Did Confederate Soldiers FIGHT for SLAVERY?! 

wHo WoN tHe DeBaTe???? CoMMeNt BeLoW!!!

"Hey, didn't I kill you?" A very strong way to continue a series that was originally a one off

"No it's not and I say that as a Latino..." is probably the funniest thing I heard today.

Last time I was this early, that evil Fort Sumpter was in the middle of attacking those innocent Confederate cannonballs!

As a German who definitely has some dead Nazis in my family, I can only wholeheartedly agree with the last sentiment. My racist and genocidal ass ancestors have nothing to do with me and the only thing I have to do is learn from their mistakes.

It is absolutely fascinating to me that anyone would call criticism of the C.S.A, a literal belligerent in an American war, "Anti-American."

My Great Great grandfather, James Turnage was captured at Vicksburg. He was a slave owner from Arkansas. He was wrong.

“Why would poor people without slavery defend it?” *sees people who make minimum wage on Facebook outraged over a tax that only effects people who make a $400K salary.”

I was born and raised in Mississippi and was taught the Lost Cause narrative in school. For many years, I even bought into the myths of the Lost Cause. I don’t anymore. I’m glad for people like you who are willing to challenge the dominating narrative with the truth. Keep up the good work!

"Criticizing the Confederacy is anti American...." Yea... And bashing Nazis is anti german....

The mix of comedy history really does it for me. AMAZING. AS. ALWAYS.

Poor people going to war to fight for the interests of the rich? What a concept.

" socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” -John Steinbeck.

Those"Daughters of the confederacy"sure did a good job at rewriting history.

Them: most of the confederate soldiers didn't own slaves. Me: yeah... because they couldn't afford them.

Can't imagine poor southerners defending the political interests of the elite? They're still doing it today.

I love the last monologue "these long dead racists are not your friends, you have nothing in common with them" People don't realize that they would hate their great grandpapies if they met them

I was born in the South, and lived here my whole life. However I have never been one to praise the Confederates, or fly a reble flag with the words "The South shall rise again!''. I was born in the United States of America, and not the Southern Confederacy.

I had an ancestor who rode in the Alabama cavalry during the Civil War under Forrest. Though my father constantly lauds him and says he didn't own slaves, the fact that all the documents we have refer to him as "the Colonel" makes that point one of suspicion for me. On a slightly less serious note, I recently learned I've got another ancestor who was in the Indiana cavalry. I get great joy pestering my Arkansas raised father about the "damnyankee" in the family.

How dare you criticise the confederates you American traitor! Wait...

I have complete sympathy with anyone who feels he oughtn't feel ashamed of anything his ancestors did…as long as he feels he shouldn't feel proud of anything they did.

That confederate got burned harder than Atlanta lol

Wow, shaving before filming the second part is some commitment! Awesome edit!

yes civil war was about state's rights; in particularly the right for states to allow slavery.

I love how at 7:35 he looks at the camera and addresses YOU, the viewer, he drops the act and the jokes and is completely serious towards the audience

Interestingly, there were also many northerners who were very worried about freed slaves coming north and taking jobs away from whites. The past was difficult; the present is not much less so.

This actually blew a misconception that I'd had for a very long time. I'm no revisionist, but I believed that the poorer men doing the fighting were a lot more distant from the politics of slavery than they apparently were. Seeing this helped to contextualize the origin of the "Lost Cause" myth, without downplaying that they were still people who had other motivations.

”But criticizing the Confederacy is anti-American?” ”Yes!” Hahahaha

As a West Virginian I live off confederate tears

I'm Turkish and didn't have any knowledge about US civil war history but your videos are really entertaining and getting me interested in the civil war. Keep up the good content 👏

I want a movie where Stonewall Jackson sat on his horse eating a peach at Antietam, overlooking thousands of dead and dying men. As they wallow in agony on the hellscaped battlefield before him, he takes a juicy bite of said peach and remarks "God has been very kind to us this day." And yeah, that actually happened. He wasn't really a nice guy.

