I wanted to add one thing to this discussion. The South has been vilified for years and much truth has been suppressed. I believe it hurts both black and white descendants. For instance, when it is stated over and again that no black men fought for the Confederacy, it is dishonoring those black men who did, those who in fact received pensions for their active service. Don't we all agree that most fought to protect their homeland right or wrong by today's standards? Who can now put words in the mouths of the soldiers? And who are we to judge them? The Southerners paid dearly for losing that war. White and black alike. I agree that the freeing of the slaves by Lincoln was a political and strategic move, not based on his morality. Leigh C. Smith http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/4730/index.html http://wallsoftime.tripod.com/index.htm