The True Cause of the Civil War: Moral Libertarianism

The Yankees hated the spread of slavery because we had this pernicious habit of freeing our slaves and then living next them as neighbors. This was of course, illegal, in Illinois, home of the great emancipator (and war criminal).

I have no love the southern radicals any more than the northern, but in their defense, it was constant yankee carping that brought on those in your face comments about slavery.

As to Fort Sumter? It was a customs house. The war was about taxes. We were paying for the industrial revolution up north and had enough. We said no more. Lincoln decided to reinforce his tax collectors and we said enough. Up to that point, the yankee soldiers had been buying their provisions in the market in Charleston. No body bothered them. But that was too much. So we blasted 'em. They were trespassing in our harbor, and intercepting our commerce. That's brigandage under international law.

While the south was not blameless, the north turned it from a war of words into a ruthless and murderous invasion of private property. They fought like Nazis, we fought, for the most part, like gentlemen. One, exactly one, northern town was burned. Whole states were turned into wasteland down here. So yeah, we view them as monsters. And ourselves as victims. Why wouldn't we?

It must not be forgotten that Sherman and Sheridan were acting under orders when they carried torch and sword to the civilians of the south. They were promoted because other northern generals were Christians and would not fight that way. But Lincoln found his pyromaniacs...

And why do we need provocation to secede? In a voluntary union, we should be able to secede because we wake up in the morning and just plain feel like it! If you can't do that, you are not free. We have gone from chattel slavery to social slavery.