Please, do enlighten me as to why it is so important to you as to why blacks might have fought for the Confederacy.

I’m a home-grown boy from Missouri – I agree with Jeff. It has been the last several years of researching local history, and letters / writings of individuals from the era, that I have sought to understand the issues that went into the division of our nation. I don’t think any wise person today would debate the merits of slavery, although I do understand where 1860 society may have had troubles in this regard. I have come to believe that Federal victory wasn’t such a good thing, especially when viewed through the last 150 years of national history. The bloated Federal government we have today, and the abuse of constitutional and state rights continues, set in motion by the precedent of 1861-1877, has twisted our Founding Father’s notion of a Constitutional Republic. Yes, emancipation of people from slavery is glorious cause – as evidenced by Britain’s own successful, and peaceful emancipation. But the way the Lincoln’s radical Republicans went about it committing a string of serious wrongs to accomplish something good, has left a bitter legacy in history. Read more on my essay: The American Civil War: 150 years of Constitutional Rejection over at http://missouritenth.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/americanslavery.pdf

Isn’t going the “so what?” route a tacit acknowledgment that their claims have merit? It’s admitting the premise as a reasonable starting point. You’re right, though, in that’s they’ve nowhere to go from there.

David