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Dixie Banshee
Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 11:34 am |
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Turn on your speakers:
http://www.mybeautifulamerica.com/BeautifulDixie.htm
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"The only thing more dangerous then ignorance is arrogance, taken in combination, the two qualities are even more alarming" ----Eistein
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Catamount
Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 03:45 pm |
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Beautiful!!! Thanks for posting this DB!
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"There's things in these woods that only God-Almighty Himself knows what they are." - O'neal Sockwell's explanation to me, as to why I needed to carry a gun when I went in the woods on the back of our farm.
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Donna C
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| Joined: | Fri Jul 18th, 2008 |
| Location: | Florida USA |
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Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 05:12 pm |
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Thanks for posting that DB!
Donna
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goodgoing
Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 08:54 pm |
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That was great DB, we really do have a beautiful area of our wonderful country.
Throughly enjoyed, thanks for posting.
goodgoing
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aecaw
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 04:37 am |
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| Thanks DB. As Southerns we are truly blessed. How many of you still stand when Dixie is played?
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Robroy
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Posted: Sat Aug 9th, 2008 02:35 pm |
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aecaw wrote: Thanks DB. As Southerns we are truly blessed. How many of you still stand when Dixie is played?
Stand Proudly!! Amen aecaw,Amen.
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Dixie Banshee
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Posted: Sat Aug 9th, 2008 04:20 pm |
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Not taking nothing away from the Star Spangled Banner, but I automatically stand, and depending upon the rhythm of the way that it is played, Dixie evokes a very heart felt reaction from me. I went to college at The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and as most already knows, that is the official fight song for the college. They play it in several different versions and each one has it's own personal affect on me. What is actually sad is, due toward the sanctions afflicted upon the University for not adopting the resolution of replacing our State flag because of the Confederate Battle Flag that is proudly displayed, anything labeled politically correct, or does not meet the standards of certain ignorant people, is prohibited from being shown on national TV. Whenever Dixie is played by the band the announcers do everything within their power to "drown" it out. But like our State flag, we calmly just thumb our nose at them, inserting in our own way, that they can just kiss our Rebel ass!
I mentioned earlier in this post the emotions that the playing of Dixie evokes within me. The first emotion is not too much unlike what I imagine my forefathers protrayed, screaming that Rebel yell in the heat of battle, when the song is played in an up-beat tempo. You can hear it by going to the following youtube site. Turn up your speakers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi8X_VpsZbI
The other version never fails to make the hair literally crawl up my spine and always illicit's a tear from my eye with unbridled pride to be a Southerner from the South:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnZhEHQYVUw&feature=related
There is nothing like hearing it live as youtube does not do it justice.
This is my Flag
I have carried it with me across this passing earth.
I have carried it in happiness and sorrow, in sickness and health.
I have been unworthy of its presence for most of the journey.
Braver and more nobler men than myself have died for it's cause.
I carry it neither to please nor displease others.
I carry it neither for praise nor condescension.
I carry it because it is mine!
I do not agree with all who carry it, and all who carry it do not agree with me, but we agree on the object of our affection.
I have no rank among the many who treasure it, and no rank do I seek, I carry it because my heart requires no less.
Whatever it may symbolize to others, it symbolizes to me Freedom from oppressive authority, Southern Charisma, and basic goodness of the Southern people.
I will carry it unto death, for better or for worse.
In whatever eternity Man Above may grant; be it the promised Heaven, the frozen ruins of space, or the steaming floor plates of Hell, whatever is left of me will, in time, pull itself upright and plant this beautiful Flag with streaming tears of Joy!
This is my Flag!
Deo Vindice
Bear
Attachment: snbscross.bmp (Downloaded 159 times) Last edited on Sat Aug 9th, 2008 04:21 pm by Dixie Banshee
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"The only thing more dangerous then ignorance is arrogance, taken in combination, the two qualities are even more alarming" ----Eistein
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Robroy
Member
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Posted: Sat Aug 9th, 2008 11:59 pm |
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I Am the Confederate Battle Flag
My design is based upon the St. Andrews Cross of Scotland. Some prefer to call me the " rebel flag", either name I will wear with honor. There is certainly no shame in being called a Confederate, as the people who bore that same honorable title are remembered for their bravery on the battle field, a Southern culture built upon hard work and faith in God. As for the name "rebel" it was the Revolutionary War soldier Thomas Paine, in his series, " The American Crisis" who said " Let them call me Rebel and welcome. I feel no concern from it ".Because, you see, it was George Washington and his Colonial Army who were the original Rebels. My boys in Gray were the second to wear that name.
