--- Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Which was the primary concern of the politicians and > the people in > power, but *not* of most of the infantry. > > The leaders meant X, said Y, the rank-and-file > believed Y. > > Julia
You know you're both stepping into a bit of a historical minefield here, right? You could probably ask 50 Civil War historians and get 50 different answers on whether the rank-and-file was fighting for slavery. My own answer, btw, would be, "in part, but not as the largest part" and that doesn't necessarily mean that they were fighting for slavery, per se, so much as their own social status (in the sharply hierarchical South) as not the bottom of the totem pole. But I'm confident enough in my own ignorance to say that is a very uncertain opinion. It is perhaps the greatest irony (among many) of the Civil War that perhaps the single most important reason for the South's defeat - the genius of Abraham Lincoln - could _only_ be utilized in the meritocratic North, where a dirt-poor farm boy had the chance to rise to the Presidency, something that would have been inconceivable in Southern society. ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Get better spam protection with Yahoo! Mail. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
