The Civil War: Was it Not Real

Four million slaves were freed yet it would take another century for African Americans to win 'freedom.' History is not 'was' but 'is.' Until we treat each other as equals the Civil War will never be over.

[@Charliecomet82]

When Chou En-Lai was asked about the results of the French Revolution, he answered, "It's too early to say."

[@leplus1]

Oh, I love this quote!

[@erichodge567]

One of the greatest one-liners of all time.

[@башарал]

Not to be that guy but he was referring to the French protests of 1968 not to any 18th or 19th century event

[@1chumley1]

I remember watching this on TV when it came out. It is the greatest documentary ever.

[@NOC1TIME]

The road to equality human digity was a tremendous struggle for Black people. And for decades after. 600.000 Americans died to set upon that road. That figure seems to get lost in the claims for never ending accountability in the current day. It was Enough then. And Enough now. Press on America

[@erichodge567]

Nicely done, but what happened to the beautiful "Was It Not Real?" sequence that actually ends the documentary? It's one of the things that raises "The Civil War" to a work of art.

[@williampaulbeaugruendler7901]

Guess I can now skip the whole thing?

[@mattpiselli2705]

I know! What happened..so beautiful: Was it not real? We can all say that about some period in our life: college, a relationship, a term of service with brothers in arms ..we say: Was it not real?

[@malafunkshun8086]

Very powerful words from Dr. Fields....especially for today. Aloha 🙏🏼

[@hayshammond5499]

She’s a sanctimonious clown

[@gerrytyrrell1507]

Barbara fields is majestic ,everything she said is still happening in the United states ."the war can still be lost ".

[@DrCruel]

Yes. This time to the Left fascist hypocrites, who dream of a new socialist slave empire.

[@Treklosopher]

@@DrCruel You're insane. The Left, to whatever extent it exists in the U.S. is not the Democratic Party or its adherents. Even they though, are more in the tradition of Abolitionists and then the Labor Movement that followed it. People that secured a 40 hour work week and employment benefits that you likely now enjoy. You, sir, are a tool of actual fascists. And you're standing in the same disgusting tradition of the Confederates.

[@finchborat]

@@Treklosopher But the Dems are the home of the left. They've also been more fascist-like.

[@erichodge567]

She was a prophet.

[@wrestlingbear1188]

A racist bitch. I say that as a Black man.

[@Gwaithmir]

No one wins a war. One side just loses more.

[@DynamixWarePro]

As per my last comment, the reason Jefferson Davis wanted to keep slavery is because southerners who had slaves were making so much money of them and didn't want to give them up. Although Lincolns objective was mainly to preserve the Union first, the underlying issue of slavery was always there.

[@johnLA1961]

It was there during the revolution.

[@johnduffy8532]

Trouble with this clip is that it cits off the beautiful epilogue that its title is taken from; the bit where Foote reads from a memoir where a Confederate soldier dreams of fighting again in the afterlife.

[@DynamixWarePro]

Actually it was. Bleeding Kansas, John Brown, Uncle Toms Cabin etc.. were just some aspect that lead up to the war. But people didn't see it as that. The North saw the war as a way to preserve the Union. The south wanted freedom to govern themselves. However Jefferson Davis wouldn't sign anything with Lincoln unless slavery was a part of it, so although many didn't see the war as a war over slavery, it was. If the slaves were set free first, then the war began, it might have been different.

[@SeattleCondoSpecialistcom]

@Chance Storey I would like the link to the video you reference. Thanks

[@joegibbskins]

They would not have set slaves free when they seceded because preserving that institution indefinitely was the reason they seceded. The Republican Party was an anti-slavery party, but not an abolitionist party. It had abolitionists within it, but Lincoln was not one. Lincoln was a compromise candidate who believed that slavery shouldn’t be allowed in the new territories and when he was elected, it proved that the slaver states no longer were masters of their own destiny, ie a more forthrightly anti-slavery candidate could win and there was nothing they could do to stop it, so the lower south seceded. Virginia and a couple of the northern southern states didn’t go until Lincoln called for an army after Sumpter, and an argument could be made that in those states, the war really was primarily a defensive one on behalf of state’s rights, but even then the break down of where secession was popular within those states were the areas where slave holdings were concentrated. Virginia is a perfect example because West Virginia broke off and joined the Union, even though they were given the condition of freeing their own slaves to do this, because they didn’t own a whole lot of slaves, and were weary of being controlled entirely by the wealthy landowners in and around Richmond

[@johnreynolds6499]

Hell, get over it. The Irish and Polish still dislike each other in PA over coal mining.

