` "Five million public school students in Texas will begin using new social studies textbooks this fall based on state academic standards that barely address racial segregation. The states guidelines for teaching American history also do not mention the Ku Klux Klan or Jim Crow laws. And when it comes to the Civil War, children are supposed to learn that the conflict was caused by sectionalism, states rights and slavery written deliberately in that order to telegraph slaverys secondary role in driving the conflict, according to some members of the state board of education. Slavery was a side issue to the Civil War, said Pat Hardy, a Republican board member, when the board adopted the standards in 2010. There would be those who would say the reason for the Civil War was over slavery. No. It was over states rights. - Source` ****************************************************************************************` My opinion ---- For starters, one has to look at the issue here with an open mind. I was taught U.S. History in both Indiana (grade school) then Wisconsin (high school & college) Given that history is always written by the victors, is what I learned in a northern state, any different that what was/is being taught in the southern states; that being the Civil War was basically and inherently about slavery? Is Texas correct in stating slavery was a "side issue?" To do that, one has to break down the issues individually and examine their components. 1. Economic and social differences between the North and the South. - There should be no debate that overall, the north was industrial and the south, agrarian. The north was becoming urbanized while the south remained rural. Along with climate, that produced two different social structures. However, in this mix, the south was still dependent upon slavery as an economic tool. It is factual to say then that slavery was a major factor here, not just a sideline. 2. States versus federal rights. - Historically and before slavery became a national issue, the south was generally in favor of states rights over federal rights. This was a constitutional issue. It was SC's John C. Calhoun and the "nullification crises" who brought this issue to a head. This did not involve slavery, per se. 3. The fight between Slave and Non-Slave States. (aka; expansionism) - Antebellum plantation owners were eager to expand their economic interests beyond their own states, into the newly developed territories which were to become states. Along with their economic interests came the slaves. As slavery was a major facet here, it cannot be considered a "sideline issue". 4. The Abolitionist Movement - Historically, there has always been an anti-slavery movement in America, even before the U.S. Constitution. As England and France had abolished slavery, the movement picked up steam in the northern states, which arguably came to its zenith, through the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Again, slavery was not a "sideline issue" here. 5. The Election of Abraham Lincoln - He was seen by the south as an "anti-slavery" proponent. My synopsis; The state of Texas is doing harm and is using young minds as a weapon to promote an ideological cause.
` This kind of effort must have been in the planning stages, long before the flag crises. Unfortunately, it just adds fuel to the fire for an already sad state of affairs when it comes to public education in Texas.
