Is Another “Civil War” in America Possible?
We certainly hope not, but would you rather live under a tyranny?
First, and absolutely foremost, horror of horrors. Another war between Americans is a monstrous, ghastly thing to envision, and we all hope it never, EVER comes to pass. The next one would be far worse than the first one. It’s too hideous to contemplate.
But it is for that very reason we DO need to contemplate it, in hopes of avoiding it. So, let me contemplate it, hoping I’m writing total fantasy.
Another such conflict in America would probably not be a “civil war,” it would be a war of secession. You see, a true “civil war” is between two factions, both of whom want to control the government. This is why the 1861-65 conflict was not truly a “civil war”; the South wasn’t trying to control the government, they were trying to leave it. We don’t call the American Revolutionary War a “civil war.” George, Tom, John, James, etc. had no intention of overthrowing the British government, they simply wanted freedom from it. It was a war of secession. It was exactly what our “War Between the States” was.
But, it is axiomatic, though not totally true (though in this case it is), that the “winners get to write the history.” America won the “Revolutionary War,” so we don’t call it a “civil war.” The North won the 1861-65 war, so it was a “civil war.” Incidentally, we don’t call the war between Texas and Mexico in 1835-36 a “civil war” either. It was Texas’ “War for Independence.” It was a war of secession. Just like in 1775-83 and 1861-65. All of those were wars of secession, none were true “civil wars.”
Chances are that any future war in America would be a war of secession. Let’s suppose that the Left continues its monstrous growth and the Deep State increasingly expands to become intolerably intrusive in the lives of the people. What will true American patriots do? That would be the decision to make, and more than likely, we would just want to say, “Forget it. Let the Left have Washington, D.C. It isn’t worth saving. Let’s just get out.” A secession movement. My guess is, patriots wouldn’t try to militarily take over Washington; they would just want a government of their own. Peaceful secession.
There have been, in history, some peaceful secession movements. The breakup of the Soviet Union is the one that immediately comes to mind. The Soviet empire collapsed, and many of its former republics were able to peacefully secede and form their own nations. That’s the way it should be. Government should be by “the consent of the governed,” and when the governed no longer “consent” to the government, they should have the right to “alter or abolish it.” Or leave it, if those options prove impossible. Our Founding Fathers couldn’t “alter or abolish” the British government, so they just left it. But, unfortunately, not peaceably.
Most secession movements aren’t peaceful. Governments don’t like it when their people leave because that means less humans to tyrannize and, especially, less money in the coffers. Truth be told, that is the real reason for America’s “civil war.” Lincoln couldn’t let the South go because Northern businessmen told him not to. A low tariff, which the Confederacy would surely pass, would hurt Northern business. It would also cut government revenue. At times, before the war, the Southern states, with about 33% of the population, were paying about 80% of federal taxes. If they left the Union, “where then shall we get our revenue?” Lincoln was heard to ask. Our “War Between the States” was about money first. Slavery may have indeed been the main reason 7 of 15 Southern states seceded (four more seceded after Lincoln decided on war), but ending slavery was not the reason the North went to war. That cause came later, at least 15 months after the war began. Lincoln himself plainly said, in his inaugural address in 1861, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations, and had never recanted them.” Doesn’t sound like he is ready to go to war to end slavery, does it. Lincoln and Congress both said “keeping the Union together” was paramount. Exactly the same reason British and Mexican governments went to war. But America, Texas—and the North—won the wars. So, they get to tell us why they happened.
But to our future war. If American patriots wanted to secede, in the future, from a Leftist, Democratic Party run government (interestingly, in 1861 it was the Democrats who seceded from Republicans), would Washington allow for a peaceful secession? Not for one moment. Who do you think pays most of the taxes in America now, Democrats or Republicans? Except for the crony capitalistic Democratic Party corporations, most of the money that goes into the federal treasury comes from people who work for a living. And most of those people are Republicans. They might even start their own companies. Democrats’ big business buddies certainly wouldn’t like that. There would be war.
Who would fight whom would be somewhat difficult to decipher. It wouldn’t be strictly geographical this time. And some “red states” might choose to remain loyal to the Democratic Party’s America. Four Southern states did remain in the Union, though Lincoln had to twist a few arms to keep them there. The composition of a future war wouldn’t be easy to decide.
The Democrats would call it a “racist” war—that would be their first excuse. And, if they won, that’s how it would be recorded in history because they would write it. The real reasons, as in most wars, would be obscured.
Freedom-loving Americans will only choose the road of secession if they become absolutely convinced that the Leftist, totalitarian government would demand total obedience and rob them of their freedoms. It could come to that because total submission is the aim of every Leftist government—and they accomplished it in several places around the world over the past 100 years. They ARE trying in America. Let’s hope we can thwart them.
If we can’t, there will be war. Sadly, tragically, there will be war.