We Need a Libertarian Movie about the Civil War i.e. Abraham Lincoln: Treasonous Tyrant

[Gumba of Liberty]

Being a new public school teacher in Virginia, about a half hour from Appomattox Court House, I was sick to my stomach today. I teach V.A. and U.S. History to juniors and I am right in the middle of my Civil War Unit. Today the students learned about Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address. I used a Gettysburg special on History Channel to give the student an idea of how the battle started, how the battle was waged, and how the Union forces used the high ground to win. At one point in the special, the Confederates are shown performing the Rebel Yell.
Rebel Yell at 10:00

The students, including the Black students, loved it. I asked the students if we, as a class, were to go into battle what would our rebel yell sound like. I work in the History Wing of the school with some cool teachers so I asked the students if they wanted to give their Rebel Yell in the hallway so the other students could hear us. The students were pumped! They were all in. I walked them down to the end of the hall and all the students, including the black students, went wild. They loved it. When we got back into the classroom all the students said it was the best thing we did all year. After class a few of the other teachers came up to me upset that I had the students perform the yell. I asked if it was because they were too loud but it wasn't that, they said it was because the Rebel Yell is racist and the black students in the class should be offended. I responded by explaining that the Rebel Yell is a war tactic not a racial slur. These teachers are convinced that anything Confederate, including how they fought the war, is akin to Nazi Germany. I was so upset at how the other teachers reacted that I can't imagine the cartoon-comic version of the Civil War they must teach.

I think the problems we have are directly linked to the Civil War and the view that the majority of Americans have of it. The masses are visual and most Americans are completely ignorant to the fact that the Civil War was the creation of the Sovereignty of the D.C. Machine. I think, for the most part, American History is told well up until 1850. I think if there were a blockbuster movie that was able to explain the creation of the Yankee Leviathan and expose Lincoln for the fraud he was it would do great service to the cause of liberty. Without the Right to secede, individually and collectively, our next revolution will surely be in vain.

 

[VBRonPaulFan]

The winners get to write the history books. It'd be nice to show the public the other side of it, and show how forcing states who voluntarily joined a union under the auspices that they could voluntarily leave as well is tyrannical - but 99% of the population just wouldn't even get it anymore.

 

[Aratus]

check out the indy flic by Robert Redford, "The Conspirator"... it actually was reasonably accurate about how the military trial went in 1865.
the thing about most hollywood movies on the way the war was fought on each battlefield is that often hollywood goes box office insted
of accurate. yes... there were two sides to that war and also the poor souls hellishly caught in the middle. we could have ended up with a
permanent military dictatorship had events at the end of the war been slightly different and teaching that version of the conflict has one sounding
like Voltaire's doctor pangloss. had J.W. Booth more active conspirators insted of he alone and Lewis Powell, had there been a much broader plot
we have then a declaration of martial law leading into a governmental committee comprised of generals. when Atzerodt drunkenly spares the veep
we have a swearing in by 11 a.m on the 15th. did Andrew Johnson forestall an even more aggressive power grab, and is this the most important
action by he as our president, well past demobilizing the union armies or even his stack of pardons? did he restore our constitution ultimately?

 

[cindy25]

and TR, and FDR, and Wilson, and LBJ

 

[Xenophage]

I think Lincoln sucked, but we've had worse presidents. He made for a good statue, at least.

 

[Southron]

Don't be discouraged. You have truth on your side.

I guess Reconstruction worked as intended...

 

[Cutlerzzz]

One of my high school history teachers actually read us The Real Lincoln almost every day during our Civil War Unit.

A different teacher came out and said (not an exageration, almost a word for word quote) that anyone who defends the South is nothing more than a "braindead racist redneck".

