I have found myself on a very weird mailing list. I was about to go ballistic about this mailing list but I received this interesting e-mail. I am not yet sure of the veracity of these statements but definitely am going to check it out when I get a chance. So here it is posted as is from e-mail
By Chuck Baldwin
January 19, 2005
January is often referred to as "Generals Month" as no less than
four famous Confederate Generals claimed January as their birth
month: James Longstreet (Jan. 8, 1821), Robert E. Lee (Jan. 19,
1807), Thomas Jonathan Jackson (Jan. 21, 1824), and George
Pickett (Jan. 28, 1825). Two of these men, Lee and Jackson, are
especially noteworthy.
Without question, Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson were
two of the greatest military leaders of all time. Even more, the Lee
and Jackson tandem is regarded by many military historians as
perhaps having formed the greatest battlefield duo in the history of
warfare. If Jackson had survived the battle of Chancellorsville, it is
very possible that the South would have prevailed at Gettysburg
and perhaps would even have won the War Between the States.
While the strategies and circumstances of the War of Northern
Aggression can (and will) be debated by professionals and laymen
alike, one fact is undeniable: Robert E. Lee and T.J. Jackson were
two of the finest Christian gentlemen this country has ever
produced! Both their character and their conduct are beyond
reproach.
Unlike his northern counterpart, Ulysses S. Grant, General Lee
never sanctioned or condoned slavery. Upon inheriting slaves from
his deceased father-in-law, Lee immediately freed them. As for
General Jackson, it has never been demonstrated that he ever had
any slaves to free. In addition, unlike Abraham Lincoln and U.S.
Grant, neither Lee nor Jackson ever spoke disparagingly of the
black race.
As those who are familiar with history know, General Grant and
his wife held personal slaves before and during the War Between
the States, and even Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation did not
free them. They were not freed until the Thirteenth Amendment
was passed after the conclusion of the war. Grant's excuse for not
freeing his slaves was that, "good help is so hard to come by these
days."
Of course, Lincoln's views on slavery and the black race are
widely known (at least by those familiar with history). In fact, if
Lincoln were alive today, he would no doubt be identified as a
white supremacist.
For example, in an 1858 debate Lincoln said, "I will say, then, that
I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in anyway
the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I
am not, nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of
Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry
with white people, and I will say in addition to this that there is a
physical difference between the white and black races which I
believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of
social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live,
while they do remain together, there must be the position of
superior and inferior. I, as much as any other man, am in favor of
having the superior position assigned to the white race." Lincoln
routinely made such comments.
Contrast the sentiments of Lincoln and Grant to those of Robert E.
Lee and Thomas Jackson. For example, it is well established that
Jackson regularly conducted a Sunday School class for black
children. This was a ministry he took very seriously. As a result, he
was dearly loved and appreciated by the children he taught.
Furthermore, both Jackson and Lee emphatically supported the
abolition of slavery. In fact, Lee called slavery "a moral and
political evil." He also said "the best men in the South" opposed it
and welcomed its demise. Jackson said he wished to see "the
shackles struck from every slave."
To think that Lee and Jackson (and the vast majority of
Confederate soldiers) would fight and die to preserve an institution
they considered evil and abhorrent is the height of absurdity! It is
equally repugnant to impugn and denigrate the memory of these
remarkable Christian gentlemen!
Instead of allowing a secular humanist, politically correct culture
sully the memory of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson (and
their compatriots), all Americans should hold them in a place of
highest honor and respect. Anything less is a disservice to history
and a disgrace to the principles of truth and integrity!
� Chuck Baldwin
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"I hold that this Government was made on the white basis, by white men, for the benefit of white men and their posterity forever, and should be administered by white men and none others. I do not believe the Almighty made the negro capable of self-government." --Stephen Douglas, 1858
See what the quote taken out of context is missing is in this time and era most people maintained these views. Most people from that time (to quote Mr.Baldwin) "would no doubt be identified as a white supremacist." In fact we don't have to go that far back in our history to satisfy that clause. It was quotes like...
"There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I hold that he is as much entitled to these as the white man. I agree with Judge Douglas that he is not my equal in many respects--certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas and the equal of every living man."--Abraham Lincoln, 1858
....that made Lincoln a forward thinker. See these words were extreme thoughts for the time. Negros entitled to rights? Never in that time. But yet even in a striking quote like such the universal racism was evident. Especially in Illinois where this debate was taking place. On a side note, these sentiments were most likely needed to be elected to the Senate for Illinois at the time.
See the real problem with Mr.Baldwin's views of the Civil War aka The War of Northern Aggresion is that he like most people in the world are trying to interlace race in the reason. The simple fact is the states that would later secede were doing something, the federal government (which was perceived to be run by the Northern more wealthy states) said you can't do that stop, and they said I know its wrong but if we stop we won't be able to make a living, and the North said I don't care stop it now, and the South said who the hell are you to tell us what to do. The issue that brought it up happened to be slavery. The division was Free State vs. Slave State. Many people in the north thought they were fighting to end slavery, many in the south thought they were fighting for the right of state government and the fight for their economic means. They suspected their economy would come crashing down around them if they had no slaves to pick the cotton and tobacco.. So the mix-up in why the war occured is understandable. People were mixed up in why they were fighting at the time. And the history taught in our schools basically put it as if the South were the bad guys. That in itself is wrong. Our education should teach true history and not bias. Unfortunately so many people today don't bother to research and learn and understand from the different view points. They just accept whatever jibberish and propaganda they find to support their own views. Probably why Mr.Baldwin's letters do so well.
Also I would like to use one of Mr.Baldwin's tricks and take a quote from General Robert E. Lee.
"The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, physically, and socially. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their further instruction as a race, and will prepare them, I hope, for better things. How long their servitude may be necessary is known and ordered by a merciful Providence."
Robert E. Lee letter dated December 27, 1856 to Stonewall Jackson in response to President Pierce's speech
The painful discipline is necessary for their instruction as a race? If you take mr Robert E. Lee to todays society no doubt he would also be considered a biggot for such remarks. A biggot that justifies himself through God or "merciful Providence". Both Lee and Jackson justified themselves, and their battle, with the Lord. Today that would make them religious zealots.
When quotes are taken out of time and context they can be used to satisfy most any purpose. Mr.Baldwin should have stuck to the purpose of having people recognize the greatness of the generals rather than use a common technique of propping one group up by tearing another down. Lee and Jackson and many of the people associated with the Confedrate States were great men. The same can be said for Lincoln and people associated with the Union. They have many fine qualities and can be inspiration and example for many generations. Letters and stories like this are an attempt to get people, who do not have the time or know-how to research for themselves, in an uproar. To what end? only the writer knows. Instead of trying to divide this country with bias chain letters Mr.Baldwin should take Lee's example and "should devote his whole efforts to pacifying the country and bringing the people back to the Union." as Lee said to Grant.
So in closing I leave Mr. Baldwin this quote from General Robert E. Lee. Perhaps if he follows this advice he will stop his petty bantering and (un-solicitated) e-mail views and focus on things that really matter.
"Get correct views of life, and learn to see the world in its true light. It will enable you to live pleasantly, to do good, and, when summoned away, to leave without regret."