My soldiers were so proud of me and held me in high esteem. Many songs and poems were written to praise me. Southern ladies especially loved me and often I was hand made and presented to Dixie's heroes at formal ceremonies. My folds still bear the brown stains of the blood of young heroes.
A poem by Abram Ryan said. "Once ten thousand hailed me gladly and ten thousand wildly, madly swore I should never wave. For, though conquered, they adore me. Let the cold, dead hands that bore me weep for those who fell before me". I was carried high on Memorial Day and "Dixie" was included in July 4th ceremonies. On Veteran's Day my men marched along with those from other wars. I waved proudly beside state flags in front of every state building in the South. The great grandcildren of my soldiers put me in tag form on their vehicles and posted me proudly in front of their homes. At some universities I became the rallying cry at athletic events.The decendants of my warriors remebered both them and me with honor and reverant pride.
But history began to be revised and things such as hard work, personal responsibility, chastity, civility, even Christian symbols such as the Cross, the Nativity and the Ten Commandments became unpopular as society became more crude and coarse. I find that I, the once honored flag of the Confederacy, have become the primary target for the speech police.
I have heard of this thing called "diversity", and if I understand it corectly, it means that this country is working toward the inclusion of and equal treatment for all ethnic groups. Then why is MY group singled out not only for omission but for slander?
The saddest part for me is that a great number of Confederate descendants have let the liberal media world convince them to be ashamed of who they are. Others have become ashamed to display me. How I wish they could have seen their grandfathers hold my colors proudly at Shiloh or witnessed the calm reserve at Gettysberg as General Pickett sent them forward into cannon and minnie balls while I floated above their brave heads. There were no cowards in those places, only the valliant willing to die for the Constitution and their beloved homes.
Perhaps my people need to be reminded of who they are and what I am. I am a Christian symbol based on the St. Andrew's Cross, the native flag of Scotland. According to tradition St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland was crucified on an X shaped cross. The X shaped cross is also the Greek letter for chi, which has long been an abbreviation for Christ. 19th century military tactics required perfect alignment in order to fire effectively on an enemy. This rigid formation depended on being able to align troops on the flag. Therefore, I was a "rallying point" for the boys in gray. But I was respected by the Union too. Union troops received a Congressional Medal of Honor for the capture of a Confederate Flag. Because of the confusion between the similarity of the 1st National flag of the CSA and the National flag of the USA, General P.G.T. Beaurgard and Joseph E. Johnston adopted my design for their battle flag. I was first known as the "Southern Cross" and today I am generally reffered to as the Confederate Battle Flag. Even the gaping bullet holes that appeared in me after every engagement were pointed to with pride, as being further indication of valor for the men of the unit.It further reminds me of the courage and dedication that were needed. Confederate soldiers had only to look at the bloodstains of their fallen comrades which the battle action placed on my colors.
Even in the twentieth entury I have been carried into battles for freedom. As the United Nations fought to protect South Korea from the aggression of North Korea, I flew over the front lines with the US 7th Marines, 3rd Battalion, E Company. When the TV cameras scanned the fall of a Communist dictatorship in Eastern Europe with the destruction of the Berlin Wall, I was seen waving in many hands in that sea of humanity. In Lagar Province, Afgan freedom fighters placed me on a pole in a barrel of a captured Soviet tank, as they struggled to remove Russian control of their nation. During Operation Desert Storm, a British unit took me with them into their zone of responsibility as they worked to lift the aggression of Iraq over Kuwait. Somehow, across the years, I think I heard again "Rebel Yells" in approval as brave men once more carried me into battle for freedom. In the War for Southern Independance, Corp. T.J. Carlisle of the 37th Alabama Infantry said this about me, "Hail thou flag of the brave. We lift our hats in reverence as we behold the speechless but unmistakeable evidence that you have passed through the fiery ordeal of war in all it's fury. We are proud of your history, proud of your scars and venerate you for all ages to come and when time and it's inevitable changes shall disolve your sacred folds into dust, may the patriotic emotions which actuated us in that memorial struggle pervade American hearts and live in vivid memories of Southern heroism and Southern chivalry.
