glenn
dissenting vote
Fri May 11 15:53:45 2001


Slavery was not in the least the "cause" of the war.
Many history books say that the war "officially" began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate artillerymen fired on Fort Sumter. This explanation is convenient for the revisionists who must contend that the South started the war.
One of South Carolina's early state history books, "Fifty Lessons in the History of South Carolina" by John Langdon Weber, printed in 1891 in Boston, states, "The first shot of the war was fired on January 9, 1861, from the battery on Morris Island occupied by the Citadel cadets, and was directed at the Star of the West, a United States steamer that was trying to enter the harbor to re-enforce Fort Sumter." This ship was not a mere supply ship for the beleaguered garrison. It was loaded with guns, powder and approximately 200 soldiers. These shots were defensive shots from South Carolina student-soldiers who were defending their harbor from invasion. This first shot of the war showed the South Lincoln's true intentions. He intended to force a war which would result in South Carolina's return to the fold. Instead, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida (doesn't anyone notice that these states seceded immediately after the firing on the Star of the West) left the Union. They recognized the bully intention of the Federal government. Lincoln, working behind the scenes as president-elect, was a key player in these manipulations.
Slavery may have been a factor in precipitating secession. Northern bias, taxation without representation, and increased tariffs were also factors. But the cause of the war was the secession of the Southern states. Lincoln would not allow his most productive states (in 1860, 2/3 of the U.S.'s exports came from the South) to leave the Union. He forced a war to restore the country's tax base.