Chapter 9 6. North-South disputes and gang fights

The territory has expanded, the territory has grown, and everyone has become rich. Isn't this a good thing?As a result, both the North and the South of the United States fought. The fundamental reason for the outbreak of the American Civil War was that the differences between the two economic systems intensified and intensified the conflict between the North and the South, that is, the contradiction between capitalist industry and commerce in the North and plantation slavery in the South. In the final analysis, the contradiction between the two economic systems is the competition for labor force, market and raw materials.The market in the southern part of the United States was connected to that of the United Kingdom, and raw materials were also exported to the United Kingdom, so that the north could not get the market raw materials needed for industrial development.In addition, there are 4 million black slaves in the South, which makes the United States lack of labor force for industrial development.A country with two different economic systems will inevitably have friction and conflicts.

The 1787 Constitution of the United States established a political system of separation of powers, with legislative power vested in the Congress, which is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.There are two members of one state in the Senate, so whether to establish a free state or a slave state in the new territories in the Midwest determines who controls the Senate and who controls the legislative power in the north and south of the United States.If there are more free states, there will be more senators from free states, and legislation will definitely benefit the North; if there are more slave states, most senators will come from slave states, and legislation will definitely benefit the South.In the end, the North and the South reached a compromise. The new states north of the 35th parallel would be free states, and the states south of the 35th parallel would be slave states.

Americans are not like the Chinese, they are not open-minded. Kansas straddles the 35th parallel north latitude. Can’t one state have two systems? Half of a state is free and half is slave?When the state line was drawn, don't draw it like this, it's over?I don't know why, but it has to be planned this way.Whether this state is a free state or a slave state, the North and the South are gearing up for a big fight. The North compromised, and Kansas became a slave state.But at the time of the Civil War, it was loyal to the federal government and did not participate in the rebellion.

Kansas has become a slave state, and the northerners are very resentful. Why is the government so bearish and compromise with the South?When will this situation end?Until an uncompromising president - Lincoln came to power.Lincoln is the most humble president in American history. His rival is probably President Clinton. The two have very similar experiences, both posthumous.Clinton was able to finish college and graduate school at least. Lincoln dropped out of school without even graduating from elementary school. He farmed, worked as a postman, and worked on the dock. He did everything, but he was self-taught and admitted to being a lawyer.In the West, as soon as one is admitted as a lawyer, it marks entering the mainstream society.Then he ran for the U.S. Senate and became President of the United States at the age of 51.Clinton was 46 and Obama was 47.Why should national leaders be young?He is in the prime of life in his forties and fifties.The greatest thing about a democratic system is that it gives everyone equal opportunities. It doesn’t matter who your father is. Everyone follows the rules of the game. There is no need to fight or fight. It’s yours and it’s yours.

The equality that capitalism talks about is not equality in wealth, but equality in opportunities to create wealth.Lincoln was a poor boy who came from the bottom. He naturally understood the sufferings of the people and knew that slavery was inhumane and contrary to human nature. After he became the President of the United States, he began to advocate the restriction of slavery, which angered the South.Seven states in the south, and later developed to 11 states openly seceded from the country.This was legal at the time because the Constitution of the United States of America gave states the right to join or leave the Union.After the civil war broke out, the U.S. Congress passed the "Anti-Secession Act" to prevent states from withdrawing. Like our "Anti-Secession Act", it is an amendment to the Constitution.

At that time, it was legal for the southern states of the United States to secede from the Union, but now the North emphasizes that you are not legal.You go to war if you don't agree, so after the first year of the civil war, when the war started, the North lost.When the American Civil War broke out, the North had an absolute advantage.The north has a population of 22 million, while the south has only 9 million, including 4 million black slaves. The industry in the north accounts for 91% of the country, and the railway mileage accounts for 96%. The south has nothing but cotton.Why did the South dare to provoke this war?Because the world was undergoing an industrial revolution at that time, cotton was the most important raw material.So after the rebellion, the South publicly declared that even a small cotton thread can be broken by a 3-year-old child, but it can strangle the whole world to death.The South has a lot of cotton in its hands, and feels that European countries will definitely support it.The fact is, just as they expected, that the European powers were unwilling to see a strong and unified United States. Britain and France not only supported the South morally, but also provided support.

It has been 150 years since this war. Today, the North of the United States calls it the Civil War, but the South still insists on calling it the South-North War, which is regarded as a war between two different countries. When the Civil War began, the North lost.Before the outbreak of the Civil War, most of the graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point were southerners. Because of their background as slave owners, southerners were proficient in bowing horses and riding and shooting.Confederate Commander-in-Chief Robert?General Lee was the headmaster of the West Point Military Academy. After the war broke out, President Lincoln planned to appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, but he politely declined.He said that I want to play for my hometown, which is to play for Virginia, Virginia is a rebel state, and Richmond, the capital of the South, is in Virginia.General Lee joined the South and became the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army.The Army of Virginia under his command never exceeded 75,000 men, but defeated 300,000 Union troops.The generals of the Northern Army are all his students. As soon as you lined up and deployed your troops, I knew what you were going to do next. I taught you this set. Isn't it like playing for me to beat you?

