A/N There is "Ideologically Sensitive Material" in this chapter that deals with the slavery issue, which was one of the many causes of the American Civil War (I wanted to warn people about that b/c it may offend someone that a character would be in favor of slavery).
Ch. 3—Sincerely, Confed . . . Emil . . . "Carolina Jones"
Mrs. Varina Howell Davis looked up from her family bible. "Unfortunately there are not any Joneses in the Howell family line either," she said, running her finger down the long list of names written inside the cover. She had already looked through her husband, Jefferson Davis's, family line.
Mrs. Davis had come into the study after the commotion had settled after staring in horror at the mess that had been left from Emily's first encounter with the bodyguards. It took several minutes of her asking questions before she understood what Emily was and why there was a blood stain on hallway floor but no body in the hallway. Mrs. Davis had complained about the mess she now needed to have cleaned before the children woke the next morning and saw it but didn't push the issue to keep Emily from feeling guilty for causing it.
Jefferson Davis rubbed his chin. "What about Sarah?" he asked. "Are there any Joneses in the Knox or Taylor family trees?"
Mrs. Davis stood and grabbed the two family bibles of her husband's deceased wife. "There is only one way to find out," she said, flipping open the cover of one bible and scanning the list of names.
Emily watched and adjusted her clothes. After explaining that she planned to return to her hotel where her adopted family, the Goodmans, were staying, President Davis had his servants find for her a new shirt and jacket to replace the blood-soaked ones. Fortunately, the servants were able to find clothes that were the same sizes and colors as Papa Goodman's clothing. The only thing she could do now is hope that he didn't notice any difference.
Heat poured over her face as she remembered how surprised she had been when she changed clothes. Instead of finding a gaping, open wound where the bullet had exited her chest, she had found only a red but nearly healed, slightly irregular, circular mark. I wonder if I'll scar, she mused as she absentmindedly touched the spot where the bullet hole had been.
Mrs. Davis finished reading the list in the second bible and sighed. She looked at Emily and shut the cover. "Well, I am sure there is a Jones in our family tree somewhere," she stated, replacing the book to its shelf. "It's a common enough name, after all. So we will just say that you are Jefferson's cousin and that you thought he was your uncle because of the age difference between you."
"I will have one of my men take you back to your hotel. You need to return before someone checks on you," Mr. Davis said. The words had no sooner left his mouth when they heard a knock at the door. A servant brought Papa Goodman's letter informing the President of his niece's arrival.
The President scanned the contents and then wrote a reply. "I'll see you tomorrow morning after breakfast," he told Emily as he sealed the letter and handed it back to the servant. "Wait 30 minutes and then give the courier this letter," he told the servant.
He glanced over at Emily. "We had better give you our fastest carriage."
"This is quite extraordinary," George Goodman said, sipping the coffee he'd been offered and then glancing at President and Mrs. Davis. "You are sure you don't mind her living with you?"
President Davis nodded. "I was devastated when I had heard that my dear cousins had died in the earthquake in January, so you can imagine my delight at receiving your letter last night." He glanced over at Emily and smiled. "I do not want to part with her now that my dear cousin Emily is here."
Mrs. Davis leaned close to her husband. "You are playing it a little too dramatically, dear," Emily heard her say quietly to him.
Not hearing this scold, Papa Goodman stood and extended his hand. "Well then, I suppose we will leave her in your care." Mr. Davis grasped his hand and shook it with vigor.
"Thank you," Mrs. Davis said, smiling gently. "We will take good care of her. You may send her things as soon as you are able."
"We'll also compensate you for bringing her here," President Davis said, reaching for his billfold.
Helen Goodman held up her hand. "That won't be necessary," she stated. She walked over to Emily to reach up and gently stroke her cheek and then she smiled her. "I rather think of dear Emily as my own daughter, and though we'll miss her, she should be with her own kin." Her eyes started to tear up at this conclusion.
Emily's eyes stung in response, and she tightly clasped the other woman's hand.
Helen wiped away a tear and let out an embarrassed laugh. "I don't know what's wrong with me. You'll always be family to us," she said, leaning over and kissing Emily lightly on the cheek. "Come visit us anytime, dear one."
