{"id":1722,"date":"2026-06-14T19:38:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T19:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722"},"modified":"2026-06-14T19:38:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T19:38:51","slug":"opinion-what-the-clash-of-ideologies-in-the-civil-war-taught-us-about-americas-founding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>It\u2019s July 1, 1863. Emboldened by Confederate victories, Robert E. Lee\u2019s Army of Northern Virginia has ventured well above the Mason-Dixon line. Approaching Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it threatens the Union\u2019s industrial heartland and imperils Washington, D.C., from the north. Frustrated by the underperformance of the Army of the Potomac, President Lincoln has given command to George Meade, now in Taneytown, Maryland, 30 miles southeast of Lee. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1720\">Deseret News archives: Bulls break Jazz fans\u2019 hearts, Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Amid the rolling hills, lush meadows and verdant woodlands of south-central Pennsylvania, near the Maryland border, roads from ten directions converge on Gettysburg. Neither army knows the precise location of the other, but they, too, are gradually converging.<\/p>\n<div>\n<h5><strong>Other America 250 related opinion pieces:<\/strong><\/h5>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Opinion: Why America is worth celebrating<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Opinion: Why promise equality if it wasn\u2019t true?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Opinion: The Declaration of Independence \u2014 choosing natural rights and human equality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Opinion: After 250 years, has America forgotten how to argue with itself?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Opinion: Martha Washington \u2014 America\u2019s founding mother<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The sun rises on Union General John Buford\u2019s 2,500 dismounted cavalry, bivouacked a mile northwest of town along McPherson\u2019s Ridge \u2014 not a mountainous ridge but a gradual rise, as if the earth, having inhaled, had held its breath. The ground Buford has chosen is high, but not impregnable. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s early, but already hot and humid, when his forward parties on Chambersburg Pike encounter a Confederate column advancing in force. Hopelessly outnumbered, Buford\u2019s men can\u2019t stop the advance, but they slow it, firing, retreating to new cover, firing again. Deftly balancing bravery and prudence, Buford drives skirmishing lines forward, deploys his limited artillery, and coordinates temporary stands on\u2014followed by disciplined retreats from \u2014 first Herr\u2019s Ridge, then McPherson\u2019s Ridge, and finally Seminary Ridge, desperately needing reinforcements.<\/p>\n<p>Reinforcements arrive thanks to General John Reynolds, who hastens his men into position, issues crisp orders, dispatches messages to Meade, repeatedly gallops from the back of the column to the front lines, and is shot dead before noon. <\/p>\n<p>What ensues is the bloodiest battle of the bloodiest war in American history. The Confederates win day 1, but Union forces prevent a rout. Day 2 is a hard-fought draw. On Day 3, countless acts of self-sacrifice and valor culminate in Union victory. The Union suffers 23,000 casualties; the Confederacy 28,000 \u2014 a third of Lee\u2019s army. Never again will it mount an offensive. <\/p>\n<p>Why did they fight so fiercely 163 years ago? <\/p>\n<p>In its Declaration of Secession, South Carolina justified its repudiation of the Union on the grounds that the northern states had \u201cdenounced as sinful the institution of slavery,\u201d \u201cpermitted open establishment\u201d of manumission societies, refused to enforce fugitive slave laws and elected a president \u201cwhose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery,\u201d who \u201cdeclared that that \u2018Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free,\u2019 and that the public mind must rest in the belief that slavery is in the course of ultimate extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1718\">Chicken Salad Chick opens up to long lines in Utah<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens explicitly repudiated America\u2019s founding ideals, grounding the Confederacy in racism. The Founding Fathers, he said, believed \u201cthat the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose ideas,\u201d Stephens continued, \u201cwere fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, said Stephens, the Confederacy was \u201cfounded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>President Lincoln identified the cause of the Civil War: \u201cOne section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It has been asserted that the United States was founded on a lie, that those who promulgated the Declaration of Independence never really believed that \u201call men are created equal . . . endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.\u201d How, then, to explain the Civil War? Granted, this continent once hosted a new nation, conceived in slavery \u2014 but that was the Confederacy, not the United States of America.<\/p>\n<p>In dedicating the Gettysburg battlefield as a cemetery, Lincoln explained why the Union fought: to vindicate the founding of \u201ca new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1708\">Opinion: Ask Congress to strike a deal on permitting reform now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In this semiquincentennial year, that is what we celebrate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This continent once hosted a new nation, conceived in slavery \u2014 but that was the Confederacy, not the United States of America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This continent once hosted a new nation, conceived in slavery \u2014 but that was the Confederacy, not the United States of America.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T19:38:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\"},\"headline\":\"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-14T19:38:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722\"},\"wordCount\":832,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guest Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722\",\"name\":\"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding - American Movers Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-14T19:38:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif\",\"width\":630,\"height\":331},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=1722#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Movers Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding - American Movers Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding - American Movers Hub","og_description":"This continent once hosted a new nation, conceived in slavery \u2014 but that was the Confederacy, not the United States of America.","og_url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722","og_site_name":"American Movers Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-14T19:38:51+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af"},"headline":"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding","datePublished":"2026-06-14T19:38:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722"},"wordCount":832,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif","articleSection":["Guest Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722","name":"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding - American Movers Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-14T19:38:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0899f02eb7af4557831923cca29fed4d.avif","width":630,"height":331},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1722#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Opinion: What the clash of ideologies in the Civil War taught us about America\u2019s founding"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/","name":"American Movers Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/americanmovershub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}