James & Cousins, After the eloquent post of James, I know it will be hard to top. As Cousin David said there are no grades, even if we all know James gets an "A". It would be great if some of the rest would post, if not an opinion, a story of your families during this time of federal aggression. Bob - K -----Original Message----- From: James B. Davis [mailto:jamesbdavis@hotmail.com] Sent: February 07, 2000 13:39 To: VICK-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [VICK-L] THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE Dearest VICK cousins, There has never been a "civil war" in this country. There was a "War for Southern Independence," fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. This war was never about slavery...it was about states rights, and the rights of states, guaranteed by the United States constitution, to withdraw from the Union. A "union" is voluntary by definition. Abraham Lincoln, beloved though he may be, was not the great emancipator and/or lover of freedom for all peoples as he has been portrayed. To quote Mr. Lincoln himself: "I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races --- that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races...I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." (1) (1) Abraham Lincoln, as cited in the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, edited by R. W. Johannsen, Oxford University Press, New York, Ny: 1965, pp. 162-163. Likewise, the so-called Emancipation Proclamation was not designed to free slaves. A reading of the document reveals that Lincoln declared free only those slaves "within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States...in other words only in those areas where Mr. Lincoln had no control. The document specifically excluded six parishes of Louisianna under Federal control as well as the 48 counties designated as West Virginia. The proclamation actually states that these excepted areas be "left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued." Cousin David states that the victor has the right to write the history. I agree on the condition that whatever is written is the truth. However, most of what was written by the victors of this war was not the truth, but was designed to make the victors "right" or "just" in their cause. The Southern states have been vilified for over 140 years for nothing more than having the nerve to stand up for their rights to secede from the Union and create their own nation. Hundreds of thousands of our ancestors fought and died in this war. The great majority of them were neither slave owners nor large property holders. Our beloved General Robert E. Lee did not own slaves, and did not lead our army in support of that cause. At the beginning of the war, General U.S. Grant's wife DID own slaves. There are so many untruths that we have been forced to swallow, and it makes me so angry. I have a library of over 200 books, published from 1850-1895, about this war. I have the 125 volumes of the "Official History" published by the U.S. government 1891-1894 along with a companion atlas. I have books by generals of both North and South, books by Jefferson Davis, and numerous historians. The more I study the words and stories and documents written by people who were actual participants and close observers of this conflict, the more obvious it becomes that the history we were taught, and that most people believe, is nothing more than a series of convenient lies and half-truths. Our brave dead soldiers were tossed into and remain in mass graves while the Union fallen were later reburied. It is said, and is obviously true in this case, that "To the victor go the spoils." Our ancestors suffered and gave and lost so much. I must honor them by trying to make the truth known whenever an opportunity arises. I regularly write letters to newspapers and magazines which print incorrect information or editorials about the war, or the South, or our flag as in recent weeks. Personally, I believe the South would have re-entered the union shortly anyway, but without the loss of life, liberty, and economic ruin caused by the war. I also believe slavery would have been abolished as well. David, you have opened a can of worms. I wish you good fishing. Jim Davis ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com