Thursday, September 17, 2009

Fremont and the Union

John Fremont, the Pathfinder, did his part today in 1864 to save the Union. I suppose I could talk about Antietam but it's hard to say anything original about that battle. Perhaps I'll make an attempt next year.

Fremont withdrew his candidacy for the Presidency. Though he hated Lincoln for removing him from his military command, he opted out of the race because of his cited fear that a victory for McClellan would mean the division of the country or the reestablishment of the Union with slavery. If he had run, the Republican vote would have been split and McClellan might have won, with catastrophic effects for the country. I'm sure Fremont must have been pressured behind the scenes to take this step. After all, we are discussing politics here. However, Fremont put his ego aside and did what was best for America.

That is a lesson for our politicians today. You look at our political class's self-serving behavior prior to this economic crisis and see how little they care about us. They should take a glance at today's Civil War history and learn something.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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