"Thank you," Emily said, grabbing Helen by the shoulders and pulling her into a hug. The other woman let out a sound of surprise but then returned the embrace. She was quickly joined by Papa Goodman and Anna, and the family held each other for a few minutes before releasing the group hug. Papa Goodman and President Davis left the drawing room ahead of the others, discussing how to get Emily's clothes and little trunk to her.
"Goodbye, Emily," Anna called, waving to her as the Goodman family rode down the drive and away from the Jefferson home.
"You are blessed to have such a kind 'family'," Mrs. Davis said as she waved to them.
Emily looked at her and lowered her raised hand. A warm tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away and let out a sigh. "Yes, I am very lucky that all my family members have been kind to me." Including Dorothea, and Al— Emily stopped herself before she finished her thought and shook her head as if trying to dislodge the pain of Alfred's memory from it. It still hurt that he'd forgotten all about her.
Mrs. Davis raised an eyebrow, unable to understand what Emily meant.
"I also feel fortunate that you're allowing me to stay here," Emily stated, not letting the other woman puzzle over her words for too long. "Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Davis."
The other woman shook her head and held up her hand. "Think nothing of it," she said. "It's the least that I can do for my nation." She smiled at Emily. "Also, please call me Varina. 'Mrs. Davis' sounds so stuffy coming from 'family'." She let out a small chuckle at this statement.
Emily laughed in return. "As you wish, Varina."
Varina nodded and then turned towards the house, motioning for Emily to follow. "Now let's get you settled in one of our spare rooms upstairs."
"As the representative of our nation, do you know about everything that has happened? Why we seceded?" President Davis asked that evening after supper as he and Emily sat in the study.
Emily's stomach clenched. How would I know anything about that? I've been asleep all this time. "I only know what I've read in the papers. Other than that I . . ." Suddenly she became dizzy, almost like the light-headedness felt before sleep. Images and emotions began to flood her mind. "Wait, no, I do," she said, looking at him. "There has been a lot of resentment built up in the North toward the South. I can feel tremors of that from some supporters who are now here in the Confederacy."
Jefferson Davis nodded. "The North has resented for years that majority of our first presidents were Southerners, most of them Virginians. Although I do not understand why that should matter. They served their country well, did they not?"
"I also get the impression that the government frequently seems to support the North more than the South," Emily continued, sorting through all the information her new nationhood was giving her.
"Yes, exactly!" President Davis ardently agreed. "All the domestic improvements the government has made—to expand and develop roads, harbors, canals, and so on—they benefit the North and its interests more than the South and its welfare."
"I understand that for several decades now, the North has been placing many tariffs and taxes on the South's imports, exports, and other goods," Emily said, sifting through the impressions and images floating in her head, "and at one point, South Carolina threatened to secede as a result of those tariffs."
"Yes, the government used warships to squelch the state's complaint," President Davis replied. He stood and leaned against the fireplace mantle. "It is akin to taxation without representation. Lincoln and the North are no better than the King of England during Revolutionary times!" he said vehemently, glaring into the fire. "He has given us no choice but to start this new revolution against Northern tyranny."
He looked at Emily. "And the hypocrisy. . .the Northern abolitionists actually proposed that to resolve the slave issue the Northern states should secede from us Southerners," President Davis said, "and yet, they have the audacity to tell us that we do not have the right to do the same."
"Those same abolitionists want to paint us all as degenerates, brutal, lash-wielding torturers and heartless family separators," he continued, turning back to stare at the fire. "But nothing could be farther from the truth. Most Southerners do not even own slaves or plantations. They are farmers who work their farms with their families, or they are business owners doing their best to make ends meet."
He sighed and shook his head. "Those who do own slaves treat them well. They take care of their clothing, medicine, feeding and housing from birth until death, in sickness and in health. I've been to the North where the supposed 'freemen' live. Instead of the comfort and kindness they receive in the South, instead of being happy and useful, they are, with few exceptions, miserable, degraded, filling the penitentiaries and poor-houses, objects of scorn, excluded in some places from the schools, and deprived of many other privileges and benefits which attach to the white men among whom they live."