[@lscott3ful]

What piano piece is playing at 2:25? I know it was played throughout the series but it isn't on the soundtrack. Thanks!

[@asawasa2806]

it is credited as classical piano. most likely the lady who played it just made it up for this documentary. much like Ashokan Farewell was re-purposed to fit as one of the main musical themes for this work.

[@WilliamStoneContentZone]

Taylor Reynolds it's a a rearranged version of Marching Through Georgia

[@lynnferguson394]

Sounds loke God Save the Queen

[@duelinglectrics]

Can still watch all of these episodes on daily motion really great I watch an episode or two before playing empire total war

[@rc59191]

I watch it while playing Grand Tactician Civil War lol.

[@duelinglectrics]

@@rc59191 most of my facts will probably come from that documentary lol and the things Shelby Foote (RIP ) had to say

[@davidlynn6103]

What that extremely smart lady says at the end is the truth

[@tombuzzguy]

you have to understand the civil war to understand America. Race class divide is still a huge issue. Just read some of these comments. Truly shocking.

[@alanmcneill2407]

Yes, the racism has emboldened itself again as a legitimate concept, the war goes on, and on, and on. Mostly because some people "love" to hate, if it isn't skin color, it will be religion, or body weight, or age, or a differing opinion, or manner of dress, or where you live, or who you love, ...the enemies of civil rights will exist as long as people love to hate.. Yes, she is a very intelligent lady, not afraid of truth. She and Shelby Foote are fit to be great leaders, they understand the American condition, and the human condition, which are not always synonymous.

[@jamesrichardson3322]

@@tombuzzguy We are divide political and racially, we have on resolve issues from the American Civil War. Southerners too this day hate Northerners for what happened too South. I don't think we will ever recover from the Civil War, it's been 156 years. It continues to haunt us.

[@elifield7149]

Can’t mention Lincoln by name?

[@ronniebishop2496]

Would you expect it to all be fixed in two years ten years, huh? No

[@rigamarrow]

The social, economic and political dividing lines in the country arose from slavery. Without slave owners dreaming of a new aristocracy (themselves) based on slave labor, there was little to argue about let alone fight over.

[@machob123]

I have to question Shelby Foote's interpretation of Lincoln's comment "That speech won't scour". It makes sense to me that he was pleased with his address, correctly predicting it would stick in the minds of his audience, rather than scour off to be lost in the many passing concerns of the day.

[@matthewjames1114]

You may be right, I hadn't thought about that possible meaning of his words before

[@jimmyyleee3333]

Shelby..I love, but...lol Roots in slavery south EVERYTHING,he drinks like I smoke Michigan's Recreationally legal harvest NOT on Cops (bad boys x 2) as equivalent to smuggled in China White ........🤑😚🥰.what was the test question ??🥸 again, 🤔

[@bobrau830]

Given the context of the situation, I think that Mr. Foote got it right.

[@rmcnabb]

I like your interpretation but I think with Lincoln's and Foote's farming backgrounds they understood the phrase as it must have been used in the same way about many things.

[@joshuaestes1107]

No one won like Jesse James said to his Brother with the new monetary system we all become slaves

[@ossumpossum5490]

Jesse James was a common criminal and an awful person. Rewriting him as some kind of Robin Hood character is just Lost Cause propaganda and no respectable historian buys into that.

[@thomasfeltes1041]

If dead Union Soldiers could come back to life today and see the results of what they fought for I doubt they would have made the sacrifice.

