What 'Lincoln' misses and another Civil War film gets right

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

One thing I have always wondered, why is/was the proposal to return the slaves to their native lands considered racist or wrong? One could hardly argue it was beneficial to them that they were taken from their land.

That's a good point. I think the answer ultimately lies in the slaves themselves. A first-generation slave like Kunta Kinte would certainly have welcomed the opportunity to be reunited with friends and family in his home village.

And they never had a chance to build their own society in the Americas.

On the other hand many slaves were fourth-generation or more, and knew nothing of Africa at all, except for oral and musical folk traditions. They dreamed of being free, but being free where they were, not in some long-forgotten jungle hut. Equally I doubt that the free black men who fought for the North envisioned themselves winning the war so they could be "repatriated" to some place the knew nothing about, and likely envisioned as primitive by their own standards.

The previous generation believed in repatriation as well, at least if Jefferson is to be believed. He too felt that sending the slaves back to Africa was the only way. I think it's a good thing for America that ultimately both he and Lincoln were proved to be wrong in that.

So... you're saying the war was about slavery

Ultimately, effectively, and for all practical purposes - yes.