Dixie skies

Watauga Lake

Sullen, gray, foreboding, lowering, threatening, ominous; today’s local sky.

I’ve restarted occasional emailing to some political cronies who live on the west coast. When my friend Dave died last winter, I got out of the habit of commenting on their thoughts and arguments. I did keep up with their goings-on, though. Of course we discuss more than politics; they must have found out that I am from the South and they began a discussion saying the North would have been better off if they had allowed the South to secede in 1860. I realize they were baiting me but they grabbed the wrong bear by the ass this time. I am no history expert, but I have extensively read, studied, and thought on the matters of why the southern states left the Union and why the North–especially Abraham Lincoln– could not allow it to happen for any reason or excuse. Following is part of my reply; I kept it simple because, like I said, they are all west coast men and really very ignorant of the South. They are all well educated but have chosen to believe the southern stereotypes. They are all–less one tea-partier–Obama-crats.
Me: Had the South’s nullification and secession attempt succeeded, it is my opinion as a Southerner that some of the wayward states would soon have reapplied for admission back into the Union. My home state of Tennessee may have been the first to do so; most of the population of the eastern, mountain dominated section of the state were die-hard Unionists. … It is my belief that the Confederacy would never have held together and slavery would have died out as the industrialization of the continent progressed.
>This is part of one of their quotes and my response:
They: ” … we would now be faced with huge numbers of marginally illiterate southerners flooding over our borders … .”
Me: Easy to speculate here but hard to put a handle on in reality; time stands still for no man or nation. The world was changing fast and the South would have been forced to keep up or possibly fall into anarchy or come under heavy influence from outside; they would not have had the money to keep up and I don’t think the North would have allowed too much help for Dixie from outlanders.
I can think of many reasons why the nation had to remain united and these guys have yet to show me why the states should have parted.

Enough of my drivel that no one is interested in anyway; have a great weekend!