Message from @Little Boots
Discord ID: 487811506872778762
And good men who did bad things. Bad men who did good things. As there is in every war.
Nor was Lincoln a virtuous saint who did no wrong nor was the Union army the great liberators.
Lincoln is the living incarnation of the old saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." He wanted to follow his principles and did so, but all that brought about was the absolute chaos of the war and the next century of social problems for the country.
Has any war ever been different?
No matter the motivation, innocent people die. Ordinary soldiers, and civilians
The difference here was that it was preventable.
Is any war unavoidable?
Nope.
Some aren't.
This one was and it all had to do with who was in charge.
Have you ever read SC's declaration of secession?
I have.
So you know why they broke away
Yes.
Well, at least why South Carolina broke away.
Virginia broke away because Lincoln wanted to get troops down there and they'd inevitably go through Virginia and essentially violate all of their rights in the process.
Lincoln's intial goal was to keep the nation together, period. The south broke away for slavery.
Doesn't mean the people actually fought for slavery
Just means the rich people lobbied for it
As we all know it is a rich man's war but a poor man's fight.
No, the south broke away because Lincoln wanted to transgress their rights to determine how slavery would be dealt with, which a number of politicians framed as a "direct attack" on slavery.
Lincoln only made the situation worse overall, which is why I generally suggest that, if someone like Andrew Jackson were President during the time, the war wouldn't have happened.
The south believed Lincoln would end slavery. They admit it themselves
Because, unlike Lincoln, Jackson would have gone to the negotiating table.
The north also refused to comply with fugitive slave laws
*Some* politicians did, others did not.
Jackson did in fact confront the south when they threatened to secede over taxes and tariffs. He threatened them, they backed down.
You can refer to Jefferson Davis as a good example of how it wasn't a clear cut-and-dry thing.
Ragnarok, he confronted the South *in order to get them to the negotiating table.*
Lincoln simply refused any form of negotiation.
Lincoln wanted to get his way as President and be the judge, jury, and executioner on the slavery debate, which was the problem. It isn't the right of the President to force their opinion as fact, regardless of the issue in question. The President is meant to be the executioner, not the Judge and Jury.
What negotiation does there need to be?
Hmm does that mean Trump should still enforce Obamacare?
Did you read anything I've said or are you just jumping to conclusions?
The President is the executioner. His job is to execute what Congress passes. He has the option to not execute plans, if need be, and can veto bills when they come across his desk. However, he doesn't have the power to make the laws.
Hence why Lincoln wanting to get his way on the slavery debate (i.e. halting the expansion of slavery) was seen as him overstepping is boundaries as President. Lincoln did not have the right nor the power to get his way on the issue. He was there to execute what Congress passes and enforce the laws, not the make them himself.
That is the fundamental problem.
Sounds an awful lot like a Democrat unhappy with the current president, and I know you're better than that
I will give you this though, the Battle Flag is awesome
It isnt that Lincoln would end slavery, the Republicans would and the Dems didnt get their guy in to veto it. It doesnt matter what percent of the vote Lincoln got, he won. Its really no different than what just happened with Trump.
Or, you know, people who had legitimate fears that Lincoln was going to act like a defacto tyrant only to have him act like a defacto tyrant...