Why Were The Radical Republicans Radical?

[Eva Elisabeth]

(05-02-2013 08:58 PM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  [quote='Liz Rosenthal' pid='17383' dateline='1367371148']The North was ahead of the South not only in manufacturing, but in education, "internal improvements" (which Southerners tended to oppose), upward mobility, immigration, finance and many other things that were vital to a strong, diversified economy.

Eva Elisabeth]Liz, this sounds as if the South - irrespective of slavery - grew increasingly inferior to the North.[/quote Wrote:So, is industrialization, finance, a strong economy, etc., the measure of superiority/inferiority? If it is, then the Native Americans were practically wiped out because their culture was inferior. Same with Native African culture.

(And no, I'm not comparing apples and oranges.)

If we can talk about the South's culture/economy/etc. (slavery aside) as being inferior to the North's, then why can't we also talk about other, nonwhite cultures as being inferior? That's my point.

Using "inferior/superior" was indeed bad terminology. I just intended to compare the economic preconditions and to question their possible impact on the outcome of the war, since most wars are, at least partly, based on economic reasons, differences or dissatisfaction.