Now, I’m not from the States so I’m not as invested in the first place but is it okay in general to be somewhat lukewarm about the American Civil War in terms of its societal effectiveness? While the slavers got beaten up very effectively (and rightly so), the aftermath was mired in compromise to such a large degree that slavery still isn’t banned in the States and the underlying racism is still a major issue today.
Is that valid criticism or should the postbellum be considered strictly separate from the Civil War? I’m genuinely curious.
(And I just realized that you argue against not taking a strong side rather than not having strong feelings. My bad.)
Oh yeah, we all mourn in this community that Reconstruction didn’t do what it was supposed to - destroying slavery and racism in the South, and in failing to do so, allowed it to re-establish itself as power over the entire country again. But the Civil War itself? “Anti-democratic racist slavers vs. Flawed democracy coalition which eventually accedes to more racially positive outlook” shouldn’t be a hard choice for anyone.