[Today’s run: 5 miles]
My first thought is that most people don’t care what I think about the US Civil War.
But this is my blog, so here I go.
First off, I’m proud of my ancestors who fought for the Union. I think they did a brave thing and I’m glad they did it.
The best summation of the situation that I have found was at the end of U.S. Grant’s memoir:
Slavery was an institution that required unusual guarantees for its security wherever it existed; and in a country like ours where the larger portion of it was free territory inhabited by an intelligent and well-to-do population, the people would naturally have but little sympathy with demands upon them for its protection. Hence the people of the South were dependent upon keeping control of the general government to secure the perpetuation of their favorite institution. They were enabled to maintain this control long after the States where slavery existed had ceased to have the controlling power, through the assistance they received from odd men here and there throughout the Northern States. They saw their power waning, and this led them to encroach upon the prerogatives and independence of the Northern States by enacting such laws as the Fugitive Slave Law. By this law every Northern man was obliged, when properly summoned, to turn out and help apprehend the runaway slave of a Southern man. Northern marshals became slave-catchers, and Northern courts had to contribute to the support and protection of the institution. This was a degradation which the North would not permit any longer than until they could get the power to expunge such laws from the statute books. Prior to the time of these encroachments the great majority of the people of the North had no particular quarrel with slavery, so long as they were not forced to have it themselves. But they were not willing to play the role of police for the South in the protection of this particular institution.
People will say that the North was racist too. I think that is probably true. But the North wasn’t the bunch hauling in slaves and the North wasn’t excited about doing the dirty work for the South. It was an affront to live-and-let-live. That explanation makes sense to me. When I see that after the war and a short period of reconstruction the south was pretty much left to it’s own devices as far as race relations go, that indicates to me that the north didn’t particularly care what southerners did as long as they didn’t have to participate.
I also think this is an interesting analysis because it turns back on itself the claim that the South just wanted to be left alone.
I’ve read Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton and other folks. I’ve read Grant’s memoirs and Sherman’s memoirs. I’ve read a bit about the southern leaders, not as much though. Most of my interest is in the military movements and strategies.
I enjoyed reading Grant and Sherman. I don’t think I would have gotten along with Jefferson Davis. And when I go into Columbus and see the big antebellum houses, most of which were built from 1855-1860, I can’t help but think they were built with money from a slave economy. Makes them kind of like the Pyramids of Egypt in that regard I guess.
So, I have some pride for my ancestors and I have some pride in growing up in the non-slavery part of the country. I didn’t really have anything to do with those events, so pride is probably inappropriate. But it’s there.
That’s my opinion.