The Civil War, oh, excuse me, The War Between the States

Over one hundred years after the horrible American conflict, depending on which side of the Mason Dixon line you lived, you either studied the Civil War (the Northern perception of the war) or The War Between the States (the Southern take on the war).  When we visited the Museum of the Confederacy, the 'war between the states' argument is still being presented.  In a nutshell, the Southern reasoning is they were fighting for 'states rights' in contrast to the Northern perception of fighting to preserve the Union between the States.  Historians agree the war was about economics, specifically slave economics. The more the Northern abolitionists and politicians tried to limit and thwart the slave economy, the more rabid the Southern politicians and planter class (slave holders) became.  They considered slaves property, and thus, should be regulated by the property owners, and otherwise only lightly regulated by the individual states, not the Federal Government.  The territories were the rub:  Slavery permitted or not?  Who decides?  Various compromises were tried to no avail.  Lincoln's election as President from the new abolitionist dominated Republican Party was the last straw.  Even former President John Tyler trying to promote a peace conference didn't stop the slavery conflict from escalating to all out war.  I wonder if the participants could have seen the future, would they have been so eager to start firing weapons?

The Museum of the Confederacy left me with an overwhelming sadness similar to what I felt when I went to Gettysburg.  This museum's strong points are the amazing number of actual artifacts they possess as well as a comprehensive chronological overview of the War from 1860 to 1865.  As you move through the various battles, the casualty figures mount and mount.  The sheer bloodshed on both sides is almost unbelievable.  The Civil War is an example of tactics used from the previous war meeting the first mass output of industrially produced weapons. This war is filled with 'charges' by waves of soldiers against rapid fire weapons as well as multiple canons.  You can imagine the carnage.  The South, having a smaller population, and almost no manufacturing base could ill afford to fight this type of war. By the end of the second year, the Southern defeat was an inevitable conclusion. 

Situated next to the Museum of the Confederacy, in fact, the museum's first home, is the White House of the Confederacy.  This mansion built in the 1830's was a wonderfully decorated example of a mid 19th century home.  It was filled not with reproductions, but with many original pieces used by the Davis family as well as fine original antiques of the period.  It has been meticulously decorated using clues in correspondence as well as stripping off paint and layers of wall paper to get down to the time period of the house.  The curators are very proud that the house has the same appearance as during the Davis' family occupation.  
The most interesting person in the Davis family (my opinion) was not Jefferson, but rather his wife Varina.  She came from a middle class family, and she continued to do a lot of her own chores as well as having middle class hobbies - like sewing with an early sewing machine making practical clothing.  She was snubbed by the Southern upper class wives, but this didn't seem to affect her. She spent the post war years trying to secure her husband's release from prison (he did 2.5 years of 'time' after the war), and she raised her children.  She was also a writer, and after the death of her husband, she secured a job with Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World newspaper, as a columnist.  She founded the New York Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy where she lived until her death.  She's buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond with a lovely stone angel over her grave.

Pictures as always:  

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115478608971584948192/albums/5923466472365094609?authkey=CO_2uvnwvdKU8AE