As a recognized Son of Confederate Veterans and Horace Lawson Hunley Award recipient, I'd like to present an alternate view: Lincoln's survival would have benefited the South more than his death ever did. First and foremost, the Civil War was a human tragedy upended the lives of more than 750,000 Americans. A tragedy that could have easily been prevented via temporary two state solution. We see that slavery, as an institution, fizzled out in much of the industrial world by 1888; and that, for reasons economic more so than moral. "The work done by slaves, though it appears to cost only their maintenance, is in the end the dearest of any. A person who can acquire no property can have no other interest but to eat as much and to labour as little as possible." -Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776) Slavery is an inherently wasteful practice that upends the efficiency of complex economies while also disenfranchising the native populous. The Republican Party of old was an amalgamation of many parties; the Whigs, the Free Soilers, the Barn Burners, etc. Numerically speaking, those that opposed slavery on moral grounds represented a minority. The ultimate goal of abolition for many was to allow the American family access to the free soil economy. That is, to destroy the oligarchy that made self sufficiency impossible to the average farmer. Hardly a reason to risk life, limb, and disfigurement, no? Nobody can make any real claim of acting out of moral superiority in this war. And what of our Southern fathers? Were they fighting for an institution of which only 1% of them benefited? Unlikely. Instead, they were fighting for their homes and loved ones; as honorable men have since time immemorial. In short, the War was an avoidable series of escalations of force fueled by ego and vengeance on the side of the North. But we already know this, don't we? Keep this section in mind as we go along. We see that from until 1863, very little headway was made by the Union to push further into the South. Lincoln's General's weren't fond of the idea. He grew tired of many Generals apparent lack of commitment before settling on Grant. The Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862) had sufficiently demonstrated the resolve of the CSA. Practically speaking, any point prior to the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) would have been an excellent time to call it quits. After that point, Lincoln continued down the path that would scar the nation for generations to come. From this point on, the casualties, war crimes, and suspension of rights would cement the malcontent that would remain with the South for more than a century. BUT! Lincoln had sufficiently demonstrated his resolve against the South. He was a Republican. We see from private conversations and diary entries; as well as his refusal to dismiss William H. Seward as Secretary of State, that he knew a forever war was unfeasible. He was actively looking to prevent a potential counter insurgency. In short, his policy was moving towards one of amnesty and re-integration. We see that immediately following the swearing in of Johnson, the Radical Republican Congress (as some textbooks call it) immediately dug their heels in; vetoing numerous provisions issued by Jackson. In Lincoln they saw a brother and a leader. With Jackson, they saw only an enemy. Lincoln championed many of the policies Jackson would seek to advance. Yet Congress hated the man signing them. In short, while we can't forgive Lincoln for: Economic Warfare (Anaconda Plan, April 19, 1861) Suspension of Writ of Habeus Corpus (April 27, 1861) Suspension of Freedom of the Press (August 30, 1861) Shelling of Civilians in Fredericksburg VA and Jackson TN (December 11-13, 1862) The Multiple Burnings of Jackson MS (1863) General Order No. 11 of 1863 (NOT the General Order No. 11 of 1862, that one was surprisingly Based) The Burning of Darien GA (June 11, 1863) The Destruction of Meridian MS (February 14–20, 1864) The Burning of Atlanta GA (November 15, 1864) The Burning of Griswoldville GA (November 22, 1864) The Destruction of Rome GA (1864) The Burning of Columbia SC (February 17, 1865) The Destruction of Charleston SC (February 18, 1865) The Destruction of Fayetteville NC (March 11, 1865) The Burning of Richmond VA (April 3, 1865) Or really the entirety of the war He was much more valuable alive. That alone could have saved us from the MASSIVE Congressional overreach right off the back of the worst war in the nation's history. Namely: The Reconstruction Act The Civil Rights Act (1866) and it's Birthright Citizenship and provisions for foreigners to sue and testify The TERRIBLE Wording of the 14th Amendment Section 3 The 15th Amendment which legitimized the permanence of the newly freed population for all time For more on this particular topic, and how it was rationalized by Southerners of the era, the Internet Archive maintains 'Birth of a Nation' with the pertinent scene being located at 01:30:34. You seem like a reasonable and educated man, and so I simply leave some food for thought. Deo Vindice, Gentleman 🇸🇴
1 week ago | 1
Whose shit is this? Putler's or Shitler's? Or a joint venture between the new allies? 🤮
2 weeks ago | 1
Russian Confederate
[EN 🇸🇴/🇺🇲] On this day, 160 years ago, Abraham Lincoln made his most important contribution to mankind - he died.
On April 15th, 1865 the tyrant, racist, hypocrite, christianophobe and murderer of his own nation was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Unfortunately, it was too late, because by that moment, the war had already ended (even though some army groups were continuing their resistance), but his assassination had a huge impact on American society and politics. After his death, Andrew Johnson became a president and pardoned the majority of Confederate soldiers and officers and John Wilkes Booth was killed 11 days later. His last words were "Tell my mother that I died, fighting for my country"
Fun facts:
1) Freed slaves were supposed to be sent to Africa after the war. Lincoln was even more racist than average Southern Slave owner.
2) Abraham Lincoln killed more Americans than Hitler did. (620 thousand vs 405 thousand respectively)
Visiting the Ford's theatre, Abraham Lincoln made the best decision in his life.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!
[РУ🇷🇺] Именно в этот день, ровно 160 лет назад, Авраам Линкольн сделал свой крупнейший вклад в человечество в своей жизни - он умер.
15 апреля 1865 тиран, расист, лицемер, христианофоб и палач собственного народа умер после покушения от Джона Уилкса Бута. К сожалению, было уже слишком поздно, ибо к тому времени как он умер, война уже закончилась (хоть и некоторые группы армии КША продолжали оказывать сопротивление), но покушение возымело немалое влияние на американское общество и политику. После смерти Линкольна, президентом стал Эндрю Джонсон, который амнистировал большую часть конфедератов. Сам же Джон Уилкс Бут был убит спустя 11 дней. Его последними словами были "Передайте моей матери, что я умер, сражаясь за свою страну."
Забавные факты:
1) Освобождённые рабы должны были быть сосланы обратно в Африку после конца войны. Линкольн был бо́льшим расистом, чем любой Южный рабовладелец.
2) Из-за Авраама Линкольна погибло больше американцев, чем из-за Гитлера. (620 тысяч против 405 тысяч соответственно)
Посетив театр Форда, Авраам Линкольн сделал лучшее решение в своей жизни.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 94