The north suffered successive defeats, and the people were very angry, and the Lincoln government was also very dissatisfied. We have such a great advantage, and we have always lost battles, and we can't explain it. What should we do?In order to stop the rebel states from thinking about it, the Lincoln government promulgated the "Homestead Act" and "Emancipation Proclamation." These two documents are very meaningful, giving land to white people and freedom to black people!What people needed most at that time was land and freedom!As long as you pay a handling fee of 10 US dollars, you can pay it in three years. The value of 10 US dollars at that time is different from today’s value. During the economic crisis in 1929, the annual salary of American workers was only 100 US dollars, and you could get 640,000 square meters. The land is equivalent to 8/9 the size of the Forbidden City. If you plant it for 5 consecutive years, the land will belong to you. Therefore, the laid-off and unemployed people in the eastern United States drove their carts and their families to the western landowners.

But you think, 640,000 square meters of land, not to mention 5 years of planting, without mechanization, relying entirely on human and animal power, try to walk five laps, can you still get up the next day?So, why does the United States become the world's most powerful country?You can't just see thieves eating meat without seeing thieves being beaten.In the 230-year history of the United States, the world's number one accounted for 120 years. Why is it?It is truly remarkable.Everyone drove to the west together. The thorny plants were only half the height of a person, and the land was all yellow. There were lizards, rattlesnakes and the like crawling on the ground. Wild wolves howled in the distance. an arrow.Several families went to one place in a group, camped, surrounded by a large cart, the men stood on the cart with guns to prevent the attack of the patterned warriors, and the women collected firewood, cooked the fire, and guarded against wild animals. It was like this every day Yes, there is nothing ready-made waiting for you in the west, it is all in your hands.

When I was in college, I watched an American TV series with the main theme called "The Pioneers". I remember it was more than 7 hours. The original English version had no subtitles. I could understand about 5%, but I could understand most of the historical events. There is no need to listen to the dialogue.It talks about the process of the development of the American West from 1730 to World War I.In the film, two families went to the west to open up wasteland. These two families are neighbors. The distance between the neighbors was more than 5 minutes on TV. I couldn’t tell that the horse was running, because the terrain was the same and the colors did not change. of.There is a little girl in one family and a young man in one family, and the story happened.The young man proposed to the little girl. What the little girl probably meant was to ask the young man, I can’t marry anyone else except you. There is no one around. I have no other choice. I can marry you, but what do you do for a living? Me, how do we live?