President Davis picked up the fire iron and stirred up the flames a little. "But that's not the worst of it," he continued. "Northerners and abolitionists alike have filled the world with radical ideas, convincing preachers and good church-going people to free their slaves and to encourage the slaves who are not free to revolt and leave their masters. They are trying to stir up a slave rebellion. Surely, you know what would occur if such a thing happened." He slammed the fire iron into its rack with a "clang".
The images of murderous slave revolts that had occurred in Haiti, Jamaica, Louisiana, the Nat Turner slave uprising in Virginia in 1831, and more recently, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, came into Emily's mind as if someone was showing pictures of each of them to her. "People are worried more people will die or there will be riots, destruction, and chaos if all the slaves go free," Emily said finally, closing her eyes and shaking her head in a futile attempt to throw off the images in her mind.
President Davis nodded. "I would like to believe that slaves are harmless, but recent violence has proven they are capable of atrocities, like any other ungoverned people might be."
"I don't understand. Has no one tried to address all these concerns with the government using methods other than seceding or fighting?" Emily asked.
"We did try," President Davis replied with a heavy sigh. "On more than one occasion, we have tried to settle this whole affair without violence by sending emissaries to the government. Just this March, I sent peace commissioners to Washington DC with an offer to pay for all Federal property in the South and to take on the Southern portion of the national debt."
President Davis sat down near the fire and clasped his hands in front of him, clenching them so tightly his knuckles turned white. "But Lincoln refused even to acknowledge them, leaving us with no way to resolve our conflicts by peaceful means," he concluded. "Lincoln sent a message that the Southern states must return to the Union, and unless we do so or unless he relinquishes the forts and tariffs, there is no alternative than for us to fight." He took several breaths in an effort to calm himself.
"And war is the only solution now," Emily concluded, adding a sigh to his previous one.
"We don't want war, but it appears we have been left no other choice," President Davis said, looking at her. "The United States government seems determined to deny us the ability to grow economically, to feel safe in our homes, and to maintain our lifestyle and our independence the way we want. They are bent on dictating to us how we should behave. None of us feel hostile toward anyone in the Union, but it is our high and solemn duty to defend and protect the rights we inherited from our forefathers. It looks like we must tread in their previous Revolutionary path to proclaim our independence for ourselves and our children."
Emily's heart thudded in her chest as she wondered how to reply, but President Davis spoke before she could say anything.
"You said this 'Alfred Jones' is the representative of the United States," he continued with an expression of hope on his face. "Do you think he might be able to convince Lincoln to let our nation go without any more blood than has already been shed?"
Emily swallowed, trying to get rid of the dryness in her throat. "I can write to him and find out," she suggested. "Alfred might be able to convince Lincoln or someone who represents him to at least meet with some of our peace commissioners."
President Davis nodded. "Do it then. Write him and ascertain what you can from him."
Emily sat down at a writing desk that evening with a heavy heart. Not a single one of my letters has ever been replied to. She frowned and rubbed her chin. Perhaps the reason Alfred has never contacted me before this was all of my letters were addressed directly to him? Maybe they never reached him because of that?
She quickly created an envelope and addressed it to the assistant secretary to Secretary of State, William Seward, instead of Alfred Jones. Emily wrote a letter politely asking whoever received and read the letter to ask members of the President's staff and cabinet if there was anyone in the White House who recognized the name "Carolina Jones". She then requested that a separate letter enclosed with the one sent to the secretary be handed to that person.
"Alfred, I'm writing you as the representative of the Confederate States of America, and I respectfully request a meeting with you," she wrote in this separate letter, hoping the underlined word would hint at what she was. "Let's arrange to meet on neutral ground so that we can discuss the recognition of the Confederacy as a new nation. Or at least, so that we can come to an understanding of one another."
As she wrote, she found herself transported back to that little room in their old home. To practice her reading and writing skills, Alfred had suggested that they write letters to each other, telling one another secrets, weird thoughts, funny ideas, or just about how their day had gone. More than once, they would end up rolling on the floor laughing about the things they had written. Caught up in the happy memory, she unconsciously closed the letter with "Carolina Jones". Emily paused and stared at the name.
I should sign it differently, she thought.
