Slavery

[MaddieM]

(10-04-2012 06:03 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Maddie,

My mother would have agreed with you completely. She always bristled at the treatment that the Native Americans received. Manifest Destiny was a dangerous thing in many ways, but that belief and that of free enterprise took the United States to great heights. I'm afraid that it is easier to justify the end results than it is to explain the actions it took to get there.

Personally, I have very soft feelings for the people of Appalachia, who suffer the same deprivations as those in the inner cities and have for many generations. I went to a small university on the fringes of that impoverished area, and in many areas it reminded me of the photos of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. We may profess that all men are created equal, but I don't believe it has ever happened and never will. Our forefathers should have amended the phrase to read "created with equal opportunity," perhaps; but I'm pessimistic about that also. I guess my youthful, optimistic, and liberal views have failed me.

yes, so true. I think it's the hypocrisy that gets to me. I do feel as though I'm tippy toeing through a minefield here, but I'm wondering if the Civil War was ALL about slavery abolition or something more. Was the abolition of slavery just an excuse? Or was it coming from a genuine place? Bearing in mind that, nobody seems to mind putting the Native Americans into a state of slavery at that time.