Smallscreen Features
The Real Abraham Lincoln Feb. 14 on Nat Geo
By April MacIntyre Feb 14, 2009, 20:26 GMT
And Also
Latest Headlines in Smallscreen
- 1. Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr. begins Feb. 10 - video clips
- 2. Kristi Yamaguchi has a busy February, PBS special and Working Mom cover girl
- 3. Antonio Sabato Jr. and Danica Patrick zoom up CBS's CSI: NY
- 4. Sex dolls, Pluto's planethood and Stealth for NGC Highlights Feb. 8 - 14, 2010
- 5. Tyrannosaurus Sex premieres February 14th on Discovery Channel
Older Talkback
Lincoln caused hundreds of thousands of Americans to die for nothing. Slavery was on its way out in the Americas even though it had been practiced for thousands of years in Africa by Africans and in many other places. This war did not have to happen. Non-violence is the answer. I just wish the black folks of today really did practice non-violence and were against slavery. Welfare is also a type of slavery against working people, so many of us are still not free. End slavery and stop welfare now.
The war did not have to happen?
It is interesting that people like Mr. Jones equate welfare with slavery, implying of course, that blacks are somehow inferior because they live on the white man's taxes. His statement not only shows his racism but his ignorance. Overwhelmingly, more white people use the welfare system than do blacks. Even though we have elected a black president, which would not have been possible without the support of whites, there are still those who hold fast to the old stereotypes.
True enough, the war did not need to happen. Of course, southern states didn't need to suceed at Lincoln's election but they did. Would we have been better off if the war did not happen, and the U.S. was devided into two countries? I think that is a pretty tough argument to make.
Was slavery about to end in 1860? That seems very unlikely given the South's increasing economic dependence on it.
The south seceded before Lincoln's inauguration.
Who attacked who at Fort Sumter?
States don't have the right to commit acts of treason.
The only thing the Confederacy produced was from the labor of slaves.
And Moon Shine.
If not for Lincoln The Confederacy would be part of UK.
>It is interesting that people like Mr. Jones equate welfare with slavery, implying of course...<
You miss his point completely. Blacks are dependent on welfare, not enslaved by it. Welfare has done nothing for black people other than kept them poor.
there are more whites than blacks on welfare anyway genius turn off rush limbaugh and read a book
It is so funny to me how some people feel as though african americans are always to blame for societal ills. Black people may be on welfare (not all of us but some of us) but who created the system in the first place. If the welfare system was truly created to help those in need then why didn't they have systems in place to educate those receiving assistance instead of allowing them to continue to feed off of the system. Could it be that they wanted these people to be held back so they made it easy for them to just sit back and do nothing. I mean really the government could have cut the welfare program a long time ago, they knew what the problems were but they did nothing to fix it. I think that as a country we need to stop blaming the victims of a system that was set out to destroy a segment of our society. I mean did you know that when a women was on welfare she could not have a man living with her. How does that make sense? If welfare was supposed to help people then why would you not want a family to be together and help them collectively and not destroy them. Maybe some of you who are so quick to pass judgement should go out and speak to a welfare recipient and get there opinions on the system. I am sure that they don't love being on welfare. Peace and love!!
Regardless of our opinion of whether the war needed to happen or not, It did. The south lost and the union was restored. At the end of the day, what happened is history. Leave it at that and get on with your life.
Non-violence only works if all sides practice it. Those not prepared to fight for their freedoms will surely lose them. With all due credit to Mr. Gandhi, a great many of history's turning points occurred on the battlefield, not in the parlor during polite discussion at afternoon tea.
War is horrendous, but sometimes the alternatives are worse.
Elrey Jones is in some ways correct and the elitist posters here need to recognize that. Slavery WAS on the way out, machines were replacing planters and the machines' upkeep costs were much lower than people. Had everyone kept their heads, things would have taken care of themselves as they did in many other locations around the world. The war could not be avoided, though, because the South split the Democratic vote and refused to give Lincoln any chance at all to keep the nation whole.
Welfare continues to hold the poor down because, just like CEOs at the top of companies, they know they can make as many poor choices as they want because the government will bail them out before blood hits the streets. Stop hiding behind the race card and worrying someone will be offended, recognize the problems in the country, and fix them.