She reached for another sheet of paper to rewrite the letter but then paused and looked at the signature again. She shook her head. This is Providence intervening, she told herself. If I signed with another name, Alfred mightn't recognize me. He doesn't know me as Emily and signing it as the Confederacy actually might get him in trouble or might get this letter confiscated if he isn't allowed to read it privately.
With that in mind, she sealed the letter, and then put it inside the envelope with the letter addressed to the assistant secretary. Surely Alfred will have no problem talking to me about the Confederate government and people's desire to be a free, independent nation, she mused. Then we won't have to fight. We can be friends again.
A little more two weeks later, she received a reply addressed to "C. Jones". Emily held the letter in her hands, unable to believe that Alfred had actually replied to her. She glanced at the return address, and her heart jumped to her throat with excitement. The addressee had written only "A.F.J.", but she recognized instantly Alfred's old-fashioned and beautiful handwriting from all the practice letters she had kept in her little trunk and had read and reread many times. Her breathing matched her heartbeat as she opened the letter to read its contents. As she read, her happiness in receiving his reply quickly disappeared.
"As the President has said before," Alfred had written, "Secession is illegal and your troops' use of force against the Federal Government is rebellion and treason against the United States."
Emily's mouth became dry and her stomach clenched. What? Illegal? Treason? We're a separate country now. How could we be committing treason?
"My boss, Mr. Lincoln," his letter continued, "will not be recognizing the Confederate States' secession as valid or the Confederacy as a legal entity. No one will be meeting with you or anyone 'representing' your government or your States."
Emily's eyes stung. This isn't the Alfred I know. Where is this discourteous tone coming from? Her stomach started to hurt when she noticed there was a postscript at the bottom of the "official" part of the letter.
"Finally, I have a few words to say on a more personal note," Alfred had continued in his letter. "How dare you use the memory of Carolina in such a manner! How dare you even feel you have the right to invoke her name! I don't know how you found out about my past but using the dead in such a manner is in poor taste. If you were hoping to use the thought of losing more loved ones as motivation to provoke me into meeting with you privately, you have failed."
Emily inhaled a sharp breath and waved her hand in front of her face to cool down the burning sensation she was now experiencing there. This definitely is not the Alfred I know at all . . . such animosity and anger . . . She let out the breath and hugged herself, crumpling the letter slightly, as she took deep breaths to push away the emotional response his missive had caused. Where is it all coming from?
She looked toward the ceiling of the room she was in, trying her best to blink away the wetness she noticed forming in her eyes. I suppose I was naive in thinking this might work. But I don't understand. Lincoln and Alfred won't recognize me . . . But I'm right here . . . and I know I am a nation, that I am the Confederacy! What do I have to do? Show them I am real?
She choked out a laugh at that thought. That's not a bad idea actually. Suddenly something occurred to her that she hadn't realized upon her first reading of the letter. With hands trembling, she forced aside the pain she was feeling to reread the last part of the letter.
Emily's heart leaped again to her throat as she reread the words "using the dead in such a manner". Alfred thinks I'm dead? she mused. How on earth did he come to that conclusion?
The idea she had sarcastically put aside suddenly didn't seem so ludicrous. She marched out of the room, holding the letter. "Mr. President, I have some important news," she stated as she entered his study.
"What is it?" President Davis asked, looking up. He noticed the letter and nodded toward it. "Is that a reply? It's good news I hope."
Emily forced herself to smile. "Yes, actually," she said, almost choking on the words. Her throat ached, causing her to cough and cover her mouth to avoid being rude. If I can just meet with Alfred face-to-face, he'll see I'm not dead and listen to what I have to say, she mused. "Alfred says he wants to meet me right away . . . in secret, of course," she said instead. Her throat burned as if a thousand flames were dancing up and down it. "He still needs to convince Lincoln to listen, but he wanted to get things settled on our side first."
"This is excellent news," President Davis exclaimed, grabbing some stationary. He started composing a letter.
Emily, uncertain of what was going on, fidgeted and moved one arm across her body to hold onto her other arm. "Sir? Boss?"
"I beg your pardon, Emily," he said as he stood, folding the letter and then sealing it. "I got so excited I didn't think to explain what I was doing." He held out the letter to her. "This letter will introduce you to a friend who lives in Alexandria. I will also write a letter for this friend to help him introduce you to someone in Washington who will be able to provide you with a place to meet where you won't rouse the suspicions of others."