[@jamesmohab]

thats projection, youre full of hate and probably insecurity (thats where most hate comes from) and so you assume everyone else is too. sorry pal youre just.. worse than a normal person

[@yeags1383]

Spinning in their graves. The Biden administration absolutely hates us the American people. Puts us absolutely last.

[@matthewmagee5357]

Who would they fight for? Russia and Putin?

[@jimmywilliams4257]

No they fought for a better future for this nation only to be spit in the face

[@basketballsteve54]

Especially those Indiana Union soldiers who as aging vets saw the kkk take over Indiana in the mid 1920's.

[@peterblack3665]

I throughly believe there is resentment in the Southern States towards the North.....

[@jrg7951]

It took time to correct the woes of slavery. The war did change the country forever. Things get better for those descendants of slaves every year.

[@73NF14Ret]

I am 65 years old and grew up in Texas, I never met a person my age or younger that was racist. My High School was 90% white and 10% black, and as a Junior we elected a black student body President and he deserved it. I am not saying there is 0 racism, but it was very small but now it seems some people want to rekindle it. Hell, my daughter married a black man who I love tremendously.

[@tudyk21]

I'm 55 and grew up in South Texas where racism was very much alive. I rode a school bus that was about 65% occupied by "Mexicans" (all US citizens). They hated and antagonized us white kids. You seldom heard a white adult refer to those people and their kin as anything other that "Meskins". However, that way of thinking has faded in recent years. I believe that racism was fading away across the nation, only to be revived by the likes of Obama and his ilk, for personal and party gain. The country be damned.

[@speed_demon420]

"The south will rise again" they are, it's called the woke.

[@solonkazos1379]

What happened is slavery ended. What black people do with freedom is up to them. My advice is buy property, businesses, stocks, bonds, machines, etc. Go make some money, at least get ride of the money problems. Money wont take care of everything, but it sure does help. Don't wait around for someone else to lift you up, they likely wont show up for that.

[@charlesw322]

Barbara fields is an eternal complainer! I guarantee you she has a beautiful home with all the money that she could spend in a beautiful neighborhood her kids go to college her grandkids are well taken care of she's well liked in her community and has a great job where people like her what the hell is she even talking about? she is the reason racism is still prevalent in universities...

[@patrickmulroney9452]

you are a bigot!

[@charlesw322]

@@patrickmulroney9452 you are a bigot!, see how easy that was you could just call someone a bigot and they're all of a sudden a bigot I'm not even sure what bigot means anymore but maybe I am one does it mean you're proud of your race and your white at the same time? anyway I'm not sure what bigot means but I'm pretty sure if we found the definition it would actually be you and not me

[@scottfagerstrom9312]

LOL. Another poor oppressed white guy, huh?

[@alexamerling79]

A white guy calling a black historian a complainer. That's rich. First off, no one is forcing you to watch this. Second, wanting to be treated as equals is not complaining. So piss off.

[@robinblankenship9234]

How, precisely, would the secession of part of the nation destroy the other part? I have never read or heard any explanation of this idea, so commonly and unthinkingly repeated.

[@slygi4]

Did I understand her correctly in saying that as long as people on hungry and on the streets (homelessness?) we are still fighting the civil war? I don't think homelessness had anything to do with the civil war.

[@Sackofbooks]

+Patriot Sons of Liberty As I understand it, she is saying that some of the root causes of the Civil War manifest themselves today in poverty and homelessness. Therefore the struggle to deal with those issues, which the Civil War was partially fought over, continues even though the military conflict has formally ended.

[@Sackofbooks]

@J A Any one instance of homelessness may be attributable to the choices made by the individual experiencing it. But she's not talking about any specific instance. She's talking about the phenomenon of homelessness in the abstract.

[@Nomchomlom]

I took it as her talking about inequality and if it still is prevalent due to oppression then someone had still lost the Civil War.

[@jackierave]

@@Sackofbooks Yep, ya pretty much nailed what she was saying here.. :)

[@casualobserver3145]

She’s a socialist. If her views are carried out to their conclusion we will all be equal. Equally poor....and equally slaves to the state. When I watch this documentary every few years in its entirety I fast forward through her pontifications.

