Re: Georgian Yeast

>In the Confederacy's case, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (where
>all slaves, in all states -- including Rebel states -- were declared
free)

Um. Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC the Emancipation Proclamation
didn't apply
to the Northern slave-owning states (Kentucky, basically, IIRC. There
were some
more but I forget them, (Maryland?) and only in Kentucky was there a
significant
number of unmanumitted slaves).

It was in this durned furriner's opinion, a masterpiece of RealPolitik.
Others
might call it outrageous hypocracy, to free "their" slaves not "ours".
The loyalty
of Kentucky was rather shaky, but this shored it up. A.Lincoln was a
great statesman,
but again IMHO not because he was a moral paragon: far from it, he had a
grasp
of political expediency unmatched by anyone except possibly Otto von
Bismark.
He saw that although the southern states, individually or in
combination, had
every constitutional right to secede, such a move would destroy the USA
as a
viable entity. Both the CSA and USA would be at the beck and call of the
European
superpowers. So to hell with the legality, the end justifies the means.

That he's gone down in history as "The Great Emancipator" is just one of
those
little ironies. Cynics would say that it's because the Victors write the
history
books. I prefer to say that (as Salvor Hardin said?) he never let
morality get
in the way of doing the right thing. Because his actions, for whatever
reason,
resulted in the abolition of that "peculiar (-ly odious) institution",
which
I think no-one with 2 neurons that fire consecutively could possibly say
was
anything other than a really good outcome.

The tragedy is that a lot of morally unimpeachable people (Robert E. Lee
being
merely the most famous) saw the US Constitution as being sacrosanct, and
their
first loyalty being to their state rather than a monolithic and usurping
federation.
Thank God they lost though.

US history - especially from 1770-1820 - has always interested me.
Australian
history is even more colourful, but rather less bloody. And less
well-known.
I suspect few non-Aussies on this list have heard of the Eureka
Stockade, or
the Rum Corps and the coup d'etat against Bligh (yes, THAT Captain
Bligh, as
in HMS Bounty and all that). Many might know of Pitcairn, but few know
of Norfolk
Island. And Ned Kelly for that matter - how many people outside Oz got
the significance
of that part of the opening ceremony? 

This is a pity, as the events of Australian history can provide many an
inspiration
for the Tuffleyverse. Imagine planets way beyond the explored rim
inhabited
by ESU mutineers (even secondary colonies from them)... isolated planets
taken
over by Drug and Zaibatsu interests abetted by the military garrison...
miners
revolts over taxes... Criminal/Pirate gangs with hi-tech armour, proof
against
all but the heaviest of weapons...

p.s. The title of this rather OT essay might be a bit cryptic. Suffice
to say
that "The South Shall Rise Again!" :-)