4:51 is a pretty easy comment to debunk, too. President Lincoln said "I have no intentions to interfere with slavery WHERE IT EXISTS" meaning, in the states that did have it. Lincoln wanted to contain the spread of slavery and he hoped it would die out over time. Love this video, keep up the great work. :)

As a latino that "I say that as a latino" is the funniest shit that's ever happened

The ending speech you made was really poignant. I feel like a lot of southern revisionists have it in their heads that if the Confederacy was bad that must make them bad, but that's not true. Nobody blames modern day southerners for the war, we all understand that we've all got evil people in our ancestry. The problems for you, however, start when you begin allying yourself with those evil people and identifying with them - that DOES reflect poorly on your character. Much like the Civil War itself, the south continues to blame everyone but themselves for problems and poor judgments that they created for themselves with their own bad and irrational behavior.

"the doomsday prophecy" didn't happen to the point Longstreet completely changed his tune after the war. Switched parties, supported black civil rights and led black militia against the "white league" in the battle of liberty place in New Orleans.

“Syphilis-infested crotch goblin” is going straight in the “best insults” book!

I doubt one person really reassures you that doing these videos changes minds but i can honestly say you changed mine. I started with the gods and generals movie which I'll admit I loved. I was always taught it was about states rights and the confederacy was a noble thing. I figured nothing some random dude on RU-vid could say would change my views so i decided to listen. hearing you give facts i never even knew about and answer longstanding questions honestly helped me swallow my pride and admit I was wrong. So for what it's worth thank you!

The "I say this as a Latino" part made me do a spit take ngl

50% of Georgia families, in the flatter sections of the states, benefitted from the labor of slaves The banks had loaned money for plantations, equipment and slaves.The railroads and steamboats depended on slave produced freight. The preachers in the Southern churches depended on the tithes of the wealthy folks who gained their money from slavery. To find out why the secession to preserve slavery was promoted...just follow the money.

In September of 1963, 50 miles outside of New York, this 7th grader was introduced to our new history teacher. He was interesting, serious and passionate about his subject, giving me a love of history from that time on. He had a colorful and bombastic teaching style but he taught history as an authoritarian. He asked us, “What was the cause of the civil war?” To free the slaves. I thought everyone knows that... He said, “Anyone says that, gets an F for the day. The civil war was fought over state's rights.” We were 7th grade idiots and the school preferred discipline over the Socratic method. State's rights was a recurring theme for this teacher inserting the concept wherever he could, but he was careful not to mention the word slave. I'm sure he privately thought about it, but it put a wrench in the works. The terrible thing is that I took it away with me and was persuaded that state's rights was rational, It was not. Something taught to you when your are young is difficult to shake, it takes self honest examination... Your content is very good, thank you

Criticizing people who left America is obviously anti American

Just subscribed. Keep up the good work and teach them Confederate wannabes a thing or two about the true history of the American Civil War. Also, these ‘Checkmate, Lincolnites’ videos are the most funniest and down to earth ones I have seen in a long time.

I have to say, a lot of views that you have argued against I sided with but decided to keep an open mind when watching your videos. Along with that and some more reading I have to say you’ve changed my mind a lot. Really enjoy your content

Let's not forget that hundreds of thousands of Southern men fought for the Union during the Civil War. If you were opposed to slavery and you were living in the South, that was a good option. Every single southern State sent at least one regiment to the Union ranks, and Southern Union soldiers fill many a Union graveyard. So one has to presume that the Southerners that fought against the Union supported slavery, by and large.

“why didn’t the north just leave the south in peace” didn’t didn’t the south fire first

See , history can be fun !

"Yeah, here's the thing, and I know you're not gonna want to hear this, but it's time to help people save. With Liberty Mutual-" Me, on audio only: Wait, what?

