History 101

We have very interesting discussions at the park. Most of us are not native to this area, even though there are a couple. One of our moms grew up as a military brat and has lived in several interesting places. One of the moms grew up in family ministry performing and traveling. I grew up in a little Texas town proud to be an American, a Texan, a Southerner. I have always joked that if I stepped foot above the Mason Dixon line I would burst into flame. I used to say that about church, too, but for that we have God's grace. Good thing. As much as I'm at church, I would be nothing but a pile of ashes.

I love to get free curriculum. Don't we all like to get things for free? I have subscribed to a homeschooling magazine for the last couple of years that I absolutely love. For being on their preferred customer email list I get two free e-books a month. Sometimes I really enjoy them. They are uplifting, or supportive, or have some really good ideas that I can implement into our schooling and our lives. Today, I got one that just pissed me off. It really is just my attitude and doesn't reflect on the author, just the subject.

The e-book was an interview with a woman that wrote a book about the Civil War. Her slant was slavery. One of our discussions at the park one day was about the real reasons for the Civil War. Just a quick clue, it really did not have much to do with slavery. It was for the same reasons as most wars. No, not oil. It was about power and money and political gain. Slavery became a go to that most Northerners could get behind and support. That was the red herring.

Most of the cotton at that time was grown in the south. In order to make lots of money, the plantation owners needed a source of free, expendable labor. That happened to be the slave. This is the point that I should tell you that it was not just black men that were slaves. Native Americans were also a source of slaves for many years. They were shipped all through out the south and to Cuba to work sugar cane plantations. The cotton was then shipped up north where it was processed into whatever product it was bought for. The north was advancing far quicker than the south due to the industry. The south was still bogged down in agriculture as it's main source of income. The north wanted the cotton, but also wanted as much money as they could get out of it. That's the nature of business. They wanted the plantation owners to start getting mechanized when it came to harvest time. Faster harvest means more cotton in a faster manner. That would have cost the plantation owners a pretty penny they didn't want to spend.

Politicians wanted to redo the lines of jurisdiction. Gerrymandering is a really cool word I think. I like the way it sounds, I just don't like what it means. It means that the lines are redrawn to give one political party more votes, or more power. The more votes you have, the more power you have. In the case of the Civil War, it also meant more money. The south was very against redrawing lines. It would change boundaries and borders and they would lose out. Instead of playing nice, they had to fight about it.

Another reason was the forcing of one's beliefs on another. I will never agree with the fundamentals of slavery in any way. I also do not believe in forcing my way of life on others. The way I live and raise my family is the way that I live and raise my family. If I want or need your help, I'll let you know. The pride of the southerner was at stake. Pride comes before a fall. Abolitionists were becoming more and more vocal about their views. The more attention you can draw to your issue, the better your argument, the more people will agree with you. It is the same way today. I love a good debate. It has me drawn to both sides as a spectator, passionate as a particpant. Abolitonists drew many supporters and eventually the underground railroad was formed, which encroached on the rights of the plantation owners and the way of life of the southerner.

Did you know that the South won the war? All of the history books that you read say the north won and the slaves were freed. Let me tell you a story that I learned in the eighth grade. My American history teacher was Rhonda Bowen and she was phenomenal. The woman could tell a story like nobody's business. Here is the story that I love to share and am now sharing with you. She did all the research and I would love to have her info. If any of you know how to get in touch with her, please have her contact me. She was one of my favorite teachers. Here we go.

When Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops, he did not have the authority to surrender all of the southern troops, only those he was in charge of. In those days, there was no cell phone, internet, or radio. There was no way to contact all of the troops and tell them that Lee had surrendered. There were troops in Texas that didn't get the message and continued to fight. After running out of ammunition, food, and the ability to care about war anymore, they laid down their arms. Both sides agreed to stop fighting without either side surrendering. They basically just walked away. Many, many years later, a gentleman doing research on the war realized what happened. He was able to find the last remaining southern soldier and the last remaining northern soldier. He had them both agree that they would play a chess match in Denver, Colorado to determine the winner of the Civil War. The flight carrying the northern soldier crashed, killing all aboard. He never arrived at the chess match, which meant a forfeit. The south won.

I love that. When we were discussing the war at the park, it was amazing to me the many different ways that we were taught about a basic fact in our country's history. Many of our northern moms only knew about the slavery aspect. They had no clue about the socio-economic factors or the power struggles that actually led to the war. Many of us raised in the south had different views given to us as well. We will rewrite history many times, distorting truth from fiction. There are things that are going on right now that are causing strife in our country. It may be written that all Americans were in favor of these things. Abraham Lincoln was one of the most hated men of his time, but history shows him as a man of greatness. How do you know truth from fiction? You do the research. You look at all angles, all views. How will history remember you?