Her face grew hot, embarrassed that her lie had been believed. She took the letter and forced another smile. "Thank you, sir."
Jefferson Davis shook his head. "I should be thanking you. You've managed to make headway where none of my previous ambassadors have been able to." He picked up the bell on his desk and rang it. "Now we'll need to get you some proper traveling clothes and some frocks for meeting the upper class of Washington."
"Sir, I'm sure that will be too much expense for someone like me," Emily protested.
Mr. Davis held up his hand, stopping her. "I will allow no objections. You'll go like a proper emissary . . ." He paused for a moment. ". . . but as quietly as possible of course." He let out a small laugh.
Emily choked out a small laugh as well. "As you wish sir."
The next day was a whirlwind as Varina prepared Emily for her trip. Finally, after all the preparations were finished, Emily was set to be taken by a small unassuming carriage to a home just outside of Washington where she would get dressed in a fashion that wouldn't attract attention and then go with Jefferson Davis's friend to the liaison who would help her meet Alfred.
During those preparations, every time the plan was mentioned, Emily cringed internally. She couldn't figure out a way to tell the President that Alfred's invitation was all a lie without destroying all confidence he had in her. I'll work something out once I get there and Alfred meets me. Then it won't be a lie, she rationalized to herself.
"I don't know how long it will take to get things worked out," she told the President as she climbed into the carriage. "I promise to write to you often to keep you notified of my progress."
"I'll send my personal courier and he'll go to a secure telegraph station," Mr. Davis stated. "That way the messages won't get intercepted by Union spies."
Emily nodded and then turned to Varina. "Are you sure I can't convince you to keep that dress you're sending with me? I know from the servants that it's your best silk frock from France and those are so difficult to get here."
Varina shook her head. "It looks quite fetching on you," she said. "I think of it as my doing my part to have my country's representative look her best." She smiled. "Besides, once we settle everything, I'll be able to buy more like it again."
If we get things settled, Emily thought, biting her lip. "I'll do my best for you and my people. Thank you again for all you've done," she said instead.
President Davis signaled to one of his bodyguards, who was playing the role of her coach driver, and they started toward the United States' capital.
I hope you've overcome your fear of ghosts, Alfred, she thought as she settled back into her seat. Because according to you, I am one.
A/N
Translations:
The self-hugging and the one-arm cross maneuver Emily did are non-verbal signs of distress or discomfort.
The discomfort in her throat is what happens to a lot of people when they lie and feel guilty for it.
Please note: as I said in Ch. 2, this is a fictional story.
My mention of South Carolina trying for succession has a purpose. The state actually tried to separate from the rest of union before the actual formation of the Confederacy, which is why my head-canon is that fem!America was always meant to be separate from America from the start.
Historical events that happened during the time-line of this chapter:
April 12, 1861—Fort Sumter, South Carolina, is shelled by Confederacy, starting Civil War (Emily sent the letter on April 11; chock it up as bad timing to send a letter talking about peace the eve before an aggressive declaration of war).
April 13—After 34 hours of bombardment, Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederates.
April 14—Robert E. Lee resigns from Union army.
April 15—Federal army (75,000 volunteers) mobilized by US President Lincoln.
April 16—US president Lincoln outlaws business with confederate states.
April 17—Virginia is 8th state to secede.
April 18—Battle of Harper's Ferry, Virginia (Emily's letter arrived in Washington, DC, about this time; the search for someone who knows "Carolina Jones" would have begun on this day).
April 19—In Baltimore, Maryland, residents attacked a Union regiment at a train station while the group was traveling to Washington, DC. Union casualties: 4 killed, 36 wounded; Confederate sympathizers' casualties: 12 killed, unknown amount wounded.
April 20—Battle of Norfolk, Virginia (Alfred had received and read the letter by this time. The Baltimore Riot and the other battles didn't help his mood at all when he read the contents of that letter).
April 22—Colonel Robert E. Lee was appointed commander of Virginia's forces with the rank of major general. (Alfred wrote his reply and sent it the next day).
April 27—US President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus between Washington DC and Philadelphia to give the military the necessary power to silence dissenters and rebels.
