Ever since Nikki Haley was asked about the cause of the Civil War and didn't bring up slavery, there has been a lot of talk. Perhaps this is the time to share some thoughts that I have.
When I was held against my will in our mental prison system without due process, I had lessons about the Civil War. The schools usually led with slavery, but they expanded beyond this concept. This led to reputations relating to intelligence. Supposedly stupid kids could only cite slavery. Supposedly intelligent kids brought up other causes such as economic factors and state rights.
One thing that always seemed odd was that the focus was almost exclusively on the South. We were told of some of the actions taken by the North, but there was no discussion of why they went to war. This always seemed to be an odd omission. It always seemed like an important part of the story if we wanted to understand what happened.
It should be obvious to anyone who did more than mindlessly absorb and regurgitate what they were told. Schools start with what they want students to get out of history. History is then framed around an agenda. What we are and are not told is based on what the schools want us to think. This results in obvious gaps that need to be filled for the narrative to make sense. History, as presented by the schools, is full of plot holes.
I hate repeating myself too much, but I should probably clarify something. Honesty is not just about avoiding outright lies. If you are amplifying certain facts and omitting others to provide an intentionally skewed narrative, you are not being honest. You can't provide a truly accurate portrayal of history if the material provided is based on an agenda. As I keep saying, agenda-driven history, by its very nature, can't be honest history.
When I finished school, I openly referred to history as a completely worthless subject. A lot of people insist that we should learn from history, but that wasn't what was happening. Teachers were more focused on using history to manipulate students than to inform. How can you learn from history if your understanding is derived from an intentionally dishonest narrative?
If you know me, you know that I try to keep track of what's going on in the schools. As it turns out, the narrative surrounding the Civil War has changed drastically since I attended. It is now wrong to even consider factors in causing the Civil War other than slavery, but the North did not go to war over slavery. You don't have to be a historian to know there's a serious problem with the new narrative. There are similarities with the narrative I encountered in school and the new narrative, but there's also an enormous reversal. Now, supposedly smart kids insist that slavery was the sole cause of the war while supposedly stupid kids cite other causes.
In the defense of the new narrative, a lot of people are pulling out documentation showing the reasons provided for secession. These people are pointing out the extensive usage of slavery as justification. If you are among those who do more than mindlessly absorb and regurgitate, you should see an enormous problem with the logic. Although they can be related, secession is not the same as a declaration of war. If you want to prove the cause of the war, the reasoning behind secession is insufficient.
There's another issue here. If slavery was the sole cause, why didn't the war start sooner? Why was war now justified when it hadn't been before? More than likely, there had to be a trigger. It's possible that the trigger could be a rapid change in views relating to slavery, but I think it's more likely that there's something else involved.
This takes me back to a question that could really help make sense out of this war. Why did the North go to war? They were undeniably a part of the war, so perhaps they can help me fill in some gaps.
An argument could be made that the Emancipation Proclamation shows that abolishing slavery was a goal of the North, but this has some obvious problems. Views could have changed during the war. Freeing slaves could even be an after-the-fact justification. Does anyone honestly believe that Abraham Lincoln would be remembered the same way if he oversaw a war with the deaths of numerous Americans just to go back to where they started? Simply put, what happened after the war doesn't prove why the war started in the first place.
Perhaps I should actually pay attention to the new narrative. Yes, there is an obvious problem, but that doesn't mean it's entirely false. Supposedly, the North did not go to war over slavery. The justification for this point appears to be that Lincoln wanted to preserve the union regardless of the implications on slavery. I have also seen sources away from this narrative that seem to back this claim. This really helps explain the war, so maybe I should accept this piece of the puzzle.
I think it's time for another clarification. Ever since I first started school, everyone has been lying to me. With dishonesty all around me, I have never found a source that I can trust. What's true? What's false? How can I fill in some of the more problematic holes? Admittedly, I had to resort to guesswork. That said, I think there's plenty of reason to believe that not only was slavery not the sole cause of the Civil War, but it probably wasn't even the primary cause. The most logical cause for the war appears to be secession.
The narrative I was fed in school was portrayed as settled. The new narrative is also being portrayed as settled. If the old narrative was settled, how could we replace it? In this case, I think it's clear that we need to be able to question what we're told. We should not just allow people in a position of authority to dictate what we think. If the old settled narrative was wrong, why should we assume that the new settled narrative is correct?
I have a bold and potentially controversial idea that, as far as I know, no teacher has ever even considered. If we really want people to know the truth about history, let's be honest with them. Instead of leading with an agenda, let's lead with the truth.
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