The Civil War Turns 150 Today.

I have always loved American and World history; The Civil War especially. 

150 years ago today, the American Civil War commenced when shots were fired at Fort Sumter.  And while the war took place so long ago, the issues involving that time still linger today, and I presume it will for many hundreds of years hereafter.  The Daily Beast has a great collection of Civil War photography, including portraits of Lincoln, Grant, and Lee.

click to see gallery

You see, we are not a nation who's been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years like China, Russia, or England; Hell, our nation only turned 234 years old last July.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released today, roughly one in four Americans said they sympathize more with the Confederacy than the Union, a figure that rises to nearly four in ten among white Southerners.

When asked the reason behind the Civil War, whether it was fought over slavery or states' rights, 52 percent of all Americas said the leaders of the Confederacy seceded to keep slavery legal in their state, but a sizeable 42 percent minority said slavery was not the main reason why those states seceded.

"The results of that question show that there are still racial, political and geographic divisions over the Civil War that still exists a century and a half later," CNN Polling Director Holland Keating said.

When broken down by political party, most Democrats said southern states seceded over slavery, independents were split and most Republicans said slavery was not the main reason that Confederate states left the Union.

Republicans were also most likely to say they admired the leaders of the southern states during the Civil War, with eight in 10 Republicans expressing admiration for the leaders in the South, virtually identical to the 79 percent of Republicans who admired the northern leaders during the Civil War.

We will have a divided nation long after we're gone, this is what will make our country one of the richest histories in the world.  Let us remember that in this nation of ours, we can agree to disagree.