Which state will threaten to secede first

[coalition_unwilling]

164. I used to believe exactly as you do. But then yesterday I read a very eloquent post

by DUer HiPointDem:

"i'm not a southerner, but i definitely agree that americans in their youth are given the impression that slavery was an entirely southern affair -- a lie.

the biggest beneficiaries of the slave system were a small slice of the population of the south and a larger slice in the north -- as it was the north (rhode island stands out) that built and financed most of the slave ships and brokered most of the cotton (brown brothers harriman stands out).

not to mention the northern financiers with interests in slavery in the caribbean long after it was illegal in the north.

the more i've learned about the economics of the slave system, the more i realize what freaking hypocrites and liars the american ruling class are. The slave system was the basis for a great deal of their wealth -- yet ruling class history turns it into "bad southerners v. good northerners".

I'm more with michael parenti -- cui bono? Who really benefited from slavery? It wasn't southeners in general or white people in general, it was a lot of the same families who own corporate america today.

White-trash Whitey Whitebread in Cornpone Arkansas takes the rap for the sins of the ruling class, and by design."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=881823

I am now reconsidering all the South bashing I used to revel in and would encourage you to at least consider HiPointDem's point first.