Slavery was the “moral” issue that justified in some people’s mind the carnage of the Civil War, but it is quite true that other issues were at play. State’s rights” – for the south, and “economic interests” motivated the north. Sad to say, but “slavery” was merely an effective cover and there was no motivation for either side to actually assimilate slaves and make them truly equal citizens.
If slavery and “human rights” issues were the main causes for the war, one would have thought that the noble and “moral” folks in the North would have set about giving all blacks in America “civil rights” and helping them assimilate as equal citizens. And of course, the racist notions of the inferiority of blacks did not disappear just because we passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. Our country spent a century creating an underclass – turning slaves into serfs and second class citizens. The fact that the south took segregation to an extreme can be explained by the simple demographics that there were about 10 times as many blacks in the south as the north – 3 million to 300,000.
Although the notion of “40acres and a mule” was a step up to true self-reliance, it failed because after Lincoln’s assassination, his successor Andrew Johnson quickly overturned the ruling. But in my humble opinion, although 40 acres concept was better than slavery, it still was greatly flawed. What the radical “40 acres and a mule” offered black farmers was anything but aimed at integrating blacks and white. Section two specifies that these new communities would be governed entirely by black people themselves: ” … on the islands, and in the settlements hereafter to be established, no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves..”.
I am not heartened by the man who now is the symbol for how far we have come. Although it is time that race not be an issue anymore for accomplishment in America, it is unfortunate that the person of mixed race who attained this high office is anything but a unifier of the people. On the contrary, he is a great divider. He is merely the beneficiary of about 100 years of far left progressive, socialist movement who has found their “bullet proof” leader to do what progressives and Big Centralized Govt advocates have been attempting to do for this last century – “transform” America from a land of individuals to a land of compliant serfs dependent on their Philosopher Kings.
In reality, the momentum for the last century has always been in the direction of greater Centralized control of the Govt and once Reagan was gone, the GOP and Democrats reverted back to their primary crony groups and their shared belief in large centralized Govts. This may come as a shock to the far left, but both Bush’s economic policies were not Conservative – especially W, and simply keeping tax policies low at the same time that spending is drastically being increased merely greased the wheels for the insane spending spree of the Democrats since Obama.
It is not so much that Obama created this great divide but he certainly has used it for his ideological and political purposes. In the end, Obama has achieved success by being the great Divider – and though the carnage has not yet become anything resembling the great War – this divide between black and white, Hispanics and whites, women’s rights vs right to life, gays versus traditional definition of marriage – we are indeed in the midst of our next Civil War. Most people just haven’t figured it out yet.