[@johnopsahl4282]

Barbra Fields in the documentary says the civil war for her is one of african american slave liberation and not one that is focused on the countless battles fought during the war. The only reason why the civil war became a war of slave liberation was due to the countless union defeats in 1861 and 1862 and Lincoln had to prevent Europe from recognizing the confederacy. It was never Lincoln intention to free the slaves. "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union." (Lincoln) Lincoln didnt care about the slaves, he used them as a means to an end. How does this women teach at columbia.

[@SecundumMagnusStultus]

Lincoln thought slavery was wrong but yes she is retarded, and after watching the whole thing i am glad she was limited and shelby stoole did everything, very well might i add

[@SecundumMagnusStultus]

+Napoleon Born2party lol foote i am sorry shelby

[@boredoutofmymindize]

Maybe she teaches at Columbia precisely because she understands more than you ever will of why the Civil War was fought, or perhaps it is because she is a preeminent scholar in the field and has studied this for years and earned her PhD and maybe she said those things in the documentary because she did a bit more research then just tossing in a Lincoln quote and talking out your a** pretending you know everything about the Civil War. Maybe that's why she teaches at Columbia, and you comment on youtube videos saying she is wrong because you don't understand what she is saying.

[@HomelightRealtyAZ]

There are countless other quotes that totally refute this. You have no idea what was being said around the quote. Twisting and turning quotes seemscto be an american pass time

[@TreeLibrary]

John Opasahl 4 years ago u got ethered by "Bored Out of My Mind"

[@karlkrump6634]

3:30 This part is known as a half-truth...the KKK was very active in the north too in the early 20th century, they also partook in the "white supremacy" as stated here...as you will note, the Klan members were waving the good old Star Spangled Banner. Stuff like this is why you have to scrutinize historians and documentarians, because they have a nasty habit of getting laser focused on something they already have a bias on (in this case, they insinuate the racial problem was mostly a southern thing, while ignoring the blatant erosion of racial relations all across the country).

[@danield.3408]

They mention the KKK here in the South because of the Reconstruction period, where any efforts to do said reconstruction was thwarted. Do not be hyper focused on the entire nation being overrun by the KKK when it clearly started in the South, it only spread they dominated the Southern power stratus.

[@katbrown1449]

The slaves were certainly better off after that war . The were able then to leave the south. As to failed expectations, I m sure. As to things taking generation to get as far as we have, that was assured as well.

[@jimmyyleee3333]

Omg she is Wife Level- incredible !!! Irresistible

[@-xl7ep1se3i]

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[@northwestprof60]

Fields is really the weak link in this whole thing. Nobody in the Burns camp would admit it, but her graduate school-like patter is out of place and pompous in its preachy style, and I'm sure they wish they would NEVER have asked her to contribute. She sounds like an angry sociologist.

[@andrewhanson5942]

She would seem to be living proof that a black person has the opportunity to rid themselves of the remaining shackles of slavery. But don't expect it to be handed to you on a silver platter.

[@gerrywood3584]

Bars and stars

[@jeffmilroy9345]

It was real - and still is. The war was also about state rights - simply put - sovereignty was the supporting undercurrent that made the rebels such ferocious warriors (though often outnumbered in nearly every battle).

[@ossumpossum5490]

Please. Federal power was a thing long before the Civil War, let's not act like this was the first time anything was regulated on a federal level. "States Rights" is a convenient argument when the federal government does something you don't like. The slave states would've happily supported a law to allow slavery in all states.

[@jeffmilroy9345]

Dont preach to me - I have served my country. How about you "ossompossum"? Have you earned it? Would you fight to destroy or defend a law that enslaves or starves humans? Or do you endure such things laying down? There are a couple big examples on the books.@@ossumpossum5490

[@billkeogh639]

Barbara Fields is a complete political fanatic.

