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The South Under Siege: 1830-2000, A Review
Lewis J. Goldberg
21 March 2003
Frank Conner's monumental work documenting the North's past
and continued aggression against Dixie is just that -
monumental. Weighing in at 752 pages with zero fluff, Siege
satisfies the history buff with every page turn. Mr. Conner
brings together a wealth of knowledge that one would have to
read a library of books to discover, all tied together with
his own, well- educated personal insight and analysis.
Beginning with a discussion of the
Constitution and its problems under federalist influences,
Frank Conner takes the reader on a journey exploring the chain
of events that led to the financial exploitation of the South,
to full-scale war, and to the so-called reconstruction that
followed. Mr. Conner skillfully shows how through the previous
decades the stage of war was set, and how the same influences
that guided Lincoln into mortal combat in 1861 continued to
exploit Dixie through the rest of that century and right up to
the present day.
Read Chapter
1
In Siege, not only will you learn of
political maneuverings and the influence of greed, but also
how social trends were affected through the distinct
philosophies and religious beliefs held by the two great
regions of the nation. Mr. Conner unabashedly proclaims the
power of God's saving grace, as was once witnessed in the old
time, reformation style Calvinism of Colonial America; and
shows how the North's Pelagian Arminianism and Unitarianism
propelled that section of the nation as much as Southern
Calvinism motivated the Confederates.
The modernist will be happy to find that
Mr. Conner accurately depicts the horrors of the slave trade,
but may be dismayed at being reminded it was the
'abolitionist' northern slave traders that perpetrated the
deeds. Said modernist may also be saddened to read how in the
following century, the same genre of northerners succeeded in
creating a new slave state through so- called civil rights and
other methods of social engineering. Events that seem, to the
casual observer, as random, meaningless happenings take on new
meanings as the dots of time are connected between each page
of the book.
Frank Conner is a master at showing how
nothing in politics happens by accident, and gives the reader
the education a schoolteacher could never give and keep her
job. Intricate business dealings; back-room politics; public
and private opinions; the power of God working in men - all
are brought to one place for easy digestion, education, and
enjoyment. Yes - it is truly a joy to finally understand why
things are the way they are, for in Siege you will find
condensed all the facts you need to tie the loose ends of
American history together. Siege is a must-read for any
American concerned about the future of this land. |