Darc Requiem said:
I know why he sided with the South. In fact the Civil War was about states rights and not slavery. Doesn't change my view on Robert E. Lee. He fought for the oppressors of my people despite his disbelief in slavery. That makes him worse than the actual slave owners in my view. |
I wasn't planning to respond to this thread, but when talk turned to the Civil War I caved.
Robert E. Lee didn't fight for the oppressors of your people. He fought for a cause that also happened to be supported by some (and only some) of these oppressors. Only ~5% of Southern white males owned slaves in 1860, and I can assure you that the thousands that died in the Civil War were weren't sacrificing their lives simply so that a few, rich, fat old men could keep their slaves.
As you yourself pointed out, the war was fought over the rights of the state (stemming from controversies over tariffs and other economic disputes), and not over a preservation of slavery.
Racism and oppression can't solely be placed on the shoulders of the South. Virginia had been holding emancipation talks as early as 1853, and the North was quite content having Delaware on it's side without forcing the residents to free a single slave. Most Northerners (particularly from upper-Northern states like New Hampshire) had never even seen a single black man, and had no intentions of freeing them. They were simply fighting to "save the union."
And then there was Lincoln, one of the most racist SoBs I've ever heard of. Licoln was a proponent of "colonization", which involved freeing the slaves and sending them back to Africa, because he felt that whites and blacks simply could not live together. Check out this quote from a debate he had with Stephen Douglas in 1858:
(Source Liberty-Tree.ca)
In conclusion, you can't hold Lee and Jackson accountable for the actions of others. They were great men, and deserve to be honored for their valiant fight against an oppressive federal government.
Also, for everybody else that reads this, remember what I have written, and don't automatically assume that every Confederate flag you see was put up by some racist bastard. The majority of Confederate flag toting Southerners are like myself, and are not racists, but simply believe in the cause that the South fought for (that of freedom from an oppressive federal government) and/or are honoring their forefathers that fought for the South (like my great-great-grandfather).
Oh, and vote Ron Paul. :P