Why do my people not still love me? Why do they not display me on their governemtn buildings and other businesses? Above all, why do they not fly me on occasions of Confederacy Memorial Day (4th Monday of April), Gen. Lee's birthday (3rd Monday of January) and President Davis's birthday (June 3rd)? Perhaps they just need to become reaquainted with who I REALLY AM, not what those who hate me SAY I AM. Remember me and honor me openly, my children. I was based on a Christian symbol, represented a fight for independance, carried by fearless men and loved by your grandparents. I am the Confederate Battle Flag. Fly me proudly, I am your inheritance.
I Am the Conferderate Battle Flag
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dlaw
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 02:12 pm |
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DB, good posts. I really like the way the Ole Miss band played Dixie. Of course, being a Vol fan, I'm still partial to "Rocky Top", but in a different way. I think most Southerners can relate to Dixie. By the way, thanks for giving us Payton Manning.
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watch1
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 05:00 pm |
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I have read many versions of "why" the war between the states was fought. Some I have never read in the history books and most likely never will.
Was it for power, money, rights, principles, glory, slavery, or all of these?
Most likey many of those that fought picked one of these as their reason for fighting for whichever side they fought on.
One thing for sure the good and bad, the best and the worst of human treatment to other humans was displayed in living color.
I think back to the one thing that I remember as we returned from the 1st Gulf War. We were met on the airplane and at the airport by Viet Nam Vets with tears in their eyes.
It was as if we had gave these guys back something that had been taken away from them ever since Viet Nam.
I have never looked at Viet Nam as a lost was..but to them..it was and they had lost something of themselves and when we returned home victorious, it was a victory for them as well.
I could write much more about this but will stop.
I did want to post this link that many will find interesting about a certain flag. I also believe this is were the design of the Alabama flag came from.
http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/orgs/scottish_flagtrust.htm
Mike (watch1)
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tx7mm
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 05:30 pm |
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| NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU COME FROM!! AMEN!! Hold your head high and be PROUD to be a REBEL! All of the others are just JEALOUS! And HOOKEM' HORNS!!!! Last edited on Sun Aug 10th, 2008 05:45 pm by tx7mm
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dlaw
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 05:31 pm |
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Mike, I appreciate and thank you for your service. I served in RSVN(Republic of South Vietnam) from Jan-Dec '70. To the best of my memory, we won every action I have any personal knowledge about. Tet was huge victory-the VC infrastructure never recovered from its losses of cadre. Even though we won militarily, we lost the propaganda campaign.
On another note, never heard any stories about RFPs in Nam, allthough I saw a lot of strange animals and reptiles.
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watch1
Member
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 07:57 pm |
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dlaw
I thank you for what you did for us. My thanks to all those that have served in any service and to those serving now.
Mike (watch1)
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Robroy
Member
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 10:05 pm |
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Thanks guys !!! And Mike thanks for fixing my post,you are probably more technologically inclined than I.
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JayB
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 11:52 pm |
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Mike, I will add my thanks to you for your service. You in Gulf I did us proud. So did the folks in Gulf II.
dlaw, I wholly concur with your comments concerning Vietnam. I'm not aware that we lost a single major confrontation. I have to shake my head when I hear talk of that unpleasantness being 'the only war in which the U.S. was defeated'. Who signed the articles of surrender? The media did. Cronkite and the remainder of the news people declared that infamous 'Tet offensive' to be a defeat. For whom? The NVN/VC suffered more than 70,000 casualties and didn't achieve a single objective. They immediately realized they couldn't take any more of those 'victories' and pulled back to allow our media to finish the job. Which they did.
Somewhere, I have read of RFP sightings in Vietnam but I can't recall the source. It would surprise me if they weren't there.
JayB
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froggyvet
Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 26th, 2008 06:20 pm |
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Here I go posting on an old post but gotta speak if I may.