[@mikekyzer3774]

Personally I enjoyed Shelby Foote but I disagree with some of the presumptions made by Ken Burns and Dr. Fields.

[@stanleystudios5186]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/imrJpKqweceVg8U&ab_channel=RawStory Working in a time before the internet, I'm surprised by how true the film is to history considering the popular conceptions of the time. Despite whatever critics might say, Burns certainty is no supporter of any lost cause! With that said, the first episode could have certainly been longer and gone into greater depth.

[@lastfirst7371]

Barbara Fields is easily the worst part of this documentary. She never says anything poignant, repeats the same talking point throughout the documentary in every episode she's in, and tries to inject her own politics into the show. The only person that might be worse is the squirrelly dude with glasses who tries to suggest that the Union won because Lincoln constantly oversteps his constitutional boundaries, but he at least doesn't have near as many segments.

[@TheEpic22]

Last First Triggered. Try opening up to ideas, even if they hurt your brain

[@mnpd3]

Funny how the notion that the War was fought over slavery is a post-war one. Certainly both North and South governments and those who fought it were adamant that slavery had nothing to do with the War. The largest slave market in the country was in fact Washington D.C.; the Union capital (a little history factoid released by the recent movie 12 Years a Slave...oops!). Further, four states of the Union were slave states, and Northern General U.S. Grant was a slave owner by reason of having married a prominent Kentucky woman whose family owned slaves. I learned long ago to never confuse history with facts.

[@SandfordSmythe]

In 1860, there was 1 state in the North that had slaves -NJ with 8 dying out folks. You are confusing Grant with someone else. His wife was from the border slave state of Missouri. Maybe Lincoln? Washington DC has slave markets until 1850, and the point is that slavery was in the North, but it was abolished. Down South, it was set to go on forever.

[@scottfagerstrom9312]

LOL! The war wasn't about slavery? Did you actually WATCH this documentary? The leaders of the southern states were specific and adamant that they broke from the Union to "preserve slavery."

[@grahamwatkins2590]

The south made it very clear that slavery was the most important agenda item for them and its preservation the entire focus of their rebellion.

[@collinwhites9833]

This "housing is a human right" or that housing is a panacea is a false belief. If you are unwilling to seriously address addiction or mental illness, efforts to house people will fall apart... With drugs like fentanyl, addiction is an escalating existent societal issue.

[@JohnE9999]

And now they want to be slaves again. Ironic...

[@SuperDogwizard]

Pure BS

[@acdragonrider]

I am sorry but I don’t think it is necessary to argue and protest about the civil war and the confederates who fought in it. The men on both sides who fought it were complex men and deserve respect and the right to rest. Ulysses s grant said “let us have peace.” Is that so hard? Focus on something other than protesting and just work hard on improving your own lives. If the Jews could survive calamity after calamity without complaint then it can be done.

[@granskare]

when we had a 'tie' for the house of reps, the GOP offered to take the federal army from the south and when that happened, we had Jim Crow again.

[@finchborat]

And the Dems were the ones behind Jim Crow.

[@refugeeca]

I thought this scene was beautiful when I was younger. As I've got older I realized the agendas being pushed. First and foremost, Ken Burns is a terrible 'documentary' maker. They are beautiful but lack integrity. Gettysburg can serve as a good analogy for the greater war with all its hidden meanings and it can also serve as a condemnation of this entire series. Mixed in with the few truths about Gettysburg are a great many lies and myths. It's so incredibly an insult and a whole and pure lie for the documentary to say that the "first day" of Gettysburg was a skirmish when it was itself its own terrible battle, where the last full measure of devotion was pushed as far as any other day with more casualties than the third day of battle. Many lies and myths are pushed about the second day of battle with a rabid focus on Chamberlain and the 20th Maine, with every lie and myth that even Chamberlain himself loathed being said (being outnumbered 10-1). There's so many mischaracterizations and myths pushed by the this series, and by his other series, it's *almost* criminal. What Barbara Fields says though disqualifies everything else she says in this documentary and it disqualifies Ken Burns as a honorable presenter of facts in documentary. The Civil War is not still going on. Homelessness does not mean the Civil War never ended. No poetic or moronic expansion of ideals and morals can draw this conclusion. It's showboating at its worst. The left-wing attempts, even today, to compare this to modern struggles are unworthy of anything more than being buried in dog excrement.

