It was a “rich man's war and a poor man's fight”.
Article XIV of the Constitution (Amendment 14 - Rights Guaranteed): No State shall make or enforce any law which shall.... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property (Slaves were property, legally paid for with US currency).
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| Battle Flag of the CSA. |
The consciousness of the working class
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| Tennessee 20th Infantry |
A Caste Society
There was an anecdote I once heard where a Union (the North) soldier asked a lowly Confederate POW (prisoner of war), “Why are you fighting in this war?” and the answer came as, “Cause y’all are down here!”. That told the story to me. They saw what they believed to be their homeland, threatened by what they considered to be foreigners.Understand also,that communications and vetting of truths were very poorly done in those days. A caste system of sorts existed and propaganda from the more educated community leaders continually elevated white skin over black to help the impoverished white feel slightly less inferior since they reckoned the black was even lower and more savage. Although the word was unknown until 1895, the German term schadenfreude could rightfully be applied. Honour forgiveness respect
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| Confederate Soldier Grave Marker |
Japan does not recognise their part in WWII or the atrocities that race committed. They even celebrate their war criminals and yet the USA respects and trades with that nation. They too had controversy surrounding their flags prominence.
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| Bust of General Robert E. Lee |
There are many symbols of the Old South and Confederacy (flags, statues, busts, paintings,antebellum architecture) but politically correct people appear to be going after the low hanging fruit and not looking at racism from a holistic viewpoint encompassing all American life. The North has as much to blame for racial views as does the South. The North continues (to this day) to belittle and condescend the South helping to ever perpetuate that caste society.
Police in northern or non-confederate states abuse blacks as much if not more than the south. Even blacks themselves help to continue (in America) a racist view when it suits them to do so.
Testimonials
I'm a black American living in London. My experience is that here in the UK discrimination tends to be class-based and that there are pockets of society overtly xenophobic.
But to get down to a more granular level...
Freedom of speech as I know it from an American standpoint does not exist over here. Hate speech is not protected and one can be prosecuted for making racist statements or even sending racist tweets. As a black American I struggle with this notion. Whilst I find that sort of behaviour appalling I do think it is an infringement on civil liberties. Simultaneously, as someone who has been subjected to racial taunts (in the US) I find the notion of punishing racist behaviour refreshing and progressive. (Perhaps this is hypocritical of me, but it's not something that I have reconciled yet.)
In UK race is closely related to class, and less with ‘separateness’ than USA. At a football [soccer in USA] match, or in a housing estate black and white would generally be more mixed than in USA.
It seems to me there is more social separation in USA. Mixed-race couples are far more common in UK than USA and neighbourhoods are less obviously divided. USA has more separate but equal. Even with people watching different TV programs with more ''appropriate' same-race actors or different sports.
The friends I know in that situation in USA (white wife, black husband, New Jersey) commented that it was hard for them to find a neighbourhood they felt comfortable in: she felt an outsider in black neighbourhoods or vice versa. Other friends in UK (black wife, white husband) didn't recognise that concern: the idea of a 'black suburb' was meaningless.
Remember the colours of the American Flag are still red, white and blue but black is black, white is white, and black and white is Confederate Gray [sic].