April 29—Union troops officially took possession of New Orleans after the surrender of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phillip. Union Admiral David Farragut began capturing the city on April 25. (Emily received Alfred's reply and read it; she notified Jefferson Davis and he made arrangements for her to go to Washington DC. She left the next day, April 30).
Historical Context for Confederacy's Motivation (History lesson, Yay!)
My state—had it been around when the Civil War happened—would have been a Northern state. So my school taught us that the war was fought because of slavery. But that's not the truth, well, not the complete truth anyway. From my research, I've concluded that the primary causes of the war were economics and states' rights. Slavery was a part of those reasons, but it was not the reason the South seceded or why its citizens fought. Most of the reasons for secession are in the fic, but in a fiction medium, it's sometimes difficult to present all of the information in a way that is still interesting or entertaining to read.
So here's some more information about the history/reasons for secession. That said, I'm only going to cover the factual info briefly; please take the time to thoroughly research the causes of the Civil War yourselves. ^_^ Most sources will say "slavery was the cause", but I have no doubt you will come to the conclusions I did: the more I researched, the more I believe slavery was a cause of the war, but it wasn't the primary cause as we are taught in school (remember, history books are often written from the victor's point of view—revisionist history is a common symptom of winning a war).
First, one reason for the war was because of tariffs and taxes lobbied against the South. The Congress at that time heavily favored the industrialized Northern states to the point of demanding that the South sell its cotton and other raw materials only to the factories in the North rather than to other countries. They also heavily taxed the finished materials that the Northern industries produced, making finished products that the South wanted expensive. Some Southerners felt they shouldn't have to pay the tariffs/taxes, which set the stage for the states' rights dispute, pitting state laws against the notion of federal sovereignty. As one research source said, "If the Northern States and their representatives in Congress had only listened to the problems of the South and stopped practices that were almost like the taxation without representation of Great Britain, then the Southern states would not have seceded and the war would not have occurred."
Next, other than this economic reason, the war began because the Southerners requested states' rights and were not getting them. Majority of the Southerners who fought were non-slave-holding farmers who were fighting for their rights. They wanted to control what they did with their lives, property, and independence without the government telling them what to do.
As for the slavery part of the issue, slavery was an integral part of the economic system of the Southern plantations, and because of that, it was a main economic reason why the South formed the Confederacy. As I said above, the economic issue was about taxation, and it was about being able to sell cotton and other raw materials where the Southern farmers and planters wanted to rather than where they were forced to and at under-inflated prices.
Slavery might have died out on its own eventually, but when the cotton gin made it easier to grow cotton, slavery went from being a "necessary evil" to a "positive good". And then the South got caught in a rut: Sell cotton to buy slaves—use those slaves to grow more cotton—sell that cotton and buy more slaves to grow more cotton—repeat until the end of time. This absurd routine of theirs then plunged their society even deeper into an agrarian-based economy. They focused so much on King Cotton that the Southerners neglected to industrialize more and build enough manufacturing plants to build their economy to a point where they could sustain themselves. This in turn forced Southern citizens to buy from either the North or from Europe, and both practices had become expensive due to the tariffs/taxes.
The Southerners were within their rights regarding their economic reasons for being upset at the North and Congress, but there were alternatives to seceding and fighting. I could not put it more eloquently than the previously mentioned researched source did: "If the South had been willing to listen to Abraham Lincoln, perhaps the war could have been avoided. Lincoln had a plan to gradually free the slaves without it further hurting the plantation owners. He also had a plan to allow them to sell their products anywhere they wanted to and at a fair price." But they weren't willing to listen, and as a result, the South seceded and the Civil War was unavoidable.
Finally, I think that literature and media of the day played their part in pushing both sides into the war (that's right: I'm not going to let the press play the innocent here). The Southern press relied on sensationalism, making Lincoln in words and cartoons look like an arch-abolitionist—a kind of antichrist who would turn the slaves loose to rape, murder, and pillage. The Southern press and its editors did nothing to calm any of their readers' fears, which explains why only one in three Confederate soldiers were slaveholders or came from slave-holding families. It wasn't their slaves they were defending; it was their homes against the specter of slaves-gone-wild. Many educated and wealthy Southerners feared what would happen if the war did not end in their favor, but even they ended up getting swept along on the tide of anti-Washington, anti-abolition, anti-Northern and anti-Lincoln rhetoric.
