Remember the Civil War

It is hard to believe that 150 years have past since the Civil War started.  What is harder to believe is the fact that the war began due to the issue of slavery.  As we look back at the mid 1800s, we see a period of people trying to survive in a period of constant migrations - people moving from the East to new unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River.  This was a time of new changes, as well as old habits.  The Colonists, as were known since the first English settlers arrived from England, used Black Slaves, brought to America from Africa, to help farm their plantations, from the New England States, all the way down the Atlantic coast, inland to the Southern Belt states west to the Great River.  Plantation owners relied on their slaves, and most would usually provide them sufficiently with food and shelter, but there were many others who constantly abused their slaves.

President Lincoln prepared and presented the Emancipation of Proclamation, proclaiming an end to slavery.  But what many people do not realize, is that Lincoln, personally, was not totally against slavery.  But, as President of the United States, he felt there were a majority of states that felt slavery should be abolished, and slaves become free citizens.  As a result, several Southern states seceded, and eventually the first shot of the Civil War occurred on April 12, 1861 on Fort Sumter.

We cannot turn back time on those four fateful years of the war, but we now know that civil disputes between individuals, groups, and states can create a large enough mountain to start a war.  If is unfortunate in the thousands of lives lost over the issue of slavery, but now, we can see that we are all created equal, no matter what our color.

The most significant insight of the Civil War is that we learn from previous mistakes, and work together as one nation to resolve issues.  Politics will always play a major role in conflicts between political parties and groups, but if we learn to resolve issues before they get out of proportion, we can maybe avoid another Civil War.  And that.....is the way it is.