Causes of Civil War

[exlrrp]

(from Vietnam section)
I like the idea about talking it out but the reason it happened is that they HAD been talking it out for some time--a long LONNNNGGG Time-- and the situation was only getting worse. I think people had no idea what a war would do to their countriy and states. everybody was convinced the whole thing would be wrappped up in a few weeks (just like Iraq)
I gues I sorta see it as inevitable--we are a violent nation and thats how we believe in solving our problems--just ask the Indians-- and thats how it looked like this one was going to go from the start.
It was a media war to start with and let that be a lesson about letting the Talking Heads run the country. They never admit a mistake, just start talking bout something else. Some of the most shocking things to read is the newspapers of the day and the language theyused to describe each other--liars, cowards, traitors, just like the Coulterites do now. When these kinds of words are being slung freely around you know theres going to be a fight
But it was a primarily economic war with 2 completely different visions of America competing for power--the Yankee expansionists versus the Slave Expansionists. Both systems had to keep expanding to be successfull and there just wasnt enough room for both. With the tremendous investments made on either side, no one was going to give up easily. yankee shiping had as much to do with slavery as the cotton plantations did.
Thats why A Certain State tried to secede and fired on the American flag and army--Lincoln had been elected on an anti slavery expansion platform (NOT anti slavery!!) and they knew that this was not going to be good for business. And they didnt have enough guns in that state to give all the people who were lining up to do it, again whipped up by the media frenzy. i guess the education system there was not advanced enough to do simple math: The Rebels were outnumbered 9 million to 22 million and half of their population was slaves, the Yankees controlled ALL the shipping, All the manufacturing, had almost ALL the railroads and almost all the capital too.
As Sherman said, when a nation of mechanics goes to war with a nation of farmers theres only going to be one result (Sherman never met the Vietnamese)
But what puzzles me still is why people still will swear allegiance and fight for this flag of a system that brought them so much destruction and did their country so much damage. Really--arent you Rebel Flag wavers proud of being AMERICANS?? Then why wave th flag of the cause that did the most damage to America, hands down, no competition, more than Tojo, Hitler, Stalin, Mao and all the VC combined! this is something to be proud of? I'll never get it.

James