'The country was unprepared for war when it broke out in April 1961. One German observer said that the American Civil War was like watching two armed mobs chasing each other across the countryside.'
Yeah, that second Civil War back in the 1960's doesn't get talked about too much, but it was epic. The Battle of Haight Street, General Nixon's legendary mounted charge into Greenwich Village, thousands of Hippie irregulars lurching into hand-to-hand combat high as kites...
Rush Limbo is just a radio entertainer....thats all...nothing more....all he wants is ratings for his show....thats why he keeps stiring up folks...
Slavery is and always will be an unneeded part of society. It is a part oof our history and cannot be deleted....we must remember it...and move on.
Lincoln was a good president, Booth was a murderer. That is history.
We all need to pull together now...and fix our nation, bring back jobs to America, and heal our nation.
olehippy13
former vietnam medic
lifelong falcon fan
slavery would have ended naturally, buried under the weight of its own inefficiency. rather than devoting energy and money to enslave a man, devote it to paying him(or her)and you have a worker. the rest of civilization didn't need to murder half a million young men to abolish slavery.
regarding welfare, i can only quote claude levi-strauss: 'gifts make slaves.'
regarding lincoln: his was the first shredding of the united states constitution with the suspension of habeus corpus, and america hasn't turned back since. if he hadn't been sent to hell by jw boothe his martyrdom wouldn't have produced this twisted cult of personality that's grown up around him, and he'd take his rightful place as one of history's greatest butchers, instead of some school-room guardian angel.
whatever you feel about bush and cheney, please remember lincoln; and instead of drinking the kool-aid, consider the possibility that those school books might not be the absolute truth that you took for granted.
If you really want to read another perspective of Lincoln's legacy go to the Patriotpost.com web site.
The perspective described therein is not significantly different from other information passed down from my great grandfather who lived and fought in the “War Between the States”, which by the way was not a Civil War. The south did not want to take over the federal government. If so the war could have been defined as a civil war.
The southern states only wanted to be left alone to determine their own destiny as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights guaranteed, without federal intervention.
Happy reading and hope someone wakes up to another version of history different from what the main stream media wants us to believe.
As an Hispanic man, I see prejudice in the world but that does not deter me from going to school, working hard, taking responsibility for my actions. I therefore feel all others, no matter their color, can do the same. I am a man of peice and wish war would never happen, but know the reality of life and feel Lincoln did his best in a very bad situation. In a perfect world there would have never been, nor ever would be war, but our world is far from perfect. All I know is I'm glad black, white, brown, red, and yellow people are all free. I'm glad we have a man like Obama in office no matter his color. I'm glad Lincoln fought for the freedom of all slaves. It was a bad war that resulted in a long struggle for true freedom.
Typo noted:
War broke out in 1860, not 1960...
Cheers))
Elrey expressed an opinion that does hold many truths. Slavery is a very old institution and it was practiced by Africans before the American slave trade started. Can anyone deny that? No, you can't. Welfare has been a complete failure for all people. Welfare takes away the most basic human dignity of hard work, sacrifice, and hope. You all know that so get off your high horse.
The war was not about slavery per se and was not fought to free the slaves. The war was fought becuase Lincoln and the North believed that once a state joined the Union by consent of the other states, the only way a state could leave the Union was with the consent of those same other states. The south beleived that they had 'states rights' that the Federal government was usurping. The Union believed that once the Confederate Sates of America was constituted, the Union still had the right to collect duties and fees and maintain 'former' Union government property within the CSA. The CSA disagreed and fired on Fort Sumter to force the Union soldiers to leave South Carolina. The war was fought not so much to free the slaves but to preserve the union.
I don't understand the assertion that slavery would have died out without the war. Slaves were not just used for agriculture. They were used anywhere labor was needed, even in domestic positions like cooking and for sex. Who would have built, operated and repaired the mechanical farming equipment?
Also, the war was a statement that slavery was wrong for this country and would no longer be tolerated at any cost. Where would race relations be today without that statement even if slavery had died out on its own?
Many have paid a high price for the freedoms this county provides to its citizens. We have a responsibility to recognize those freedoms and to not give up even a small part.
Your Talkback on this Story