The only suckers and losers that ever served fought for the Confederacy

[tenderfoot]

[Adsos Letter]

1. The Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Courthouse.

Horrific battle.

[demosincebirth]

2. I don't think so.

[Adsos Letter]

3. That painting isn't of the Bloody Angle?

Pretty sure I’ve seen it in connection with the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.

I agree with you about the confederates.

[demosincebirth]

4. I didn't say that. I was referring to you headline.

[Adsos Letter]

5. I admit that I'm confused.

I thought you were referring to the illustration.

What about the headline?

[demosincebirth]

6. "the only suckers and losers that ever served fought for the Confederacy."

They fought for what they believed in...which was succession. They weren't suckers or losers. They did lose the war, righteously so.

[JT45242]

7. Suckers

They fought to preserve slavery even though they would never benefit from it.

They would never own slaves, so no benefit.

They would never be paid a living wage when nearly free labor was available. No benefit.

The south would never industrialize with slavery, so no factory jobs. (See the dust bowl, share cropping, etc for poor whites and blacks). No benefit.

LBJ was right when he said (paraphrasing) the only thing you need to get a poor whites man to vote for you is to convince him that he is still superior to the richest black man.

They were suckers. That doesn't make their deaths less tragic, but there was no reason for them to die for a cause that would always keep them on the outside.

[GulfCoast66]

9. I respectfully disagree. Calling them suckers makes them into victims

Most were small farmers. The goal of almost all of was to eventually own slaves. Had they won the war many of them would have seen that wish come true. Slavery would have spread west and many of these men would be given large amounts of land allowing them the ability to afford slaves. That how the existing slave owning caste was able to acquire their slaves. It was seen as the way to upward mobility. And ironically debt. Most large slave owners were indebted to the eyes. It was not a long term viable economic situation but they did not know that. No care. Slave ownership was the road to social respect, as sick as that sounds. Sure, by the time it all collapsed there was great resentment against the upper class. But they all went into that war with the same goal.

The idea that they were just poor people defending their home was post war whitewashing that they eventually came to believe because it was hard to live with the fact that 500,000 men died for such a shitty cause.

I grew up southern and was taught all the bullshit about the virtuous Yeoman Farmers defending their home. Only later in life did I start to read what they wrote at the time of the war. Not 25 years later.

Have a nice weekend.

[Delarage]

8. It is crazy

That Trump refused to serve his country in the military and the only troops he supports are either Russians or traitor-loser confederates.....while he disparages those who actually fought against the enemies of humanity.

[raccoon]

10. Are you aware that the Confederate States had a draft?

Undoubtedly that was why many of them fought.