I think we should have good speakers, and people come in and talk about these things and make sure everyone has a right understanding.

gooooood

in response to Evi Fariska Show comment

hi

There are many ways that can be done to ensure the future generations know the historical facts of why the war was fought. One of the way is by exposing the students with the truth through reliable history textbooks in the schools. Besides, government can play a role to spread awareness to public through newspapers or social media so that people won't misunderstand the true facts. Moreover, there should be more reliable and easily understandable historical books published so that the society remains aware and informed. By doing this, the society wouldn't be easily affected with myth that were not true.

There's a lot of misinformation Joe's comments. Facts are not one-sided. The lesson provides evidence of slavery's ties to the Civil War through state secession documents. It was a primary cause of the war, there's no getting around it. Secession ordinances weren't written out of context, but in the moment. If people took their slaves to Texas, then the state is a slave-owning state. There's also the absolute myth of Black Confederates for which there is NO documentation, despite comments that there's a "ton of evidence." So historians have just overlooked all this evidence? No, because it doesn't exist. Claiming such and providing documented evidence are not equivalent. This lesson links directly to the primary sources, not written by a historian, but the actual historical figures themselves. Do not let a Lost Cause acolyte distract you from the FACTS of this lesson.

in response to Jack Connell Show comment

The number of slaves freed by 1865 was closer to 4 million, so Mr. Connell's numbers are the ones that are way off.

in response to Jatera Simmons Show comment

Jatera, The US population was about 31 million in 1860. The number of slaves was about 300,000 at that time. Clearly you can see that your 250,000 in TX is way way off.

in response to Jatera Simmons Show comment

Even the Confiscation Act of Aug 6th, 1861 tells us the CW was more then just slavery. The Confiscation Act of 1861 stated - a Union solider could confiscate a slave from a southern slave owner -just as they could any other piece of property & keep. This happened all to often.This was way more complex then to make it 1 issue. Like I said...slavery was the # 1 issue for some states but abuse of power, fighting tyranny, financial implications of supplying soldiers & goods to the war cause, fighting families & so much more were factors for most states in the south...When we whittle it down to just 1 cause...we deny the totality of the human turmoil of the time & paint the participants on both sides as evil idealists...when in reality they could hate the institution of slavery & still feel they needed to protect their families from the many issues mentioned above. Much like in the REV WAR... many loyalists still hated the King. This is a dangerous game to play & never promotes healing

in response to Jatera Simmons Show comment

There is a ton of evidence showing African-Americans served in the Confederacy. We can debate the nefarious reasons & pressure for service but there is no debating service! Read about the Louisiana Native Guards & the Louisiana Tigers! This well documented & celebrated. Fredrick Douglas was documented,quoting witnesses of "Black Confederates". There is no debating this. Calling TX a slave state is also revisionist history. June 1st, 1808 the Atlantic Slave Trade was abolished & officially ended. Texas didnt become a state until we annexed her on Dec 29th of 1845 (37) years later. Yes people were allowed to still own slaves & moved to TX with their slaves but the numbers were very small until after the war. Henry Louis Gates of the WEB DuBois Institute documents this. Read Prof John Stauffers article on this in the Harvard Gazette. Manumission not emancipation in TX. Shays Rebellion was the rallying cry of the south after John Browns Rebellion at Hapers Ferry for fighting tyranny

in response to Joe MAC Show comment

There's absolutely no qualitative evidence to prove that African Americans fought for the Confederacy and thus their own enslavement and disenfranchisement. This is another part of Lost Cause mythos in general. I definitely recommend reading Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth by historian and educator Kevin M Levin.

Also, TX was a slave state. Texas became a slave holding state in the 1830s at the end of the Texas Revolution. There were over 250,000 slaves in TX by the end of the Civil War. It wasn't abolished until 1865. The entire legacy of Juneteenth(6/19/1865) celebrations originated in Galveston and was born out of the state's failure to inform the Africans that they had been freed through the Emancipation proclamation in 1863. Union General Gordon Granger showed up with the announcement. Shays' Rebellion was fought by disgruntled farmers in MA in the late 1700s and was a test of the strength of the Executive branch, not CW related.