im british. and i have a question regarding the american civil war...?

Question

ive only ever ventured out stateside once, and that was boston, massachusits. i want to know if people in the deep south actualy give a damn (pardon my french) about the civil war, and if just getting by in life takes presedence over caring bout your country's history. Yes this is a question I'm hoping americans will answer, if your from Denmark, France, Spain, Italy or England - please avoid answering this as it defeats the purpose of the question itself.

As an american, be it from former unionist state or a former confederate state, do you REALLY have the time or thought to give a flying monkeys about the civil war, its history, and how history of the war itself panned out ? i'd be interested to hear from those who DO care and also from those who have enough on their plate to care about something that happened oh so many years ago that bares little next to no relevance to their daily survival lol.

ps: i think the accents on girls from the deep south have hot accents :-)

lol...@ the 2nd answer.

ps: i JUST realised my 'last part' re: the accents didnt make much sense...i need to take it easy with the booze at these hours :-)

im a born n raised londoner, from England of cousre - but of 'Indian descent' meaning my roots stem back to the mystical land of India. I'm divided on opinion and respect for both the north AND the south. India was termed as 'the golden sparrow' , a diamond in the crowns jewel if ya like, during british colonial rule. We had Gandhi, not a war monger to drive out the british. I guess my heritage is important but im forever debtful, loyal and thankful for being a Briton. England is MY home, and England it WILL BE till the day i die. so yes, im very patriotic.

Im glad i actualy asked this question folks, cos bout 4 or 5 years ago i just somehow read up on the civil war and became infatuated with the history of a country i hold very close to my heart, the USA. I can see how and why african americans in the deep south fought for he confederacy, and I'd like to think they're revered as heroes in the south by both the black and the whites and just all patriotic southern state dwellers.

loads of answers all , an i mean ALL of them are top notch. but the one by 'bostep6...' , was very interesting indeed and i think this gives me and you and all of us a chance to gain an insight into each nations educational systems.

I was never taught in any level of schooling as a child into my teens and into my early/mid adulthood about the 'american revolutionary war' .

Every country has its good points and bad, when it comes to history - whilst i do not associate my 'patriotism' for being a brit, with the 'imperialistic designs' of its past, nor do i approve of them; i do infact find it VERY interesting that when I WAS growing up and being educated, nobody ever taught me about how we lost that 'revolutionary war'.

I guess i could make a 'stabby' comment by suggesting 'the french came to your rescue' but that would risk flaring up another war lol :)

Nevertheless my friends, the french chickened out on the war on terrorism so that tells you everything. :)

wow...interesting read. refering to Showtune of course. What he said sounded like it came from reputable and intelligent sources. Its very easy for a man in power or those in power to take a side which is 'more favored' and then abuse that position to win a war i suppose, or just to get the results you want.

The british succeeded in 'dividing' India in half, on the basis of 'religion' - great policy 'divide and rule' i guess. its not about being of indian heritage or whatever, its just 'common sense' i think. What this fella said struck a chord, and it was the application of common sense and i guess he and i were on the same wavelength. but yeah, i need to hear from a LOT more of you regarding the history surrounding the civil war, who was right, who was wrong, hidden agendas etc

reading the latest answers...2 pages already. Sambo's answer was really intersting. i mean really really well put forward and interesting.

Answer 1

The Civil War was the beginning of the end for local gov't and true conservatism in the US.
States rights were destroyed in favor of an all powerful federal gov't. We no longer have as much oversight over our gov't because of it.

My state left the US legally according to all precedents set by New England when they threatened to secede many times before. Yet instead of compromising with us as we did with them we were invaded and forced to return to a country under the leadership of a man who didnt get a single electoral vote from half the country. They stole all of our power and even kept our leaders from being able to run for office.

Slavery was on the way out anyway, overproduction of cotton was about to catch up with us. The war was about one man wanting to be President even though he knew it would divide the country.

He had to institute a draft, suspend free speech, suspend freedom of the press and restrict other rights to make his war successful, this set precedents that would later come back to hurt us again in WW2 and today.

Unfortunately the Confederacy was wrapped up in racism, but that doesnt mean that the good ideas had to go with the bad ones. You arent supposed to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but the South didnt have enough say in the gov't to keep the rights of the people alive.

As a note: Natives were treated far better by the CSA than the Union. They were given full rights, the same as white people. There were also some freed black slave owners-but they were very rare and considered 2nd class citizens at best--the same way Natives were treated in the north.

Answer 2

Here's the deal on that my friend. And I speak from experience. Although I'm from California; my parents were from the South, and I even have distant relatives that fought with the Confederacy against the Yankee hoards!
They DO care; and hold a grudge to this very day, but mostly in the south. I have a second home in Lebanon, Tennessee, and out there they actually refer to people from up north as Yankees and the other locals know what they're talking about.. They will never forget; they can't. The Union made the Southern States pay a heavy price for succeeding from the Union and going to war over it; and that's why the storys of atrocities and horrible things that were done during and after "Reconstuction" are passed on from generation to generation. So,,yes! You will still find the Civil War alive and well in many many parts of the south; although, it's pretty much over up north..
And it's not about having too much on your plate or not for an American to be interested in the Civil War.. Remember; to this day; the only other war of the many fought by such a young country; the death toll was only higher in WW2,, Almost 3 quarter of a million dead,, and that's not including the wounded... A horrific war by any era's standards.. The hate runs long and deep for alot of familys in the South...