I'm a northerner who married a southerner. Now while she's not a racist, I have seen her condemn her uncle's racist comments, she still supports the confederacy because she's been taught that the confederacy wasn't racist and "states rights" and all. I do enjoy debunking her arguments for the confederacy pointing it back to racism.

I think ive been gifted a new favourite insult thank you. Great work as always, keep it up!

Yo this gonna be a controversial comment I tend to lean a bit conservative I kinda like the right to owning gUnS I know a lot of our government is flawed such as the health care system both parents work in that field and I will too. but I’m in 100% agreement with you about the confederates agenda I see confederate flags on graves while I on my way to work and I cringe at the sight. I also feel like like my city’s seal should be changed it’s a cotton flower, college, factory and a steer head. It’s been 150 years its been enough time to heal we really need to move on

Honestly, I was expecting you to bring up the Fugitive Slave Act when they did the 'why couldn't the North just leave the South alone!' bit along with the more obvious parts like, y'know, shooting up dozens of federal armories before secession was even formalized and of course shooting first in the war and repeatedly trying to invade the North (wherein they enslaved any free black man, woman, or child they could).

A bit late on this but, as an American whose parents were immigrants, where one parent of my father's side was actually an American ex-pat who had a lineage in and of the Confederacy and the Union, history and education of these topics are important. I was born in Virginia. Many who ask where I come from or what I am get confused when I say I'm an American southerner depending on where I am, though often the question itself isn't asked very much if at all. One individual, who was a white scholar, was a bit uneasy when discussing the topic of the Civil War, the South, the Confederacy, and the topic of slavery. I chimed in and said that long down my own lineage on just one path were a family of Confederates, who no doubt acquiesced to the succession, who either owned or fought for slavery, or were of the few that fought for the adventure or simply to protect the individuals they cared about. I can't tell their story as well as some in my family, yet I can say this. Heritage does not define you, your past prior to your birth does not shape you as much as some may think. To hold on to a past that isn't noble nor true of character is a naive and foolish endeavor, being ashamed of it is a sliver of ignorance that you must shed. Rejecting that past isn't the solution, but learning from it is a step in the right direction. It is alright to be the descendent of a Confederate Slave Owner, there are millions in the world with even a sliver of DNA that could be traced to one awful individual or another, I hold no guilt for the suffering that those before me may have caused nor the grief that members of either side of the conflict felt to be put at odds, the emotion of war, conflict, and the politics during and thereafter. Simply accept the fact, learn from it as much as you can, and move on with a higher sense of wisdom and maturity, take with each connection a lesson, and with each lesson a better person has been made. stop In any case, stop being a dumbass who protects their forefathers for their actions in a world that some can only take as a nightmare or a dream, slavery has happened in this country, is still happening on this planet, and will continue to happen when there are those who make excuses and shortcomings to reach a conclusion based solely on the manipulation of moral principles for selfish gain. Be Kind. Be Courteous. Have some self respect to your Southern heritage and the good things that came from the South, treat your fellow person as a person, and if not, God bless your soul. Cheers.

Can we normalize that pro-confederate is 100% equal to anti-American.

Sir. You have no idea how much I admire you for taking part in such a brave action and putting yourself in the line of fire. Taking shots left and right in order to maintain proper balance. In the end war is hell. I am fascinated by the American Civil War and in my country there is the same situation happening with our civil war. There are. Two sides who like to think of villa and zapata as enlightened revolutionaries and the other that looks at them as mere terrorists. Both sides are right and wrong and life simply doesn't have easy answers of all Good VS all bad

"Why don't you address John Brown or that genocidal maniac Sherman?" 4 years later: one 30 minute video on Sherman and two 40-minute videos on John Brown Clearly Johnny Reb was the victor here. Or the viewers. Probably the viewers.

