A Civil War Podcast: Why Virginia Seceded, West Virginia Formed
Presently there is a 150th Anniversary called a Sesquicentennial of the Civil War ongoing that is supported by State governments for tourism as well as for American education. West Virginia's Sesquicentennial website is here. It is an excellent time (and very relevant to today) to reconsider this major event in American history which transformed America.
The link below will take you to an excellent podcast tracing weekly the events leading up to and including the so-called Civil War from a Longwood University professor in Virginia which is worth subscribing to. Every American should know the documented truth (not the politically-correct propaganda version) about this Great Conflict which cost the lives of over 620,000 Americans, more than all U.S. wars combined. History is absolutely essential for discovering our present context which puts and interprets current events in better light. The history of the Civil War teaches alot about the true nature of the present U.S. Federal Government, which changed entirely from this historic event, despite flying a similar flag. Every family, and school, could benefit from this short weekly podcast.
The Civil War was nothing less than another Revolution of Government (for that is what the Southern States declared in justification of their seceding) in which the northern section, and their principles, usurped and turned the Federal Government in Washington D.C. into a Central Power over the previously sovereign and independent states. Slavery was only part of the issue, which even Lincoln declared he had no right to abolish or outlaw when he took office (as the earlier podcasts prove), for the larger principles of Union and Liberty came into conflict, i.e. National Federalism vs. State's Rights. What is now called Big Government began here with a war waged by Washington D.C. against the States who formed her! Thus the Union was "saved" or reformed at gunpoint. To be brought back into a union by force most all will recognize as some form of tyranny instead of freedom. Ironically, those who opposed a centralized power in Washington were then the Democrats (back then Dixie-crats!), and it was Lincoln's radical (called "Red") Republicans who wanted to tyrannize the states, contrary to "Tea Partiers" today!
Nothing highlights more how the Federal Government changed than this podcast here since it includes the Secession of Virginia and the formation of West Virginia, which is obscured in the title. Virginia had voted against secession until President Lincoln tried to raise armies in the southern states to wage war against the states seceding. That changed everything, and Virginia seceded on April 17, 1961 (see Ordinance of Secession in previous post). Every West Virginian should know this and also read the State Cultural Center's archives on the formation of West Virginia, "An Illegal Act?" which is enlightening for a better understanding about both the U.S. government and this state's origins.
Secession in the Old Dominion, Violence in Baltimore | That a Nation Might Live
Posts