First off I am a HUGE Civil War geek if ya wanna call me that. & thinkin how I think now, even though I'm from PA i'm still not sure who I woulda fought for.reason I say this is cause I beleive strongly in state rights...over the years the federal Gov has many times in my opinion stepped over it's boundries by "influencing" or even flat out telling states what to do. Back in the 1860's State rights where way more prevelant then they are today. now i do not think a man should own another. But to the common reb soldier it was state rights that was foremost on thier minds. which i stand with them whole heartedly.this is MY opinion on the outcome of the Civil War & i hope I don't ruffle feathers sayin it. no one that fought on either side really one....both lost in the respect that so many died. I bleieve God alone needed us to stay ONE nation becuase of the struggles that layed before us all...WW1 & 2...Korea, Vientam, and after. we could not have done this w/o our southern brothers fighting by our side had we become two seperate nations. I have a deep respect for all who fought in that war and to tell the truth if I had any commander in US history to serve under it would be LEE hands down.
As to what Mike said about the Fella's from Vienam I have to do another post next..
God Bless,
Frog
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God Bless our TROOPS!!!
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froggyvet
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Posted: Sun Oct 26th, 2008 06:40 pm |
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Mike, I could just immaguine how it felt having them welcome you home like that. right before the Gulf War (i'm tearing up typing this),I was to be deployed and I called my mother to re-assure her I'd be ok. (being and only child of a mother that had 4 misscariges and almost lost me at birth, it was hard to convince her). anyway she told me that the Vietnam Veterans swore to not let us come home to the same treatment they got..well I got the hair standing up on my body and was very moved by this. I could not blame them for not caring at all..but here they were...serving again as they still to to this day. I always respected them but now it quadruppled in seconds. years later I visited the Moving Wall when it came to Pittsburgh ,my wife was with me. I was walking around the Soldiers and Sailors hall. as soon as I seen the Moving Wall from the that distance my emotions got the best of me and I started to choke up. here's the real cool thing that happened next. A fella from Rolling Thunder, a group of Veterans that ride to Washington D.C. every year on memorial Day, comes up to me...hugs me and said "welcome home brother" . I told him I didn't serve in Vietnam . but I had nothing on me saying I was a vet. He said " I know you didnt but welcome home" ..I was shocked and equally humbled in the same breath!! I said "how'd you know?" He told me by the look on my face as I seen the wall....that's friggin amazing!!! ok got that off my chest...Mike it's up to us to lead the way ensuring those serving now get treated right like the Vienam Guys did for us..hope you agree..
God Bless,
Frog
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grump13
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Posted: Mon Dec 1st, 2008 08:01 pm |
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| L.B.JOHNSON AND THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS. are the LOSERS IN VIETNAM
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Shasta
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Posted: Mon Dec 1st, 2008 08:49 pm |
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What I have read is this from different places is this:
Only 6% of the population owned slaves in the south at that time.
The south only had 30% of the popluation but was paying 80% of the nations taxes.
Here is to me the real reason for the Civil War:
http://georgiaheritagecouncil.org/site2/commentary/scruggs-causes-uncivil-war030607.phtml
UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES OF THE UNCIVIL WAR
A Brief Explanation of the Impact of the Morrill Tariff
By Mike Scruggs for the Tribune Papers
Most Americans believe the U. S. “Civil War” was over slavery. They have to an enormous degree been miseducated. The means and timing of handling the slavery issue were at issue, although not in the overly simplified moral sense that lives in postwar and modern propaganda. But had there been no Morrill Tariff there might never have been a war. The conflict that cost of the lives of 650,000 Union and Confederate soldiers and perhaps as many as 50,000 Southern civilians and impoverished many millions for generations might never have been.
A smoldering issue of unjust taxation that enriched Northern manufacturing states and exploited the agricultural South was fanned to a furious blaze in 1860. It was the Morrill Tariff that stirred the smoldering embers of regional mistrust and ignited the fires of Secession in the South. This precipitated a Northern reaction and call to arms that would engulf the nation in the flames of war for four years.[size= ]
Prior to the U. S. “Civil War” there was no U. S. income tax. Considerably more than 90% of U. S. government revenue was raised by a tariff on imported goods. A tariff is a tax on selected imports, most commonly finished or manufactured products. A high tariff is usually legislated not only to raise revenue, but also to protect domestic industry form foreign competition. By placing such a high, protective tariff on imported goods it makes them more expensive to buy than the same domestic goods. This allows domestic industries to charge higher prices and make more money on sales that might otherwise be lost to foreign competition because of cheaper prices (without the tariff) or better quality. This, of course, causes domestic consumers to pay higher prices and have a lower standard of living. Tariffs on some industrial products also hurt other domestic industries that must pay higher prices for goods they need to make their products. Because the nature and products of regional economies can vary widely, high tariffs are sometimes good for one section of the country, but damaging to another section of the country. High tariffs are particularly hard on exporters since they must cope with higher domestic costs and retaliatory foreign tariffs that put them at a pricing disadvantage. This has a depressing effect on both export volume and profit margins. High tariffs have been a frequent cause of economic disruption, strife and war.
