The Great Crusade (Reds! Part 3)
- Thread starter Aelita
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Bookmark1995
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That was my point. I think the Lost Cause myth has been one of the most destructive parts of American society. School children in the South ITTL will not be fed the toxic myth of a peaceful South with its institutions being assaulted. Rather, they'll point out the South was quick to use federal power to impose ITS will on Free States.
Bookmark1995
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That wasn't really the case until, like, 1863.
It was more of a war to bring the nation together.
StephenColbert27
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I mean, the war was definitely about slavery and its expansion. That's why the South was trying to secede and form a new natiom. But if your point was that abolition was not an explicit war goal of the Union until 1863, you would be correct, though Lincoln had been mulling it since at least mid-62, and acts of Congress (Confiscation Acts) had paved the way for the Emancipation Proclamation that he eventually issued.
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Bookmark1995
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But I can imagine Lincoln having the reputation as the Ur-Revolutionary. Maybe Nat Turner will get the same recognition as well.
StephenColbert27
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His "correspondence" with Marx will get played up a lot by ITTL American historians, as will his "labor is the superior of capital" quote.
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John Brown's body is the most popular anthem of the army.
Bookmark1995
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I think John Brown was legitimately crazy. He would probably launch his own Reign of Terror if he got to govern ANYTHING!
As far as I know Brown had no intention of ruling anything.
And as for crazy, people like Harriett Tubman also got visions and yet never get called crazy.
He tried non-violent solutions such as integrated communes, abolitionism through conventional legal means, and running an underground railroad until pro-slavery violence began to pick up. And when he did take life, he specifically forbade taking it out of revenge, not even allowing his men to kill someone who had tortured his own son because he believed that killing out of revenge was sinful.
He wasn't perfect, no one was, but he's been the target of a very long propaganda campaign.
Bookmark1995
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The great thing about alternate history is that it, ironically, can help you clear up misconceptions about OTL History.
You just did that for me....
…
Bravo.
StephenColbert27
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I don't think he was crazy. A lot of people cite the unlikelihood of his Harpers Ferry Raid succeeding as proof, but in reality he was fully aware that he probably would die. I believe it was Frederick Douglas that he told that whether the raid succeeded or failed, slavery would be pushed closer to destruction. History proved him right.
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At the same time, however, I would not go so far as @The_Red_Star_Rising. I'm not sure how the Pottawatomie Creek attacks could be construed as anything other than an act of revenge or retaliation for the Sack of Lawrence.