Monthly Archives: April 2014

Yes, Slavery Did Cause the Civil War, Part 3.

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

Slavery and Power Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution reads: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding … Continue reading →

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Yes, Slavery Did Cause the Civil War, Part 2

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

The Ultimate Basis of Slavery But to begin at the very beginning, it is important to remember something I always tell my students: first and foremost, above and beyond all other considerations, slavery is based on violence. It is impossible … Continue reading →

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Yes, Slavery Did Cause the American Civil War

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

Slavery as the cause of war The central pillar of the Lost Cause Myth is the notion that somehow slavery was not the ultimate cause of the Civil War. While this seems laughable on its face, the fact remains that … Continue reading →

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Confederate Invincibility and the Campaigns of 1864

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

Originally posted on Student of the American Civil War:
This was Jason Phillips’ presentation at the Bridgewater College Civil War Institute symposium on the 1864 Valley Campaign, held March 29, 2014 at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia.  Jason is the…

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Secession and the Constitution

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

Was Lincoln Right? In December of 1860, the state of South Carolina held a special convention to answer a monumental question: should South Carolina secede from the Union, and remove itself from its brethren, becoming a fully independent nation? On … Continue reading →

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The Myth of the Lost Cause

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

I suppose the first order of business is to establish just what this Lost Cause myth is. We’ll spend quite a number of blog pages explaining why it’s bogus. This overview is necessarily brief, but there are a number of … Continue reading →

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The True Blue Federalist

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Christopher Shelley

The True Blue Federalist I was at my favorite pub a while back, and a conversation began that drifted toward Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War. “Well you know,” said the guy on my right, “the war wasn’t really … Continue reading →

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