I agree entirely and have a positive view of the American Revolution, but it’s also fair to see it as somewhat self-interested. If someone doesn’t take a strong side looking at the American Revolution, I generally don’t think too poorly of them. If someone doesn’t take a strong side looking at the US Civil War, though? Nah, I don’t deal with people like that. We’re all Union boys and girls for those four short years. 40 Acres and a Mule!
Now, I’m not from the States so I’m not as invested in the first place but is it okay in general to be somewhat lukewarm about the American Civil War in terms of its societal effectiveness? While the slavers got beaten up very effectively (and rightly so), the aftermath was mired in compromise to such a large degree that slavery still isn’t banned in the States and the underlying racism is still a major issue today.
Is that valid criticism or should the postbellum be considered strictly separate from the Civil War? I’m genuinely curious.
(And I just realized that you argue against not taking a strong side rather than not having strong feelings. My bad.)
Oh yeah, we all mourn in this community that Reconstruction didn’t do what it was supposed to - destroying slavery and racism in the South, and in failing to do so, allowed it to re-establish itself as power over the entire country again. But the Civil War itself? “Anti-democratic racist slavers vs. Flawed democracy coalition which eventually accedes to more racially positive outlook” shouldn’t be a hard choice for anyone.
I’m plenty well-read on the American Revolution, thank you, I don’t need to chase down dipshit mythology about how the American Revolution was secretly a war over slavery.
You’re not very well read then. While it wasn’t a driver for northern colonies. It was a major concern for the Southern colonies. There wasn’t anything secret about it, they were even given assurances that slavery wouldn’t deterred by the new government.
This may come as a shock, but the northern colonies assuring the South that slavery wasn’t going to be abolished despite fears from the South that it would be by the northern colonies isn’t exactly proof that the war between the colonies and Great Britain was about slavery. In fact, one might go so far as to say it’s fucking irrelevant to the causes and reasons for the revolution itself. Hell, the Americans abolished the slave trade before the Brits did.
You caught me, it was the holsum desire of the Brits to abolish slavery, which they profited from massively, which drove the American Revolution, please ignore all evidence to the contrary.
I agree entirely and have a positive view of the American Revolution, but it’s also fair to see it as somewhat self-interested. If someone doesn’t take a strong side looking at the American Revolution, I generally don’t think too poorly of them. If someone doesn’t take a strong side looking at the US Civil War, though? Nah, I don’t deal with people like that. We’re all Union boys and girls for those four short years. 40 Acres and a Mule!
Now, I’m not from the States so I’m not as invested in the first place but is it okay in general to be somewhat lukewarm about the American Civil War in terms of its societal effectiveness? While the slavers got beaten up very effectively (and rightly so), the aftermath was mired in compromise to such a large degree that slavery still isn’t banned in the States and the underlying racism is still a major issue today.
Is that valid criticism or should the postbellum be considered strictly separate from the Civil War? I’m genuinely curious.
(And I just realized that you argue against not taking a strong side rather than not having strong feelings. My bad.)
Oh yeah, we all mourn in this community that Reconstruction didn’t do what it was supposed to - destroying slavery and racism in the South, and in failing to do so, allowed it to re-establish itself as power over the entire country again. But the Civil War itself? “Anti-democratic racist slavers vs. Flawed democracy coalition which eventually accedes to more racially positive outlook” shouldn’t be a hard choice for anyone.
Gerald Horne’s Counterrevolution of 1776 fixed that for me. It’s available on Anna’s Archive if you wanna give it a read.
I’m plenty well-read on the American Revolution, thank you, I don’t need to chase down dipshit mythology about how the American Revolution was secretly a war over slavery.
You’re not very well read then. While it wasn’t a driver for northern colonies. It was a major concern for the Southern colonies. There wasn’t anything secret about it, they were even given assurances that slavery wouldn’t deterred by the new government.
This may come as a shock, but the northern colonies assuring the South that slavery wasn’t going to be abolished despite fears from the South that it would be by the northern colonies isn’t exactly proof that the war between the colonies and Great Britain was about slavery. In fact, one might go so far as to say it’s fucking irrelevant to the causes and reasons for the revolution itself. Hell, the Americans abolished the slave trade before the Brits did.
Wow that’s a special kind of denial.
You caught me, it was the holsum desire of the Brits to abolish slavery, which they profited from massively, which drove the American Revolution, please ignore all evidence to the contrary.