The young man pointed to the yellow land behind him - Freedom Homeland, relying on this free land.As soon as the camera turns, 30 years later.As far as the eye can see, there are all white two-story buildings, with the American flag flying high. The young man in those days is already gray at the temples, wearing a suit and a top hat, and all the people who pass by him take off their hats and bow , he is the mayor now.A young man rode over, called him Papa, and hung a police badge. His eldest son was the sheriff.With their own strength, the two families turned the barren land into a small town. Afterwards, new pioneers continued to settle, and gradually this place became a small town. Maybe in another 20 or 30 years, This becomes Los Angeles, which becomes San Francisco. The United States has a total history of 230 years. How many world-class cities does it have?How many years does each city have?Our 3,000-year-old ancient capital in Beijing is incomparable.But how can it create so many miracles?Therefore, giving land to white people not only solved the public opinion problem urgently needed in the Civil War, but also promoted the development of the western United States and the development of the capitalist economy.To give blacks freedom, not to mention, the black slaves were immediately incited, not only free, but also able to join the federal army, how willing the black slaves are to do this!Yesterday you whipped me three times, today I stabbed you five bayonets. More than 200,000 black slaves joined the federal army. On the battlefield, they were responsible for digging through landmines, plugging gun holes, and blowing up bunkers, and technical work was not their turn.As a result, the situation on the battlefield quickly reversed. The Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 was a turning point in the American Civil War.General Grant, commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, defeated his teacher Robert?General Lee turned the tide of the battle. Since then, the Confederate Army has gone from bad to worse.After the battle, President Lincoln delivered a famous speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Gettysburg Cemetery. I remember learning this text in junior high school. There are only about 600 words in total, and the speech takes less than 3 minutes.At that time, it took about half an hour for the camera to be ready to complete the shooting, so the photographer set up the camera and got his head into the black cloth. Before he could focus, the president finished speaking, come out. President Lincoln did not leave a photo of his speech, but this speech is reproduced all over the streets of the United States, made of parchment, astonishing through the past and the present.President Lincoln asked, what kind of government can be supported by the people?It must be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and everything must be approved by the people.Dr. Sun Yat-sen proposed the Three Principles of the People accordingly, which became the guiding ideology for overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. In 1865, the Confederate Army announced its surrender, and the most touching scene happened after the Confederate Army surrendered.The telegram from the front line reached Washington, the rebels surrendered, the White House held a dinner party, and everyone was drinking happily. The wife of the president gave a toast: the enemy has surrendered... Lincoln immediately interrupted his wife, no, it is not the enemy who surrendered, but ours compatriots.When the war is over, everyone is American.Immediately after the Civil War ended, the President stated that the enemies were all our countrymen.Lincoln dared to interrupt his wife's words, that was really brave, because Lincoln, like Clinton, was born in a poor boy, and his wife was a rich lady, who married him to see that he had a future in training, so he was very afraid of his wife.He interrupted his wife's speech in broad daylight and in public. Do you think, how much pain will it take to go home?But he didn't consider the seriousness of the consequences. He felt that the consequences of his wife's words might be more serious. Confederate Commander-in-Chief Robert?General Lee led 28,000 remnants of the defeated generals to surrender to General Grant. The place where the two sides negotiated to surrender was in a log cabin on a farm.General Lee wore a full set of military uniforms, covered with military medals, and came like a military parade. General Grant wore an old military uniform that was dirty by gunfire, and it was completely impossible to see who was the winner.As soon as the two met, they began to drink tea and chat, what was the weather like, and what was the harvest in their hometown... They talked lightly for half an hour, but they didn't get to the point.In the end, General Li took the initiative to ask, didn't I come to you today to discuss my surrender? Why didn't you mention it?Grant couldn't bear to let the teacher surrender. General Lee untied the sword and handed it to Grant. I was defeated. Take the sword.Grant pushed back. In the United States, no one deserves to accept this heavy honor.General Li saw it, but you don't want it, it's not that I didn't give it to you, so I hung up again.It is said that a defeated general cannot be brave, but General Li proposed that a defeated army should not be humiliated. We have surrendered after defeat, but you cannot insult us. All my soldiers cannot be treated as prisoners of war. You should write a release letter right now. Free citizens, let them go home. Grant immediately signed the release letter. After signing, he hand-printed it until night. More than 28,000 copies were printed, one for each soldier. The police station will not trouble you, and will not treat you as a historical counter-revolutionary. Don't worry, go home quickly.General Li also proposed that the soldiers keep their war horses, because the soldiers are all farmers. After returning, the horses can plow the land, and they are so far away, so they cannot be allowed to walk back.General Grant said that not only the horses can be kept, but also the pistols, rifles, and sabers can be kept, as long as the cannons are handed over.Because on your way home, if a patterned warrior comes out to harass you, you can still resist.In this way, although more than 20,000 people were defeated in the war, they could carry a full set of weapons, their historical honors, military uniforms, and medals. Back to my hometown, what should I do? Once the war was over, President Lincoln persuaded Congress that the first thing to do was rebuild the South.Soon, President Lincoln was assassinated.One of the slogans put forward by the vice president after taking office was no revenge. President Lincoln was killed by the southerners. Let’s kill all the southerners. This is not acceptable.Don't retaliate, rebuild the South first.Confederate President Davis was the number one war criminal, but he was only sentenced to 4 years in prison. In fact, he was released in a little over a year and became a famous bridge engineer. He was originally from the Engineering Department of the West Point Military Academy. Robert?General Li was imprisoned for a period of time, deprived of his civil rights, and was soon released on parole, and all the generals interceded for him.After being released on parole, he served as the president of the University of Washington, which is now called Washington?Lee University is one of the famous Ivy League schools in the United States.Washington?In front of the gate of Lee University, there is a bronze statue of General Lee riding a horse and wielding a knife. He swung the knife to kill Lincoln, but the Americans didn't mind.In the West Point Military Academy in the United States today, there are only four famous generals in American history with statues. The first one is Robert?General Lee - the commander-in-chief of the rebel army; the second is General Grant, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army; and then Patton and MacArthur in World War II, the four major national heroes of the United States.The commander-in-chief of the rebel army ranks first, which shows that the Americans are tolerant of this war. After the war, everyone is an American. After the U.S. general election, no matter whether you are in the Republican camp or the Democratic camp, everyone is an American. Although they have different political opinions, they are all in the same direction.The flag of the Confederate States, with two blue crosses slanted against a red background and 11 white five-pointed stars above the cross, hung in South Carolina's capital until 2003. Therefore, the greatest revelation of the American Civil War should be: the brothers who survive the calamity, meet each other and laugh away all grievances and enmities.That's it, don't hold on to it. The American Civil War was the second bourgeois revolution in the United States, which cleared the obstacles for the development of capitalism and promoted the all-round prosperity of the United States.But it does not eliminate racial discrimination, especially discrimination in the legal system, in Martin?Luther?In the age of gold, to what extent was racial discrimination?There is a rule in the southern states that a black pregnant woman must give up her seat to a white guy on the bus because of the color of your skin.Martin?Luther?King began to pursue racial equality in that era. In the United States now, there is no racial discrimination in legal terms, and the government’s policies are also intended to favor people of color, just like the feeling of adding 10 points to the college entrance examination for ethnic minorities here.But the thoughts in people's hearts can't be restrained. When a black family moves into an apartment building, white people start to move out, and finally the first floor is completely black.You said you can't discriminate against black neighbors, you have to live here, why do I have to live here?The United States is not like China. Everyone buys a house, and everyone rents a house. If you don’t want to live in it, you just leave.Therefore, today in the United States, black people still feel discriminated against.