Nikki Haley Asked Point Blank By Voter: 'What Was The Cause Of The U.S. Civil War?' (2 minute video)

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[–]ageingrockstar 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

it's an easy one that can be answered

Is it an easy one to answer ?

I'm not particularly well versed in the history of the USA (didn't receive an education in the US, never properly studied US history) but even my fairly patchy knowledge of the Civil War leads me to think that the answer is complicated. I certainly don't think it's as easy as just answering slavery. (And again, with only my patchy knowledge, I personally would only credit slavery as a minor cause, not a major one. Or if I was going to give it more weight, I would list it as the North wanting to eliminate the economic advantage that the South got from slavery.)

Her answer was woeful certainly, because she made it clear that she was clueless about the history of the Civil War and she then fillibustered with a lot of her stock lines. But if she'd just answered "It's complicated and not really something that we can go into adequately here", then I think she would have been fine. (Not that I want her to be fine, but with more training in how to be a slick, teflon-like politician she could have slipped fairly easily away from what turned into a debacle. And probably, this incident will just help educate her better in how to do so next time.)

[–]penelopepnortneyBecome ungovernable 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Having to give a long speech on the subject would be complicated, in this context it would be sufficient to say, "The country was divided over whether slavery should be continued and even expanded, it was so divisive that it threatened to break the country apart and the war consumed some half a million lives. We must work to prevent our differences from leading us to such a dangerous place ever again."

[–]InumaGaming Socialist 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

It's really far more simple to say slavery since most of the secessionists put that in their reason to leave the Union.

All this exposes is that she never read or heard ANYTHING on such an important event.

[–]ageingrockstar 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

All this exposes is that she never read or heard ANYTHING on such an important event.

Agree, as I put in my comment. (I'm not at all trying to defend Haley whom I loathe.)

most of the secessionists put [slavery[ in their reason to leave the Union.

Cheers, didn't know this (my knowledge is patchy).

But doing a little bit of a search on the web I turned up this :

What led to the outbreak of the bloodiest conflict in the history of North America?

A common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery.

In fact, it was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict.

A key issue was states' rights.

The Southern states wanted to assert their authority over the federal government so they could abolish federal laws they didn't support, especially laws interfering with the South's right to keep slaves and take them wherever they wished.

Another factor was territorial expansion.

The South wished to take slavery into the western territories, while the North was committed to keeping them open to white labor alone.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Republican party, whose members were strongly opposed to the westward expansion of slavery into new states, was gaining prominence.

The election of a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, as President in 1860 sealed the deal. His victory, without a single Southern electoral vote, was a clear signal to the Southern states that they had lost all influence.

Feeling excluded from the political system, they turned to the only alternative they believed was left to them: secession, a political decision that led directly to war.

https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/causes-of-the-civil-war/

My italics above. This seems to be in concordance with what I stated above - that it was more the economics of slavery rather than the morality of slavery that was the issue, and thus an issue of economic competition and state rights.

And I also turned up this :

The U.S. citizenship test – which immigrants must pass before becoming citizens of the United States – has this question: “Name one problem that led to the Civil War.” It lists three possible correct answers: “slavery,” “economic reasons” and “states’ rights.”

But as a historian and professor who studies slavery, Southern history and the American Civil War, I know there’s really only one correct answer: slavery.

https://theconversation.com/what-really-started-the-american-civil-war-205281

That author is arguing for the 'only correct answer' being slavery while noting that the citizenship test allows two other reasons - economics and state rights.

Looking around a bit more there does seem to be some contention about the causes. So like I also said in my top answer, it seems a complicated subject (not surprising for the causes of a war, which are often argued about and debated).

[–]CNicholsonArt 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It's not complicated. It was about slavery. The only reason it's made into a "complicated" subject that involves state rights is because when a high school textbook gets published, it needs to be able to sell in Texas, as that is a very large market.

Two things to note: first, southerners writing about the Civil War in the late 19th and early 20th centuries commonly cited the defense of feudalism as the cause; second, when the southern state legislatures were voting on whether to secede, not a single representative from a mountainous precinct voted in favor. Not one in the entire south. They weren't growing cotton in the mountains.