I'll copy the author's conclusion here for anyone unbothered to click:
"The South undeniably seceded over the issue of slavery. Their words and actions cry it from the rooftops. Lincoln, while entering the war to preserve the perpetual union of the states, never had slavery far from his mind. It was that fact which drove secession, and it was the splintering of the nation that allowed Lincoln's anti-slavery to transition from personal conviction into a policy of emancipation as the war dragged on. Less than a year after the first shot was fired upon Fort Sumter, Lincoln was contemplating how he could bring about the end of slavery, and by the next, he had made his move, ensuring the eventual destruction of the South's peculiar institution. While the accepted history of the war for many decades following lionized the "Lost Cause" of the south, and romanticized the conflict, all to downplay the base values of the Confederacy, that narrative is nothing more than a legend, a falsehood, and in recent decades has, rightfully, been eclipsed by a revitalization of scholarship that has returned slavery to its rightful place in the history of the American Civil War."
Further discussion on the topic is but a search away:
I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion that this is their twilight. It could be temporary if we're not careful. That said, the piece was great. Well-written and funny. You also taught me about Downey, which I appreciated. Fascinating figure.
"Last time Americans had a civil war, it was over slavery." That's not the truth.
This is a boring, insipid, bad-faith argument that shall not be entertained here, and further comments will be removed. A thorough exploration of the subject by actual historians can be found at Reddit's AskHistorians. Georgy K Zhukov's response linked in their wiki can be considered fairly definitive: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3edss0/was_the_american_civil_war_about_more_than_just/cte2mj9/
I'll copy the author's conclusion here for anyone unbothered to click:
"The South undeniably seceded over the issue of slavery. Their words and actions cry it from the rooftops. Lincoln, while entering the war to preserve the perpetual union of the states, never had slavery far from his mind. It was that fact which drove secession, and it was the splintering of the nation that allowed Lincoln's anti-slavery to transition from personal conviction into a policy of emancipation as the war dragged on. Less than a year after the first shot was fired upon Fort Sumter, Lincoln was contemplating how he could bring about the end of slavery, and by the next, he had made his move, ensuring the eventual destruction of the South's peculiar institution. While the accepted history of the war for many decades following lionized the "Lost Cause" of the south, and romanticized the conflict, all to downplay the base values of the Confederacy, that narrative is nothing more than a legend, a falsehood, and in recent decades has, rightfully, been eclipsed by a revitalization of scholarship that has returned slavery to its rightful place in the history of the American Civil War."
Further discussion on the topic is but a search away:
https://www.google.com/search?q=was+the+civil+war+over+slavery+askhistorians+site:www.reddit.com
I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion that this is their twilight. It could be temporary if we're not careful. That said, the piece was great. Well-written and funny. You also taught me about Downey, which I appreciated. Fascinating figure.
Very much looking forward to reading your take on whatever. Good luck with your new "stack"!