By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Civilization is defined by larger-than-life moments. Read a history book and you will find a vast collection of individual events that illuminate both the frailty and magnificence of humankind, and while these occurrences might appear to have happened organically, sprouting like mushrooms from rich loam, the opposite is usually true. Moments when everything suddenly takes on new direction have most likely taken purchase in rocky soil, watered by the tears and blood of those who dreamed of justice or equality or freedom from oppression, those who have taken actions, however small, to push their cause forward. It is cumulative action that eventually shifts perception and allows breakthrough.
We point to the launching of the American Revolution and the birth of the Declaration of Independence without taking into account the years of agitation and upheaval that authored it. The French and Indian War brought unwelcomed British scrutiny to the colonies and a heavy load of taxation. Simmering resentment gave rise to American nationalism. The Boston Tea Party might be called the moment when the rebellion turned to revolution, but that was only the beginning. It took a full eight years to secure our independence, winning out over a financially-challenged Empire with too many irons in the fire. It was 13 years before we had a Constitution. Evolution takes time.
We look at the volley shot at Fort Sumter as the beginning of an internal struggle that would kill more Americans than both 20th Century world wars without understanding it to be the culmination of decades of fractious politics. Lincoln articulated the slavery issue that divided the states in his inaugural address that year. Sumter occurred only a few days later. Variously called the War of Aggression against the South, or the War Between the States — by the Confederacy, of course — our Civil War was settled with the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom to 4 million African-American slaves, most of them held captive in the South.