[@Sibyl3n3]

The energy Burns succeeded in channeling generations towards greater study (and debate) of this lasting and profound conflict, from U.S. and global perspectives, should give one pause before resorting to our cozy, 21st-century outrage. Our freedom to spew "lies, lies and more lies!" doesn't quite protect us from the chance, however small, of being wrong our-own-selves about a noble, but flawed, attempt to remind us that the Civil War still matters. Thank you, all the same, for your insights. I hope you will interpret this in the spirit with which it's intended.

[@winycityfightfan]

I guess you did`nt understand the spirit of what Barbara Fields was saying "Proffesor refugeeca"

[@refugeeca]

She's pro-slavery. She's a progressive pushing a political agenda through false interpretation of history and a false tie-in to modernity. Proggressivism is government power and control over whatever it wants. Progressivism is slavery.

[@stanleystudios5186]

@@refugeeca My friend. . . No.

[@refugeeca]

@@stanleystudios5186 I'm not your friend, guy.

[@Arklay_98]

That lady really annoyed me the Union won the war slavery ending was just an outcome.

[@wotan237]

How could the war be over slavery when Union troops invaded the south w/ no intention to free slaves but rather the war aim was to preserve the union (freeing slaves developed 2 yrs later, as a war measure) ? Four union states were slave states - so were they firing bullets at southerners so that they could free their own slaves ? Huh ? The articles of secession related to appeals to the rich planter class to help support secession, which is not the same thing as war. Secession- a legal right- is not the same thing as The Civil War. It was Lincoln who was the traitor when he blockaded Va and NC- who were still in the Union.

[@GRAFFDEMON]

The issue of slavery was always present since the civil war began. Lincoln never wanted to confront the idea but abolitionist sentiment was growing rapidly since 1861 and even before that. Granted Lincoln wanted to preserve the union first though.

[@shedd45]

Stfu traitor.

[@revs81]

Your facts are wrong

[@SandfordSmythe]

The first event was the South seceeding over fears about slavery

[@LazlosPlane]

Worst documentary ever made. How did he get away with this?

[@afo45td]

We lost the war red, does it matter anymore why how for what reason. The north have much more funding from the same fraudulent central or federal bank that keep us all in bongade today. We remain slaves to family like rithchilds owning 10 braches of today fed bank. Put some effort ito correcting something you got some chance of changing., Man DUDE,

[@LazlosPlane]

And you can say, "Does it matter anymore why and how and for what reason"? ? ? You answered your own question.

[@lesROKnoobz]

+LazlosPlane you people shouldn't even be allowed to have your confederate flags and rebel shit. in most countries that would be considered treason and you'd be shot en masse. kinda a shame it isn't here.

[@winycityfightfan]

What exactly did you disagree with?

[@homelesssheltervidlogg74]

@@lesROKnoobz free speech.

[@billdewitt7168]

OMG what b.s.!!!

[@binder38us]

The real stars of Ken Burn"s Civil War: Barbra Fields and Shelby Foote.

[@dontellbenjamin417]

Fuck Shelby Foote!

[@james1x1x1x1]

@@dontellbenjamin417 Shelby Foote is 10x the man you will ever be. You are not worthy of shining his boots.

[@james1x1x1x1]

@MultiBagram Cool but he still taught more people about History then the average sycophant "professional historian" wage slaves they pick in this upside down post truth world.

[@james1x1x1x1]

@MultiBagram We get it you are a brainwashed liberal sycophant who only likes the winners of past wars. your words are meaningless and your writing unworthy of being read.

[@ronniebishop2496]

Yes that’s true! Shelby describes the military parts very well, and she showed the slaves views.

[@David-p7z9n]

Was it worth it?

[@davidswift7776]

Incredibly accurate even in 2023 !