that, even during the racial tensions in the South during the late 1950's and 1960's, they were actually treated much harsher by Northerners. They will also tell you in a heartbeat that about 98% of the racial tension back then was caused by Northern blacks and whites who had a preconceived idea about Southern culture, i.e., coming down here and creating those problems. This is coming from the people who have lived it, and have seen it first hand.
From a historical standpoint, most Northerners today have no idea that slavery existed up North, at the same time it did here in the South, i.e., DURING THE CIVIL WAR!! And when you tell them or try to show them proof, they don't want to believe it, because the history books have assigned virtue to the North, and vice to the South. Most Northerners don't know that the top 5 generals in the Confederacy DID NOT own slaves, but General Ulysses S. Grant (USA) actually owned FIVE slaves DURING the War!! The busiest slave market in North America
during the War was in Washington, D.C., less than 400 yards from the White House! Washington, D.C. is in the NORTH!!
Most Northerners have no idea that the Emancipation Proclamation actually EXCLUDED Northern slaves from freedom. It actually spells out the areas where those slaves were to remain slaves "
as if this proclamation were never issued."
And probably one of the biggest reasons for the antagonistic tone toward Northerners is the fact that the Southern States were literally invaded by the Northern army and that this action was forbidden by the U.S. Constitution. The South legally seceded from the Union, as taught at West Point Military Academy (New York) from 1737 until 1868, as being a legal right of any people to throw off any government they felt was infringing upon its rights. (The book this was taught from is still in the library at West Point to this day.)
Ask any Northerner today why the Civil War was fought, and
100% of them will tell you it was fought to free the slaves. Well, if it was, why didn't it free Northern slaves, too? Southern slavery ended in 1865, while it remained in the North until 1868. The state of Rhode Island, whose legal name is
The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is actually trying to remove the "
and Providence Plantations" from their official name because they want to wipe out any notion that slavery existed up North!! It happened people!! Admit it and you'll be better off for seeing the truth!! People up North have preconceived ideas about Southerners because the history books teach that the South was evil for having slavery. Sooo, the North was not? Every facet of Southern culture has been slowly eroded out of existence by the North. Do you realize that to this day it is actually ILLEGAL for any Southern State to produce its OWN history book? It is also ILLEGAL for any Southern State to create its own standardized tests for public schools. Most use the ITBS test (Iowa). Why should a state in the South have to conform to the standards of the state of Iowa? Have you ever wondered just WHY South Carolina is the poorest state in this country? Do you realize that in 1860 (according to the 1860 Census), Georgia had the world's THIRD Largest Gross Domestic Product, and because of the North's invasion of the South, and Sherman's destruction of Georgia, that Georgia's economy didn't return to prewar levels until
1968? That means that through Northern oppression (Reconstruction and pillaging of the state), it took
108 YEARS for Georgia's economy to get back to square one!!! And that's just ONE state!! Some
countries don't even last that long!!
Spanky, I could go on and on with examples like these. My co-moderator and I, along with most of the regulars have page after page of proof of what I'm saying here. That proof is in the form of actual official documents, letters, newspaper articles, etc., from that period.
The Official Record of the War of the Rebellion, the official record of the War, as compiled by the Federal Government from BOTH sides, is another source we use quite often.
Believe me, there is no hate involved in our discussions in this forum. There is, however, lots of frustration in trying to get Northerners to see the TRUTH of what actually happened, and why it happened, and that Southerners are still scorned and ridiculed to this day for a lot of things that Northerners (and sadly, most young Southerners now) have no earthly idea about in reality. We just want you guys to look at it from our viewpoint, as it was documented, as it happened, and not how the Government wants you to see it. We believe with every fiber of our being that the South was Right in its actions, and that those actions (secession) were carried out to the letter of the law (through their respective state legislatures), and that History has wrongfully portrayed the South, and Southerners, as being evil, as trying to destroy the United States, as being in the wrong in every aspect of the War, while portraying the North as some virtuous, glorious, spotless, freedom-loving demigod, when in reality, they were just as guilty (if not more so) of the very things they still chastise the South for to this day.
I hope this begins to help you understand that, even after 150 years, NO, we will Not just "let it go," as we so often hear from our friends from across the Mason-Dixon Line. This was done to US. In OUR homes, in OUR fields, to OUR businesses, to OUR thriving economy, to OUR families. Have you ever wondered why ALL but one major battle of the War (Gettysburg) was fought in the South?
Oh, how I would love to talk to you in person or on the phone...
SouthernByGraceDEO VINDICE 
