Truth behind the Rebel Flag

This flag is the flag used during the American Civil War by the southern confederate soldiers.

The reason so many people view this as a symbol of hatred is quite simple, in schools, children are taught that the American Civil War was fought over slavery. When infact, there are many other significant factors. These factors include, competing nationalisms, political turmoil, the definition of freedom, the preservation of the Union, the fate of slavery and the structure of our society and economy.

WHAT THE WAR WAS ABOUT:

Before the war, many southerners were complaining of high taxes and the gov. not listening to law abiding citizens.

As Northern industry expanded they looked toward the South to buy their manufactured goods. However, prices of goods purchased from abroad were often cheaper. To "protect" northern industry, Pres. Jackson put a tariff on many of the imported goods bought by southerners.

The Civil War wasn't about slavery, the problems that led to the Civil War are the same problems today - big, intrusive government. The reason we don't face the specter of another Civil War is because today's Americans don't have yesteryear's spirit of liberty and constitutional respect, and political statesmanship is in short supply.

Actually, the war of 1861 was not a civil war. A civil war is a conflict between two or more factions trying to take over a government. In 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was no more interested in taking over Washington than George Washington was interested in taking over England in 1776. Like Washington, Davis was seeking independence. Therefore, the war of 1861 should be called "The War Between the States" or the "War for Southern Independence." The more bitter southerner might call it the "War of Northern Aggression."

History books have misled today's Americans to believe the war was fought to free slaves.

Statements from the time suggest otherwise. In President Lincoln's first inaugural address, he said, "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so."

During the war, in an 1862 letter to the New York Daily Tribune editor Horace Greeley, Lincoln said, "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery." It was wrong to assume Lincoln intended to free the slaves. he had never advocated action to abolish slavery nor did he speak out against the Illinois rules prohibiting blacks from testifying against whites. The true abolition candidate, Gerrit Smith of New York drew few votes. In his inaugural address Lincoln made it clear he would not interfere with slavery where it existed.

Lincoln's intentions, as well as that of many northern politicians, were summarized by Stephen Douglas during the presidential debates. Douglas accused Lincoln of wanting to "impose on the nation a uniformity of local laws and institutions and a moral homogeneity dictated by the central government" that "place at defiance the intentions of the republic's founders." Douglas was right, and Lincoln's vision for our nation has now been accomplished beyond anything he could have possibly dreamed.

A precursor for a War Between the States came in 1832, when South Carolina called a convention to nullify tariff acts of 1828 and 1832, referred to as the "Tariffs of Abominations." A compromise lowering the tariff was reached, averting secession and possibly war. The North favored protective tariffs for their manufacturing industry. The South, which exported agricultural products to and imported manufactured goods from Europe, favored free trade and was hurt by the tariffs. Plus, a northern-dominated Congress enacted laws similar to Britain's Navigation Acts to protect northern shipping interests.

Shortly after Lincoln's election, Congress passed the highly protectionist Morrill tariffs.

That's when the South seceded, setting up a new government. Their constitution was nearly identical to the U.S. Constitution except that it outlawed protectionist tariffs, business handouts and mandated a two-thirds majority vote for all spending measures.

From 1611 to 1865, citizens in each of the thirteen colonies enslaved people, however, after the 1800's slavery was viewed as a southern institution. The only good coming from the War Between the States was the abolition of slavery. The great principle enunciated in the Declaration of Independence that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" was overturned by force of arms. By destroying the states' right to secession, Abraham Lincoln opened the door to the kind of unconstrained, despotic, arrogant government we have today, something the framers of the Constitution could not have possibly imagined.

States should again challenge Washington's unconstitutional acts through nullification. But you tell me where we can find leaders with the love, courage and respect for our Constitution like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John C. Calhoun.

WHAT THE REBEL FLAG STANDS FOR:

The Confederate Battle Flag is a symbol, a monument, and a testament to hundreds of thousands of Southerners who fought and bled and died defending their home, their families, and what they believed in. Most Confederate soldiers were just poor farmers trying make a living the best they could, many had no slaves.

All of this, the good, the bad, the blood, the honor, the land, is wrapped up, part and parcel, into a vibrant spirit of the South, and that spirit's material form is the Confederate battle flag. If you reject it, you reject the South. And then you forget. We cannont afford to forget, especially our mistakes.

QUOTE'S ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR

"Everyone should do all in his power to collect and disseminate the truth, in the hope that it may find a place in history and descend to posterity. History is not the relation of campaigns and battles and generals or other individuals, but that which shows the principles for which the South contended and which justified her struggle for those principles."

--Robert E. Lee

"If I thought this war was to abolish slavery, I would resign my commission, and offer my sword to the other side."

--Ulysses S. Grant

IN OTHER WORDS...THE REBEL FLAG IS A SYMBOL OF OUR HERITAGE...NOT HATE

HERE IS ANOTHER

Yes, what you see above is one of several flags flown by the Confederate States of America. It was a national flag, flown over a land loved by its people. Should this (and the other Confederate flags) be abolished? Should we pretend that this flag--along with the Confederacy--never existed? What foolishness! This flag represents a part of our heritage and our past...we cannot and WILL not "pretend" that our forefathers never fought a war for Southern independence, nor will we ever deny our links to our past. Alabama was once governed by Spain, and the Spanish flag is still displayed at several points around the state as the banner of a once-ruling entity. Why should the Confederate flag be treated any differently? The Confederate States of America once governed Alabama...would you like to attempt to re-write history and pretend that this never happened? Good luck. As for the idiotic idea that any of the Confederate flags "represent" slavery, get real! If that is true (which of course it isn't), then by the same standards, the "stars and stripes" flag that flies over the Capitol in Washington, D.C. represents the same thing! Did you forget that the American flag also flew over states that permitted slave ownership? For generations?! They certainly did. Go back and re-read your history books...plenty of families up north owned slaves. So let's put this stuff to rest and forget about it once and for all. The Confederate flags in all their forms have a definite place in American history, and those of us who wish to remember the Confederacy have the right to display any of these flags with pride.