Poll: If You Fought In The American Civil War, Who Would You Fight For?

[Daystar Clarion]

Unfortunatly I didn't read it but watched it on T.V, the show known as QI, it is a reliabale source though, you'll have to trust me on that one. My recall ability isn't perfect but I think the show said something like; "American prisoners make more than 90% military helmets for pennies an hour" or something like that. They didn't refer to it as actual slavery, but pretty damn close. If you want, PM me and i'll give you a link to the episode that showed it.

The difference between this scenario and slavery is that prisoners have been tried and found guilty by a jury of their peers. They're not always guilty, but it is safe to assume they have violated one or more rules of our shared social contract. They are supposed to be punished. I'm rather firmly of the opinion that prison inmates should be used as much as possible for menial labor, and be paid nothing for it. They're already getting free room and board, there's absolutely no reason to pay them any more.

Slaves on the other hand were born/captured and forced to labor for no reason beyond that someone could make them. They were forced to labor simply because they were born. That's a completely different scenario than prison labor.

That's where you're wrong, being in prison is the punishment, they are a danger to society and have been removed from it. Making them work for fear of punishment isn't the point of prison.

'Scuse me for butting in, gentlemen, but how is offering convicted criminals the chance to earn a bit of cigarette and ding dong money doing super-easy work at all tantamount to slavery? No one cuts off the sex offender's foot if he chooses not to make helmets one day.

They are not 'offered' they are made to work otherwise they are punished within prison, such as solitary confinement etc.

Source. Because I don't believe solitary confinement is punishment for refusing to work. Solitary is punishment for shanking someone in the shower. And even if I'm wrong, if you gave a presentation comparing the plight of criminals in prison to black slaves, you would be laughed away from the podium.

I'm not trying to compare the two, I'm just pointing it out, if you want the show in which I heard it, PM me and I'll send you a link.

 

[Del-Toro]

If I had to, North. Slavery is bad etc, etc. I'd more likely just go ahead and make my way to Canada though...

The thing is, though, that slavery wasn't the primary issue of the Civil War.

The Federal Government forcing the states to accept the abolition of slavery was.

Basically, the American Civil War was almost entirely based on the concept of States' rights vs Federal powers. It was kinda silly that there was a war fought over it even, when one considers that there is a clause in the Constitution that allows for the secession of states that feel they've been wronged (I think it's the Constitution anyway; it may be in the Articles of Confederation instead).

Edit:
On that note, I would fight for the South. But once the Confederate States of America were formed, I would dive into trying to abolish slavery within that new country.

Exactly, there was plenty of abolitionist sentiment in the south. To be fair to the North the CSA did have some protections of slavery in it's constitution but it was strangely self defeating. Slaves couldn't be imported from a foreign land that wasn't the Union and slave owners were welcome to free their slaves, and any slaves who wanted to fight in the Confederate forces would earn their citizenship and freedom. It's almost as if the constitution was meant to kill slavery slowly.

OT: Tough call, but I'd have to say it's a close race between North and South, probably favouring the south by virtue that it didn't start up the fight, when it seceeded it just sat there printing money it was Union aggression that kept America together, in fact Robert E. Lee just joined the Southern forces because his home state of Virginia left the Union and most of his troops wouldn't push the offensive into the Union once they had driven the yankees back because they didn't sign up for that shit. I also believe that the confederate style of government is more democratic, given that each state can better reflect it's population. I would then join the guy I quoted in pushing for abolition.

 

[Del-Toro]

I'm 95% certain the OP does not condone nor support slavery. He simply does not agree in a strong central government, and I sympathize with that. Create the Confederacy, then worry about slavery IMO.

Right, I get what your saying, but he's still sympathizing with people who owned people, and yet complained about the goverment "forcing" their ideas and laws upon them? That's sympathizing with hypocrites.

Most of them didn't own people, it was the richer plantation owners largely. Most soldiers were fighting to protect their home state (William T. Sherman was a asshole, no confederates enlisted because they hated black people, and the union didn't exactly have a love affair with them either). Now that's something I can sympathize with.

 

[bubba145]

The Confederacy. we had a right to succed, but we did it to soon we quessed what they where goign to do and we over sho it by a couple of years. had we waited a couple of years till they actually had done what we feared we would have had the moral high ground. and of course aid from Britin and France. and by the way i know germany didn't exist but WTF WHY DIDN'T WE GOT TO THE GERMANS FOR HELP???

 

[Agayek]

The Confederacy. we had a right to succed, but we did it to soon we quessed what they where goign to do and we over sho it by a couple of years. had we waited a couple of years till they actually had done what we feared we would have had the moral high ground. and of course aid from Britin and France. and by the way i know germany didn't exist but WTF WHY DIDN'T WE GOT TO THE GERMANS FOR HELP???

The Germans were too busy trying to rebuild (still) after Napoleon stomped them into the dirt. Repeatedly.

 

[Mr. Mango]

I would have fought for the side I lived on. I know that seems like a cop-out answer but it is nonetheless true.

This is what I'd have done. Right or wrong I'd defend my home.

 

[Zepren]

Here comes the racism (though i'm abit late posting on the 8th page)

Theres no question, North all the way. There's really no question about it.

 

[Bub Cota]

screw the north south all the way