Prior to 1824 the average tariff level in the U. S. had been in the 15 to 20 % range. This was thought sufficient to meet federal revenue needs and not excessively burdensome to any section of the country. The increase of the tariff to a 20% average in 1816 was ostensibly to help pay for the War of 1812. It also represented a 26% net profit increase to Northern manufacturers.
In 1824 Northern manufacturing states and the Whig Party under the leadership of Henry Clay began to push for high, protective tariffs. These were strongly opposed by the South. The Southern economy was largely agricultural and geared to exporting a large portion of its cotton and tobacco crops to Europe. In the 1850’s the South accounted for anywhere from 72 to 82% of U. S. exports. They were largely dependent, however, on Europe or the North for the manufactured goods needed for both agricultural production and consumer needs. Northern states received about 20% of the South’s agricultural production. The vast majority of export volume went to Europe. A protective tariff was then a substantial benefit to Northern manufacturing states, but meant considerable economic hardship for the agricultural South
Northern political dominance enabled Clay and his allies in Congress to pass a tariff averaging 35% late in 1824. This was the cause of economic boom in the North, but economic hardship and political agitation in the South. South Carolina was especially hard hit, the State’s exports falling 25% over the next two years. In 1828 in a demonstration of unabashed partisanship and unashamed greed the Northern dominated Congress raised the average tariff level to 50%. Despite strong Southern agitation for lower tariffs the Tariff of 1832 only nominally reduced the effective tariff rate and brought no relief to the South. These last two tariffs are usually termed in history as the Tariffs of Abomination.
This led to the Nullification Crisis of 1832 when South Carolina called a state convention and “nullified” the 1828 and 1832 tariffs as unjust and unconstitutional. The resulting constitutional crisis came very near provoking armed conflict at that time. Through the efforts of former U. S. Vice President and U. S. Senator from South Carolina, John C. Calhoun, a compromise was effected in 1833 which over a few years reduced the tariff back to a normal level of about 15%. Henry Clay and the Whigs were not happy, however, to have been forced into a compromise by Calhoun and South Carolina’s Nullification threat. The tariff, however, remained at a level near 15% until 1860. A lesson in economics, regional sensitivities, and simple fairness should have been learned from this confrontation, but if it was learned, it was ignored by ambitious political and business factions and personalities that would come on the scene of American history in the late 1850’s.
High protective tariffs were always the policy of the old Whig Party and had become the policy of the new Republican Party that replaced it. A recession beginning around 1857 gave the cause of protectionism an additional political boost in the Northern industrial states.
In May of 1860 the U. S. Congress passed the Morrill Tariff Bill (named for Republican Congressman and steel manufacturer, Justin S. Morrill of Vermont) raising the average tariff from about 15% to 37% with increases to 47% within three years. Although this was remarkably reminiscent of the Tariffs of Abomination which had led in 1832 to a constitutional crisis and threats of secession and armed force, the U. S. House of Representatives passed the Bill 105 to 64. Out of 40 Southern Congressmen only one Tennessee Congressman voted for it.
U. S. tariff revenues already fell disproportionately on the South, accounting for 87% of the total. While the tariff protected Northern industrial interests, it raised the cost of living and commerce in the South substantially. It also reduced the trade value of their agricultural exports to Europe. These combined to place a severe economic hardship on many Southern states. Even more galling was that 80% or more of these tax revenues were expended on Northern public works and industrial subsidies, thus further enriching the North at the expense of the South.
In the 1860 election, Lincoln, a former Whig and great admirer of Henry Clay, campaigned for the high protective tariff provisions of the Morrill Tariff, which had also been incorporated into the Republican Party Platform. Lincoln further endorsed the Morrill Tariff and its concepts in his first inaugural speech and signed the Act into law a few days after taking office in March of 1861. Southern leaders had seen it coming. Southern protests had been of no avail. Now the South was inflamed with righteous indignation, and Southern leaders began to call for Secession.