 

[Gumba of Liberty]

check out the indy flic by Robert Redford, "The Conspirator"... it actually was reasonably accurate about how the military trial went in 1865.
the thing about most hollywood movies on the way the war was fought on each battlefield is that often hollywood goes box office insted
of accurate. yes... there were two sides to that war and also the poor souls hellishly caught in the middle. we could have ended up with a
permanent military dictatorship had events at the end of the war been slightly different and teaching that version of the conflict has one sounding
like Voltaire's doctor pangloss. had J.W. Booth more active conspirators insted of he alone and Lewis Powell, had there been a much broader plot
we have then a declaration of martial law leading into a governmental committee comprised of generals. when Atzerodt drunkenly spares the veep
we have a swearing in by 11 a.m on the 15th. did Andrew Johnson forestall an even more aggressive power grab, and is this the most important
action by he as our president, well past demobilizing the union armies or even his stack of pardons? did he restore our constitution ultimately?

That is a good film but does not tackle the vitally important objective of enlightening the people on how the Lincoln Administration was the origin of big government. If we, the Revolution, were able to create and aid in the making of The Real Lincoln as a motion picture, it could at the least put a splinter into the minds of the masses and they may realize, by their own investigation, who Lincoln truly was and by extension who the U.S. Government really is.

With that said, you do make good points and I will be sure to ask my students those important questions.

 

[noxagol]

You must be a racists, a neo-confederate, or both; clearly those are the only people who would want such a thing.

 

[Gumba of Liberty]

You must be a racists, a neo-confederate, or both; clearly those are the only people who would want such a thing.

Then how unlucky and brainwashed my students must be

 

[outspoken]

Such a film should be titled 'UnAmerican.'

 

[Aratus]

if both sides mobilized in a similar manner, as impromptu militias and units with mexican war veterans were handed young men to command, for in the north earrly enlistments were short, some were 90 days, and as the government of jefferson davis acted upon the wartime powers handed to him by his leggislature, we have the congressional pieces of legislation in the north that allowed abe lincoln to wage war. there is a loose parallelism as both massive armies come into being. the optimism on both sides about a speedy and short victory soon will bring in it's wake cynicism as the war drags on. admittedly the north heavily drafted first and suspended the writ of habeas corpus first, but the south soon followed suit given that neither jefferson davis or abe lincoln are profound civil libertarians. you have to say how delicately poised both sides were in order to explain lee, gettysburg and pickett's charge. one of the issues is, all the delegated wartime powers were supposed to be temporary, and yes, if the north was on a winning streak, the legality of jefferson davis's wartime powers are becoming a moot point by may of 1865. the critical issue underneath the battles in congress during reconstruction is the powers appropiate to the office of the presidency. the arguments by reverdy johnson are not his most brilliant, but the senate trial of andrew johnson was a turning point...

 

[JeNNiF00F00]

Whats so bad about being a Confederate?

 

[James Madison]

Whats so bad about being a Confederate?

People tend to associate the Confederacy with slavery and racism. They neglect to realize that slavery was legal across much of the Union.

 

[Aratus]

tacitly both jefferson davis and abraham lincoln's actions were a departure.
the radical republicans wanted a more broader base of voters with less rules
on who could vote but were willing to tolerate a temporary elite in lieu of a
democratically elected government. andrew johnson may have been a bigot
but his worst offense was that he was in someone's way and he showed this
with his vetos. after his trial, for thirty years the high ranking senators and
representatives tended to dictate out policy to a string of lesser politicians in
the office of the presidency. unfortunately, the first break in this pattern was
bill mckinley and the spanish-american war. ron paul huimself has praised some
of grover cleveland's economic policies. if the war triggered big government,
then a.lincoln and j.davis were under the pressures of their respective offices...

 

[nayjevin]

check out the indy flic by Robert Redford, "The Conspirator"

I've heard good things about The Conspirator movie too, haven't watched it yet though.

http://libertyclick.com/blog/featured/featured-movie-the-conspirator/

 

[cindy25]

the CSA was not some romantic state; the south had conscription before the north, had an irresponsible economic policy that led to runaway inflation. with competent political leadership the south could have won.

 

[cindy25]

found this doc, have not watched yet, 5 parts, start here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plwIiSvyW2A