O/T: Ho Hum

I think that is pretty obvious, but watch it there.

You might get Palin upset all over again.

IBS: Intellectual Bull S*it

Come on now, you can do better than try to get IBS to stick on the wall.

Lew

There have been few wars in history that were waged for moral purposes. Oh, that's the reason given for many (i.e. the Crusades), but most wars have, at the core, been fought for economic motives.

You have a good point about free trade vs excessive tariffs. The South was opposed to tariffs because nobody was trying to import cotton! Conversely, cheaper manufactured goods from, say, England, were attractive to southern importers (and equally hateful to northern industry).

I'll dispute "lots... opposed to slavery." There were many in the Abolitionist movement, true, but they were more of a nusiance rabble than an effective political force and even within the movement, schisms developed regarding female sufferage and other peripheral issues. Remember, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamations (Sept 1, 1862) came significantly after hostilities commenced in April 1861. Further, the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to slave holdings in the non-secession states.

Interestingly, the Emancipation Proclamation specifically excluded Texas. I'm told that parts of the Piney Woods in east Texas still cling to the old ways...