At first Northern public opinion as reflected in Northern newspapers of both parties recognized the right of the Southern States to secede and favored peaceful separation. A November 21, 1860, editorial in the Cincinnati Daily Press said this:
“We believe that the right of any member of this Confederacy to dissolve its political relations with the others and assume an independent position is absolute.”
The New York Times on March 21, 1861, reflecting the great majority of editorial opinion in the North summarized in an editorial:
“There is a growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of letting the Gulf States go.”
Northern industrialists became nervous, however, when they realized a tariff dependent North would be competing against a free trade South. They feared not only loss of tax revenue, but considerable loss of trade. Newspaper editorials began to reflect this nervousness. Lincoln had promised in his inaugural speech that he would preserve the Union and the tariff.
Three days after manipulating the South into firing on the tariff collection facility of Fort Sumter in volatile South Carolina, on April 15, 1861, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the Southern rebellion. This caused the Border States to secede along with the Gulf States. Lincoln undoubtedly calculated that the mere threat of force backed by more unified Northern public opinion would quickly put down secession.
His gambit, however, failed spectacularly and would erupt into a terrible and costly war for four years. The Union Army’s lack of success early in the war, the need to keep anti-slavery England from coming into the war on the side of the South, and Lincoln’s need to appease the radical abolitionists in the North led to increasing promotion of freeing the slaves as a noble cause to justify what was really a dispute over just taxation and States Rights.
Writing in December of 1861 in a London weekly publication, the famous English author, Charles Dickens, who was a strong opponent of slavery, said these things about the war going on in America:
“The Northern onslaught upon slavery is no more than a piece of specious humbug disguised to conceal its desire for economic control of the United States.”
“Union means so many millions a year lost to the South; secession means loss of the same millions to the North. The love of money is the root of this as many, many other evils. The quarrel between the North and South is, as it stands, solely a fiscal quarrel.”
Karl Marx, like most European socialists of the time favored the North. In an 1861 article published in England, he articulated very well what the major British newspapers, the Times, the Economist, and Saturday Review, had been saying:
“The war between the North and South is a tariff war. The war, is further, not for any principle, does not touch the question of slavery, and in fact turns on the Northern lust for power.”
A horrific example of the damage that protective tariffs can exact was also seen in later history. One of the causes of the Great Depression of 1930-1939 was the Hawley-Smoot Act, a high tariff passed in 1930 that Congress mistakenly thought would help the country. While attempting to protect domestic industry from foreign imports, the unanticipated effect was to reduce the nation’s exports and thereby help increase unemployment to the devastating figure of 25%. It is fairly well known by competent and honest economists now that protective tariffs usually do more harm than good, often considerably more harm than good. However, economic ignorance and political expediency often combine to overrule longer-term public good. As the Uncivil War of 1861-5 proves, the human and economic costs for such shortsighted political expediency and partisan greed can be enormous.
The Morrill Tariff illustrates very well one of the problems with majoritarian democracy. A majority can easily exploit a regional, economic, ethnic, or religious minority (or any other minority) unmercifully unless they have strong constitutional guarantees that can be enforced, e. g., States Rights, Nullification, etc. The need to limit centralized government power to counter this natural depravity in men was recognized by the founding fathers. They knew well the irresistible tendencies in both monarchy and democracy for both civil magistrates and the electorate to succumb to the temptations of greed, self-interest, and the lust for power. Thus they incorporated into the Constitution such provisions as the separation of powers and very important provisions enumerating and delegating only certain functions and powers to the federal government and retaining others at the state level and lower. Such constitutional provisions including the very specific guaranty of States Rights and limits to the power of the Federal Government in the 10th Amendment are unfortunately now largely ignored by all three branches of the Federal Government, and their constant infringement seldom contested by the States.
The Tariff question and the States Rights question were therefore strongly linked. Both are linked to the broader issues of limited government and a strong Constitution. The Morrill Tariff dealt the South a flagrant political injustice and impending economic hardship and crisis. It therefore made Secession a very compelling alternative to an exploited and unequal union with the North.
