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In reply to the discussion: Jim Webb: 'Honorable Americans Fought on Both Sides in the Civil War' [View all]TheOther95Percent
(1,035 posts)55. About that "they didn't own slaves and still fought" argument.
I will posit these possible explanations for why non-slave holders fought for the Confederacy:
* Quite possibly heard or read the various Secession Acts specifying any or all of the following: separation from the Union is necessary to preserve and maintain the supremacy of the white guy over all others; the basic "some day I can get me some slaves and be rich like that guy over there"; and freed slaves are going to rape the women in my family. In other words, the non-slave holder was of the same political bent as the slave-owner. You can read the causi belli for various states here: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/what-this-cruel-war-was-over/396482/
* God. Yes, God. God condoned slavery. It's in the Bible! God didn't condone slavery.That's in the Bible too! You can't go against the Almighty, now can you? There were few religious minorities in the United States in the run up to the Civil War. Most Americans were of one protestant denomination or another. The three main protestant sects: Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist split in the 1840s over the issue of slavery. So, for example, the Northern Baptist preacher would rail against slavery and its negative effects on society while his Southern counterpart spoke just as determinedly about maintaining human bondage because it was a good thing for everybody. This link has more on the impact of religiosity, personal belief systems and the echo chamber here: http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/why-non-slaveholding.html
* Conscripted and fought with the army.
* Joined a slave patrol and ended up in the army. In addition to the regular army units, local militias formed slave patrols. Now slave patrols had been a regular feature of Southern life for more than a hundred years. White Southerners feared slave rebellions and many more slave patrols were formed in the first year of the Civil War since - truth be told - a slave rebellion was feared more than the still far away Union army. As the war dragged on, slave patrols contributed more men to the war effort. Men with "20 negroes or more" were automatically exempted from military service. Rich man's war, poor man's fight.
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General Grant also tried to expel Jews from parts of rebel states under his command
Art_from_Ark
Jun 2015
#15
Maybe he had "tactical reasons", but his order was quickly revoked by Lincoln
Art_from_Ark
Jun 2015
#23
first he has to win the republican party nomination and he has lots of competetion for that nt
msongs
Jun 2015
#30
The German conscripts fought just like our soldiers..as fodder. Here is the part of the WWII
kelliekat44
Jun 2015
#38
I think you mean to say traitor. Traders to this nation makes me think of benign peddlers.
TheOther95Percent
Jun 2015
#45
When wars are declared how many soldiers stop and think about whether they're on the right side?
Gidney N Cloyd
Jun 2015
#17
Red Planet at 10...Starship Troopers at 11...Stranger at 12...Jonathan Hoag at 13...
Octafish
Jun 2015
#62
Ugh. Yes, those noble Confederates, fighting to keep slavery. Ahh, the glory...
Arugula Latte
Jun 2015
#33