Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: parusski

........ It is something people know about, but keep making the same mistakes over and over.

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805

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But the main reason I find the Civil War one of the most fascinating periods in history can be gleaned from a Shelby Foote quote:

"Any understanding of this nation has to be based, and I mean really based, on an understanding of the Civil War. I believe that firmly. It defined us. The Revolution did what it did. Our involvement in European wars, beginning with the First World War, did what it did. But the Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. And it is very necessary, if you are going to understand the American character in the twentieth century, to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the mid-nineteenth century. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads."

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ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

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But the main reason I find the Civil War one of the most fascinating periods in history can be gleaned from a Shelby Foote quote:

"Any understanding of this nation has to be based, and I mean really based, on an understanding of the Civil War. I believe that firmly. It defined us. The Revolution did what it did. Our involvement in European wars, beginning with the First World War, did what it did. But the Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. And it is very necessary, if you are going to understand the American character in the twentieth century, to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the mid-nineteenth century. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads."

Very sound point, but my own personal taste runs to the 15-year period immediately before the Civil War. It was a fascinating time of struggle between different societies no longer able to ignore each other because of the immense changes being caused by the railroad and the telegraph. All who call themselves anti-war should study this period.

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ORIGINAL: parusski

Back to the period 15 years before the conflict there were so many ways to avoid the war. I apologize again for quoting Shelby Foote, but he said(paraphrasing) "..Americans are wonderful at compromising, Americans pride themselves on compromise. But the great tragedy was that this time nobody compromised.." Don't have time at the moment to get exact quote, but you get the point.