Civil War: Myths vs Facts

There has always been a number of circulating myths about the American Civil War. We need to dig deep and find out if these myths are true. Did the South HATE black people? Did Robert E. Lee hate America? Was the civil war all about slavery? Did the South start the civil war? All of these myths are to be revealed. Supposedly the Southern people were the only Americans that enslaved black people. They tortured, beat, and starved them. According to research, a slave in today’s modern world, would cost anywhere from $100,000-$200,000.

Why would a slave owner waste that much money and something they would treat as a rag doll? In many cases slaves were treated as part of the family. The North also had slaves, not just the South. In the North, everything was supposedly free and had choices. The North technically did not own slaves, but they were people in the North that owed them things. These people were called indentured servants. These indentured servants were not all of African race either. They were to be released over a stated time. This myth came to be because basically whichever side won the war; they would blame the opposing side.

Was Robert E. Lee a horrible man? Did he hate American with a passion? The answer to this is false. Robert E. Lee did not ever even own a single slave. He was very strong in his passion with the Confederate States of America. He lived in the state of Virginia and said he would never leave them in any hard times. In saying this, he joined the South in the American Civil War. He loved America, but did not like the injustice the South was being shown. His home of Arlington was turned into a war cemetery. Present day, it is known as Arlington National Cemetery.

This was initially a cemetery for Union Soldiers. How could the entire war be about slavery? The war lasted 5 years, 1861-1865. The Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect in 1863. What could the war have been about for the last two years? The Civil War was fought because of Northern oppression. The South began to go bankrupt because the North was taxing the South very heavily, and the South was not as industrialized as the North. Slavery was an issue, but because the South was not industrialized. The South was just using what they had for resources.

The slaves were their resources. There has been a myth that says that the South started the war. This is actually somewhat true, but not totally true. The South decided that it did not want be part of the United States of American anymore. It simply seceded. The North still had some forts located in the South though. Fort Sumter most notably was attacked by Southern soldiers because the South felt threatened by what could have been dangerous people from the North. The South was forced into battle because the North had sent a transport ship of supplies.

The South defended itself because it had to protect itself from the transport ships and the Northern soldiers at Fort Sumter. The truth about all of these myths is revealed not by proof of Northern history, or Southern history, but of American History. Just because the North won, does not mean everything that they write and publish is true. There are many newspapers, letters, and diaries depicting significant events that reveal the truths of many other myths as well. The truth of these myths comes from the history that actually happened.