How to handle the slavery question was an underlying tension between North and South, but one of many tensions. It cannot be said to be the cause of the war. Fully understanding the slavery question and its relations to those tensions is beyond the scope of this article, but numerous historical facts demolish the propagandistic morality play that a virtuous North invaded the evil South to free the slaves. Five years after the end of the War, prominent Northern abolitionist, attorney and legal scholar, Lysander Spooner, put it this way:
“All these cries of having ‘abolished slavery,’ of having ‘saved the country,’ of having ‘preserved the Union,’ of establishing a ‘government of consent,’ and of ‘maintaining the national honor’ are all gross, shameless, transparent cheats—so transparent that they ought to deceive no one.”
Yet apparently many today are still deceived, are deliberately deceived, and even prefer to be deceived.
Unjust taxation has been the cause of many tensions and much bloodshed throughout history and around the world. The Morrill Tariff was certainly a powerful factor predisposing the South to seek its independence and determine its own destiny. As outrageous and unjust as the Morrill Tariff was, its importance has been largely ignored and even purposely obscured. It does not fit the politically correct images and myths of popular American history. Truth, however, is always the high ground. It will have the inevitable victory
In addition to the devastating loss of life and leadership during the War, the South suffered considerable damage to property, livestock, and crops. The policies of “Reconstruction” and “carpetbagger” state governments further exploited and robbed the South, considerably retarding economic recovery. Further, high tariffs and discriminatory railroad shipping taxes continued to favor Northern economic interests and impoverish the South for generations after the war. It is only in relatively recent history that the political and economic fortunes of the South have begun to rise.
One last point needs to be made. The war of 1861-65 was not a “civil” war. To call it the “Civil War” is not a historically accurate and honest use of language. It is the propaganda of the victors having attained popular usage. No one in the South was attempting to overthrow the U. S. government. Few Southerners had any interest in overthrowing their own or anyone else’s state governments. The Southern states had seen that continued union with the North would jeopardize their liberties and economic wellbeing. Through the proper constitutional means of state conventions and referendums they sought to withdraw from the Union and establish their independence just as the American Colonies had sought their independence from Great Britain in 1776 and for very similar reasons. The Northern industrialists, however, were not willing to give up their Southern Colonies. A more appropriate name for the uncivil war of 1861-65 would be “The War for Southern Independence.”
But had it not been for the Morrill Tariff there would have been no rush to Secession by Southern states and very probably no war. The Morrill Tariff of 1860, so unabashed and unashamed in its short-sighted, partisan greed, stands as an astonishing monument to the self-centered depravity of man and to its consequences. No wonder most Americans would like to see it forgotten and covered over with a more morally satisfying but largely false version of the causes of the Uncivil War.
Mike Scruggs is an historian who now lives in Hendersonville, NC
Principal References and Recommended Reading:
Charles Adams; For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes in the Course of Civilization, 1993.
Charles Adams; When in the Course of Human Events: Argueing the Case for Southern Secession, 2000.
Frank Conner; The South Under Siege 1830-2000; A History of the Relations Between North and South, 2002.
John G. Van Deusen; Economic Bases of Disunion in South Carolina, 1928. Reprinted by Crown Rights Book Company, 2003.
Thomas J. DiLorenzo; The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, 2002.
Ludwell H. Johnson; North Against South: The American Iliad 1848-1977, 2002 printing.
Mark Thornton; Tariffs, Blockades and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War, 2004.
Principal Reference and Recommended Listening
Dr. David Livingston; Rethinking Lincoln: Abe Lincoln and Slavery, Lectures at League of South Conference, 2000. Available on cassette or CD at Apologia Book Shoppe online. A valuable portion of this lecture concerns the Morrill Tariff.
Revised 4 June 2005
PROUD TO BE A DAUGHTER OF THE SOUTH!!
They had the guts to stand up for what they believed in and fight with all they had. God Bless Dixie!!
Last edited on Mon Dec 1st, 2008 08:59 pm by Shasta
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Robroy
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Posted: Mon Dec 1st, 2008 11:53 pm |
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Great Post ,Shasta. Bravo!
Shasta wrote:'Yet apparently many today are still deceived, are deliberately deceived, and even prefer to be deceived.'
The schools today are still teaching federal mandated curriculums to misconstrue popular belief.
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cracker
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Posted: Tue Dec 2nd, 2008 01:12 am |
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