Agreed, this article does much to refute the revisionist apologists of the CSA.
The MOTIVE behind the war was the defence of Southern economics.
Its economic capital was mostly in the form of slaves. I've read estimates that 85% of the capitalization of the ENTIRE SOUTH was slaves. That means the the rest of the southern states, every house, all the land the livestock, the cash on hand, the factories amounted to 15% of the capital of those states.
Given that, one can truly understand why the Southerners were scared to death of emancipation that they KNEW was inevitably coming.
I think the South took its best shot because they understood that THEN was the time, IF EVER.
And they lost mostly because they couldn't finace their war once the North blockaded New Orleans.
Seriously, had the found financing in the European bonds market, they might have been able to keep enough troops in the field long enough that the people of the North would have lost heart and given them their freedom.
They fought a magnificent war against the North, but in the long run they just couldn't finance the war and eventually, as their economy collapsed, so too did their chance of becoming an independent nation.
That's actually a pretty good summation, although there are a couple of additional points to consider. Another factor was that with the Radical Republican victory in the 1860 election, the nation was, for the first time in the hands of a purely sectional political party.The most troubling aspect of that, from a Southern point of view, is that the Southern states now faced the real prospect of a growing majority of states whose political and economic interests would be adverse to those of the South. Many concluded (correctly, as it turned out), that this would now inevitably occur, war or no war. Combine that, with the fact that a number of state legislatures, in the legislation by which they had ratified the constitution, had specifically reserved to themselves the right to leave the union if they desired. This was not only true of the Southern states; some New England states had done the same, and Massachusetts had in fact threatened to leave during the War of 1812. The question was in fact never submitted to the Supreme Court prior to the outbreak of hostilities; had it been the likelihood is that that court, led by Chief Justice Taney, would have upheld the legality of secession. It was not until the later years of Reconstruction that the question was submitted to a court purged of its more conservative justices, these replaced by the illegitimate "rump congress" ( the Southern portion of which was elected through Radical Republican fraud and disenfranchisement of White Southern voters) with some more amenable to the Radical point of view. Before the retirement of some of the more conservative members of the court, the Radicals so feared the idea of having the question reach the court, that they decided not to try Gen. Lee or Jefferson Davis. As one of them put it (in a moment of candor) "it would be a pity for the Union to have waged a successful war, only to have it declared unconstitutional" (which it very likely was).
With all that, the South finally concluded (some more reluctantly than others) that it had little to lose by trying to become independent. It was either that, or be crushed by a more and more powerful central government inimical to the South's interests (which is exactly what has transpired since the Late Unpleasantness) Even now, I and many other Southerners find being little more than the occupied territory of a Yankee dominated central government less than appealing, socially, culturally, or politically. I suggest that any of you liberals who think otherwise consider the idea of letting us put it to a vote. Seriously. Throw us out like Bob Beckel suggested you do, in 2004, or just let us leave, so you can have the socialist paradise you want. As it is, our history and culture are being suppressed, in the unholy name of Political Correctness. Oh, and one more thing; those of you up North, please, whatever you do, STAY THERE! Your presence here is neither needed, nor particularly appreciated. If you hate us, please stay away and leave us alone. No self-respecting Southerner wants to live in the North, so perhaps, you could reciprocate?
