Question About the American Civil War


Still_Small_Voice
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10 hours ago, Still_Small_Voice said:

Do we know what percentage of Confederate soldiers were drafted?

https://www.nps.gov/apco/planyourvisit/upload/Why-Confederates-Fought-Final.pdf
 

Only a little more than 10% were drafted. The overwhelming majority appear to be volunteers. 

Edited by LDSGator
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Article says more than 800,000 Confederate men enlisted and persevered through four long years of Civil War; nearly 260,000 would not survive.

In my opinion, and from what I read, a large number of Confederate soldiers died from exposure or starvation.

Edited by Still_Small_Voice
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Well, sort of the dictionary definition of a draft, is "It really doesn't matter if you want to go or not.  Get in the truck or go to prison."

I'm of mixed feelings about compulsory service.  On one hand, it rocks that the the strongest best military in the world has been all-volunteer for a lot of decades.  On the other hand, we'd be a much more moral and smart nation if a period of military service was mandatory after high school.

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2 hours ago, Still_Small_Voice said:

Article says more than 800,000 Confederate men enlisted and persevered through four long years of Civil War; nearly 260,000 would not survive.

In my opinion, and from what I read, a large number of Confederate soldiers died from exposure or starvation.

I forget who said it but “A single death is a tragedy a million is a statistic.” Really depressing to think that each one of those people was an individual with hopes, desires and (hopefully) people who loved them. 😞 

 

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

I'm of mixed feelings about compulsory service

I’m very much against it. I have huge respect for 98% of our troops. They have a bigger backbone than I have. But forcing people into service, even with the best intentions, is repulsive to me.
 

There’s also the practical excuse. We’ve all done group projects with one guy who doesn’t do anything and doesn’t want to be there. He brings morale down. I never served in the military but I imagine it’s a downer when you have large groups of people there who don’t want to be there. 
 

Even if you ignore the practical side, for a country based on individual rights and freedom to order people into the service at gunpoint/under threat of jail is inherently flawed. 

Edited by LDSGator
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42 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I forget who said it but “A single death is a tragedy a million is a statistic.” Really depressing to think that each one of those people was an individual with hopes, desires and (hopefully) people who loved them. 😞

A movie I like a lot about the Civil War is the film Gettysburg. 

Someone else studying history said the Union army did not begin to have major victories until the Emancipation Proclamation.  He said he believed the hand of God began to help the Union armies when the slaves began to be freed.  The 13th Amendment would seal the freedom from slavery for all legally once it was amended into the Constitution.

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49 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I forget who said it but “A single death is a tragedy a million is a statistic.”

I believe that was Comrade Stalin.

49 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I’m very much against it. I have huge respect for 98% of our troops. They have a bigger backbone than I have. But forcing people into service, even with the best intentions, is repulsive to me.

I like Robert Heinlein's philosophy in Starship Troopers, where military service is compulsory only if you want to be a full citizen with voting rights, etc. Those who love their country enough to want to be a citizen will therefore serve their country. Others are welcome to live and work there, subject to regulation, but do not have the franchise or other privileges afforded citizens.

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9 minutes ago, Still_Small_Voice said:

Someone else studying history said the Union army did not begin to have major victories until the Emancipation Proclamation.  He said he believed the hand of God began to help the Union armies when the slaves began to be freed.

The Latter-day Saints viewed the Civil War as divine punishment for having driven the Saints out of the country. At this late date, I still rather agree with their assessment.

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2 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

Well, sort of the dictionary definition of a draft, is "It really doesn't matter if you want to go or not.  Get in the truck or go to prison."

I'm of mixed feelings about compulsory service.  On one hand, it rocks that the the strongest best military in the world has been all-volunteer for a lot of decades.  On the other hand, we'd be a much more moral and smart nation if a period of military service was mandatory after high school.

I wouldn't support compulsory service in peacetime or war.  Not everyone benefits from military service and I personally believe the pedestal America puts military members on isn't always deserved.   If Americans aren't willing to line up and defend the nation, we don't deserve to have it.

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16 minutes ago, Vort said:

I believe that was Comrade Stalin.

I like Robert Heinlein's philosophy in Starship Troopers, where military service is compulsory only if you want to be a full citizen with voting rights, etc. Those who love their country enough to want to be a citizen will therefore serve their country. Others are welcome to live and work there, subject to regulation, but do not have the franchise or other privileges afforded citizens.

I could get behind this, but expand it to other positions beyond military.  There are people who give selflessly to this nation without compensation.

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2 minutes ago, Grunt said:

I could get behind this, but expand it to other positions beyond military.  There are people who give selflessly to this nation without compensation.

Agreed. If I recall correctly—and it's been a long time since I read Starship Troopers—the society allowed anyone* to do service to become citizens regardless of their state of health by providing various options. Maybe. But I could be wrong.

*Not actually anyone, I'm sure, but I don't remember the restrictions. Maybe Heinlein didn't go into the nitty gritty.

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44 minutes ago, Vort said:

Comrade Stalin.

Ahh. Makes sense, given how disgusting he was when it came to basic morality. 

 

44 minutes ago, Vort said:

thers are welcome to live and work there, subject to regulation, but do not have the franchise or other privileges afforded citizens

Thank God I live in America, where that doesn’t happen. Once again I feel very blessed to be here. 

Edited by LDSGator
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I have a vague memory of people like my father in law who, as a member of the Philippines military, served under American command in the Korean and Vietnamese wars and in exchange was offered some citizenship rights usually reserved for Americans. I don't recall if it was full or partial citizenship rights. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/16/2023 at 2:19 PM, askandanswer said:

I have a vague memory of people like my father in law who, as a member of the Philippines military, served under American command in the Korean and Vietnamese wars and in exchange was offered some citizenship rights usually reserved for Americans. I don't recall if it was full or partial citizenship rights. 

I served with one or two individuals who were foreigners when I was in that were enlisted in the US military.  I did not know they could receive partial citizenship rights (though I suppose while they were in, they already had partial rights).  As far as I know any who were going after citizenship were going after full citizenship.

I would comment more, but most times talking about that period of my life isn't my favorite thing (or even something I normally choose) to talk about (or in this instance, write about). 

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