Answer 3

American Civil War 1861-1865 English Civil War 1642-1646 Second Civil War 1648-1651

Answer 4

I am from Maryland which was a divided state during the Civil war. I am very interested in all kinds of history but the Civil war is especially interesting because so much of what happened then shaped the current times and laws. Such as the draft, income taxes, states' right, citizens' relationship to government, the president's role in the government, etc. I think that understanding the civil war explains a lot about the current times but knowing the civil war is not crucial to my day to day life.

Keep in mind the scope of the civil war that 1 out of every 6 american males over age 16 was killed or wounded in the war. Some of the battles of the civil war were the largest military battles in the western hemisphere before or since. Both sides sought out help from foreign countries.

A little known fact is that the opinions of people at the time were not clearly divided along geographical lines. In fact every state, north and south sent a certain amount of soldiers to both sides because opinion was so divided. Portions of east Tennessee even tried to un-secede partway through the war by keeping their congressmen in Washington DC.

I would bet that people who grew up or lived near areas affected by Sherman's march to the sea [ie parts of Georgia, South Carolina] (which was a largely punitive campaign against civilian targets) still feel very hurt by the war.

You should travel to the US more and visit some of the battlefields, tour some of the cities and talk to more of the people and you will learn so much more about it.

Answer 5

I'm from the South - 5th generation Florida Cracker! True Southerners will not forget. The Yankees have treated us as 2nd class citizens since the foundation of this country. With the defeat of the Confederacy, the Constitutional limits on the Federal Government (the 9th & 10th amendments) died and were replaced by the unlawful 14th amendment. 140+ years of unrestrained growth of an all powerful Federal government has gotten American in the mess it is in today. The Damn Yankees and their imposing views is the reason why America is hated by the rest of the World. The war wasn't fought over slavery and the Union Army wasn’t the Grand Army of the Republic. It was the Grand Republican Army, doing the will of a group of multi-millionaires so they could further entrench themselves in power. As most wars, it was about money. The Union government didn't give a damn about the slaves. The slavery issue was no more than political propaganda for the North. No different than the government we have now

Answer 6

The Civil War represents an extremely important era in America's history. The countries leaders would very soon decline in quality and therefore Lincoln was one of the last to be noted more for his life then rather his demise. The war itself is noted to be the bloodiest in American history and the cause no less just, although ti would be naive to assume that the war was entirely centralised around slavery abolishment, abolishment was a notable contributer and those facts help to educate Americans and even foreigners to the states the passion involved in a struggle to eventually do what is right. During the civil war is was important for the Union to prove that the system works and therefore the country works and it would seem this Right Wing attitude has been more commonly taken up by the southern states then the northern states lately. War history as of much of history, helps us objectively make decisions on future actions and allows us to review the ethics of our actions, which in all honesty hasn't always been the goal of the US or England.

Answer 7

I care but only as a study in history. I'm from Texas, my father was from Virginia, and my mother was from Indiana.
You don't see allot of "the south will rise again" people around anymore. You do see some who defend the confederate flag, mostly as a heritage thing.

Your question could be asked of the British. Do people in England really care about the American revolution? I would think that only as a history lesson and nothing else.

There are those who study the civil war, those who go out and re-enact battles wearing full costumes, and those who travel to historic places to see some history. Like all cultures there are those who a fascinated by one thing; be it college football, scuba diving, or the civil war. We still teach of it in our schools but not as thorough as when the subject was covered in the early 1900's. Why, there's more history to teach and there's only so many hours in a day. Most people, I think, only think of the civil war as a part of history and don't concern themselves with it or the influence the civil war had unless they are asked.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

I'm from the North and have lived in the South. I'm going to do my best to answer this because to me you have asked more than one question.
1) People in the south do care about losing the war because no one wants to lose. It's the same as some Brits sticking a nose up at the US because they lost the American Revolution. That happened twice as long ago as the American Civil War and the US is still referred to as the Colonies in certain circles.
2) Most people don't worry about history and just survive on a daily basis. I rarely think about the Civil War itself, but the racial tensions happening this very day stem from why the Civil War was fought to begin with.
3) A southern drawl is very sexy, but then again so is a British accent.

Answer 9

In the Deep South, especially in cities that were burned and ravaged by the Union forces, there is still some resentment.
The South was punished during Reconstruction, and the Northern states continue to claim moral superiority while being totally hypocritical on issues about race relations.

Next time you come to the states, I suggest you tour some antebellum plantations in Georgia or Alabama and maybe catch a Civil War reenactment. You will no doubt see some Confederate flags still flying and for sale despite the controversy, and see that there are many sons and daughters of the Confederacy who still take that piece of history very seriously and very personally.

Answer 10

The South was made up of thirteen states who were trying to become thirteen independent allies. When the war started,the Confederacy had over $700 million. That seems like a lot of money even by todays standards,but look at this.
Horses
Saddles
Cloth for uniforms
Leather for boots
Steel for making weapons
Wood for making the stocks of those weapons
With limited railroads,and the only commodity to sell for hard currency was cotton- which the nations of Europe needed and were willing to pay the price that was set by the Confederate government.
An army and a navy need to get paid. You also need a mail system for communication. With the weak government and no way to collect taxes because each state was "looking out for their own".And I cannot stress this enough. The American Civil War was fought over STATES RIGHTS,not SLAVERY.