Execution Stereoviews

[KateH.]

As Lincoln said, both sides were to blame for the Civil War. Could it have been avoided with compromise and the realization that no one is going to think in the exact same way as you? Could thousands of innocent lives have been saved? Families were torn apart and you never recover from those kinds of deaths, whether it was Mrs. Powell losing her son or the death of Constance Harrison's cousin's husband. As much as you can read personal accounts, it is impossible to know that cold and deep black well of sorrow until it consumes you personally.

We are all people and we all make mistakes. It's sad that stigma keeps people from learning about their families. Not to lessen or romanticize the situation, but after 150 years we should be able to see those who sided with the North and the South as people and not evildoers. Bad choices were made but we need to look at the condemned and see people living in the 19th (not 21st) century to understand them and their mindsets. This does not excuse the wrong done but it helps give a better explanation for the situations. The stigma will lessen when we see people as people (not unlike us) who made mistakes and are no less deserving of respect and understanding.