I am intrigued by the extent to which people's views today differ to each other on the US Civil War. So out of personal interest, I'd like to poll people in this forum about their personal feelings on the subject. I am not interested in discussing the One True Historically CorrectTM view, but rather in trying to get a sense of people's thoughts and feelings, and in that sense there are no wrong answers here.
1. Do you personally identify more with a particular side in the Civil War, if so which?
(perhaps due to your ancestors fighting for one side, where you live now, your culture, your political party affiliation, your views on the morality of the war, your views on slavery etc)
Answer these on a 1-10 scale please...
2. How inevitable do you personally understand the Civil War as having been?
(1= it would have been totally avoidable if a few individuals had made different decisions, 10= a civil war of some sort was totally inevitable eventually due to historical / political / social / economic forces in the early US)
3. How justified do you view the Unionist participation in the war as being?
4. How justified do you view the Confederate participation in the war as being?
(1= totally unjustifed, 10= totally justified... don't feel a need to make these two add to 10, as in plenty of wars both sides are justified or both unjustified)
To what extent do you view the Civil War as being about...
5. ...the issue of slavery?
6. ...states' rights and the ability to secede from the Union?
7. ...something else?
(1= not at all, 10= completely about it)
How much do you agree with the statements:
8. "I think that if the US had split during the civil war into two nations, that the overall political/economic/way of life/general happiness situation in the states would be better today than it currently is in a united US."
9. "The Confederacy was seceding from the US which inherently made them 'traitors' to the US, while the Unionists were upholding the cause of the Union which inherently made them 'patriots' of it"?
(1= total disagreement, 10= total agreement)
At the time of the Civil War the Democratic party was associated with the conservative southern slave-holding confederate states, and the Republican party with the liberal northern slave-freeing unionist states, but in the 20th century the political parties changed alignment so that the Democratic party is now associated with liberal northern states and the Republican party with conservative southern ones. So there can be arguments both ways in terms of which of the modern political parties should be understood as aligned with which of the two sides in the civil war (and thus, perhaps, should be praised/blamed/atone/apologize for it). To what extent do you:
10. Associate the Democratic party of today with the liberal northern slave-freeing Unionist side in the Civil War, and the Republican party of today with the conservative southern slave-holding confederate side in the Civil War?
(1= other way around, 5= neither party with either side, 10= this way around)
11. Had the Confederacy won and established an independent slave-holding nation, approximately what decade(s) do you believe the Confederacy would have abolished slavery in?
1. Do you personally identify more with a particular side in the Civil War, if so which?
(perhaps due to your ancestors fighting for one side, where you live now, your culture, your political party affiliation, your views on the morality of the war, your views on slavery etc)
Answer these on a 1-10 scale please...
2. How inevitable do you personally understand the Civil War as having been?
(1= it would have been totally avoidable if a few individuals had made different decisions, 10= a civil war of some sort was totally inevitable eventually due to historical / political / social / economic forces in the early US)
3. How justified do you view the Unionist participation in the war as being?
4. How justified do you view the Confederate participation in the war as being?
(1= totally unjustifed, 10= totally justified... don't feel a need to make these two add to 10, as in plenty of wars both sides are justified or both unjustified)
To what extent do you view the Civil War as being about...
5. ...the issue of slavery?
6. ...states' rights and the ability to secede from the Union?
7. ...something else?
(1= not at all, 10= completely about it)
How much do you agree with the statements:
8. "I think that if the US had split during the civil war into two nations, that the overall political/economic/way of life/general happiness situation in the states would be better today than it currently is in a united US."
9. "The Confederacy was seceding from the US which inherently made them 'traitors' to the US, while the Unionists were upholding the cause of the Union which inherently made them 'patriots' of it"?
(1= total disagreement, 10= total agreement)
At the time of the Civil War the Democratic party was associated with the conservative southern slave-holding confederate states, and the Republican party with the liberal northern slave-freeing unionist states, but in the 20th century the political parties changed alignment so that the Democratic party is now associated with liberal northern states and the Republican party with conservative southern ones. So there can be arguments both ways in terms of which of the modern political parties should be understood as aligned with which of the two sides in the civil war (and thus, perhaps, should be praised/blamed/atone/apologize for it). To what extent do you:
10. Associate the Democratic party of today with the liberal northern slave-freeing Unionist side in the Civil War, and the Republican party of today with the conservative southern slave-holding confederate side in the Civil War?
(1= other way around, 5= neither party with either side, 10= this way around)
11. Had the Confederacy won and established an independent slave-holding nation, approximately what decade(s) do you believe the Confederacy would have abolished slavery in?
For ease of filling out your answers, copy and paste this, then enter your answers:
1. Which was/is 'your' side?
2. Was it inevitable?
3. Unionists were justified?
4. Confederacy was justified?
5. Was about slavery?
6. Was about states' rights and secession?
7. Was about something else?
8. Hypothetical two nations better than one?
9. Confederates were traitors, Unionists patriots?
10. Modern Dems = party of liberal northern unionists, Reps = party of conservative southern confederates?
11. Approx decade of abolition of slavery in hypothetical Confederacy?
1. Which was/is 'your' side?
2. Was it inevitable?
3. Unionists were justified?
4. Confederacy was justified?
5. Was about slavery?
6. Was about states' rights and secession?
7. Was about something else?
8. Hypothetical two nations better than one?
9. Confederates were traitors, Unionists patriots?
10. Modern Dems = party of liberal northern unionists, Reps = party of conservative southern confederates?
11. Approx decade of abolition of slavery in hypothetical Confederacy?
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