While they weren't as bad as the South, the Northern press needs to accept its share of blame for antagonizing Southerners by damning and lampooning the entire Southern populace as brutal and heartless slave-owners. This portrayal caused disgust and distrust of the North that I think still exists, in some part, today (I could be wrong; it just seems like a lot of sports rivalries have a North vs. South feel to them). On both sides, some of that mistrust was deserved. The Northern and Southern media had done their share of spreading hatred, recrimination, and outrageous statements and accusations on both sides.
Essentially both sides of the issue believed that if they gave into the other without a fight, they would be forced to accept a future that they didn't want. For the Confederacy, freeing all the slaves would have ruined fortunes, wrecked the Southern economy, and left the South to contend with millions of freed blacks. Also, all the things that the North had done to the South over the years had convinced most Southerners that the interests of the two sections of the country had drifted apart and that staying together was no longer mutual or worthwhile. For the Union, the immediate cause of the war was Lincoln's determination not to allow the South leave peacefully; doing so would have severely weakened, if not destroyed, the United States (something that most politicians in European nations were hoping for with bated breath). So for the North, the fighting was about more than abolishing the institution of slavery. They were fighting to preserve the United States, to maintain freedom, and to protect the rights of the individual, the very tenets upon which this country was founded.
I've done my best to keep this summary brief (yes, this is the brief version). Even after several readings, I still think this summary feels a little bit like a big, tangled mess, but IMHO it's that way not b/c I couldn't present it properly; it's that way because the reasons behind the Civil War were a big tangled mess.
History Lesson about Southern Elites' Way of Thinking:
I hope you'll forgive and/or understand President Davis's misinformed and racist notions regarding slavery: he was the product of the misguided notions of many Southern elite; he couldn't help himself. (And yes, some of the things he said I paraphrased/quoted from his own writings about the issues of the time, some of it written after the war was over).
It's interesting to note that one of the misinformed and misguided notions of the Southern elite was that they were doing the slaves a favor by feeding, clothing and caring for them. They honestly believed that their slaves were happy working for them and being with them and didn't understand why those slaves fled. The Southern slave-holders just didn't understand that while it is true that people are happiest when busy and useful, it's not the same when that work is forced on that people without any pay or adequate and fair compensation (btw clothes, food, shelter, and protection is how the slave-holders justified not paying their slaves...they were totally wrong, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that they believed with all their hearts and minds that they were being honorable and just).
Too often in Civil War portrayals, I see the same scenario that my character of President Davis was complaining about: the Southerners are portrayed as cold-hearted, lash-wielding, ignorant sadists and rapists whereas those on the Union side are portrayed as saints who support the "all humans are created equal" idealism of our modern times and endorsed the notion that all slaves should go free. I'm not condoning what the Southern slave-holders did, but I don't think it's fair to portray the issue as black-and-white as that.
Fact: like Southerners, quite a few Northerners believed that blacks were an inferior race. Fact: In 1860, there were slaves in almost every state, Confederate and Union. Fact: the Union Army used freed slaves to do the heavy and dangerous work they didn't want to do and in some cases, treated the freed slaves and free blacks worse than the slaves working with the Confederate Army. Fact: some Northerners wanted the slaves freed NOT because it was the right thing to do, but because they knew it would help the Union win the war if the South lost its free labor force (with the slaves working in the fields, it freed up the whites to go fight).
I guess what I'm trying to say is the issue isn't as simple as people have been taught or believe. Both sides had shades of gray when it came to this issue. There isn't a side that is free from hypocrisy or the stigma of slavery. For many Federals, the war was about keeping the Union together or protecting their homes and families from the rebels. Many Union soldiers would have left the army and refused to fight if they had been told they were fighting for the slaves; they were honorable men, but they weren't that noble. Risking life and limb for a slave was not something many of the Union soldiers wanted to do or believed was right.
Finally, while I think that slavery is the worst and most reprehensible thing a person can do to another person, I also think it's unfair to portray the Confederacy as the evil villain and the Union as the noble hero; it wasn't like that and that's simplifying things too much.