Ron Paul Made "South Was Right" Civil War Speech With Confederate Flag
There’s a video here of Ron Paul in front of a Confederate flag making a speech about how the South was right in the Civil War.
Any more questions?
Well, there we go.
Okay, so, I understand this a little. Ron Paul thinks the South should’ve been allowed to secede because he - a Libertarian - believes everyone should have the right to do what they want, and that big government is bad government. The Civil War was not, at least initially or directly, about slavery. It was about state power vs. federal power. I can see why Ron Paul would side with the South, and I highly doubt the issue of slavery has anything to do with it.
However, I do know that people today who do celebrate the Confederacy are more often than not incredibly racist and white supremacists, so I think Ron Paul made a terrible PR and personal choice to side with them. Sigh. Never a perfect presidential candidate, is there…
You are wrong. 100% wrong.
These are the Declarations of Causes of Secession. They are explanations from the Confederate states as to why they chose to secede. They are all about slavery.
The Vice President of the Confederacy said in 1861:
“Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.”
The Confederate constitution contained a clause that stated that slavery could never be abolished.
You are 100% wrong about the secession of the Southern states not being about slavery, and you should stop repeating that lie.
I misspoke. I meant that I can understand why Ron Paul would say the South should have been allowed to secede, because he holds state power over federal power. He should have also taken to account that not every individual had sovereignty under a Confederate constitution, and that the preservation of the Union allowed the abolishment of slavery and the (eventual) protection of individual rights for everyone.
I wanted to say that I don’t think Ron Paul is a racist, though in some respects he’s deeply misguided and naive about racial relations and privilege. I also meant that while slavery was a big issue in the Civil War, the war wasn’t initially waged to decide whether or not to abolish slavery. Lincoln didn’t write the Emancipation Proclamation until two years after the war started.
But you are right, I was wrong to say that the Civil War wasn’t about slavery. The issue of slavery was the reason why the South wanted to secede. So I apologize for that mistake.