I used to buy into the "states rights" thing until I realized it WAS states rights... to own slaves

"I say that as a latino" Fucking obliterated my sides

I adore your skits with the Reb

I've been told, multiple times, that being anti confederate is anti American. It boggles my mind.

The line after 3:35 just made me bop my own head because for the longest time I've been trying to wrap my head around confederates and why they would fight for slavery.

NeoConfederates: we didn't fight for slavery Confederates: we didn't?

This guy needs more recognition. He is incredible and makes learning so much fun.

“How dare you speak of the General releasing his bowels!!” I agree with reb. Everyone in the south knows General Jackson was in such strong commune with the lord he _prayed_ the poo away!!

What I love about these is that none of these are strawmen because they're all taken from RU-vid comments meaning real people actually have these opinions. That's why this programme is so brilliant and i'm so sad to see it go.

As a South Carolinian and the descendant of the confederacy I applauded you! Well done once again and not all of us rural southerners support such. I’d love to see you do a video on Ben Tillman. Thanks!

I’ve seen this video at least a dozen times. Your words at the very end at times bring me to tears. My ancestors made huge sums of money on slavery. I need not feel guilty for what they did, but I certainly do not need to idolize these slavers and racists. And I can help share the painful and uncomfortable truths of who they were and why they fought. Thank you.

@AtunSheiFilms As a man who grew up in the south who has at least 3 ancestors (That I have found so far, including one was in the Army of Northern Virginia) who served in the Confederate Army, I approve this video. Noone likes to think of their ancestors as being evil, or at least serving an evil institution, but it's an American reality that we all need to contend with.

I really appreciate the message at the end. When I was younger, I learned that I was pretty closely related to Stonewall Jackson, and I tried to take pride in that. I fell in to some lost cause narratives, but I did get out, mainly by doing research into the subject and finding out I was wrong. That was hard to admit. My education in Idaho probably didn’t help me get out of it very much.

You neo confederates should really stop embarrassing yourselves by leaving comments on these videos

I need more of this series in my life. It's like Half in the Bag but based on debunking the lost cause myth.

I am in awe of Atun-Shei's acting and writing and post-production.

I think I will forever respect and adore this channel and these damn fine and honorable men! I’d defend this mans videos and the good morrel concept of what he is hoping to accomplish, to my final breathe! That is how much I genuinely believe in looking at both sides of an issue and how absolutely important and brave these videos are!

As a Southerner doing research on family history, I came across the fact that my great-great-aunt owned one slave, and after the end of the war the family went to great lengths to keep him from ever learning about the 13th, 14th, or 15th Amendments, or the Emancipation Proclamation. It wasn't hard, because A- he could not read, B- he was a house slave so they had more or less full control of where he went and who he interacted with, and C- it was a small Texas town and nobody was particularly eager to break the news to him, in fact the entire town apparently was in on it. It wasn't until the arrival of Federal troops that he was informed of his freedom, and according to dispatches from those soldiers he was apparently the last slave to be freed in the entire county. Said ancestor received no punishment for illegally keeping a slave because of course they didn't. So yeah, I ain't about to pretend my ancestors were good people.

Someone cant understand why those in the 1860s would defend "high class ownership of slaves" but defends supply side economics.

Today I learned other people use the term crotch-goblins.

Going back and rewatching the early episodes to prepare for the finale....totally forgot about this gem, "How Dare You Speak Of The General Releasing His Bowels!"

Growing up in Alabama and now living in North Carolina I hear this sort of stuff all the time. One of my high school teachers actually taught us that it was over state's rights. Seems crazy looking back on it.

I spat on the "Lost Cause" quite a while back, even though I'll admit Longstreet's memoirs make for a decent read. My folks, on the other hand, have tried to come up with excuses. Before you ask, no, they haven't displayed any prejudices against African Americans, but a lot of the excuses they made seemed borderline childish. Even my dad, cynical expert on history that he is, is somewhat defensive of it. The most I got out of my mother was her admitting that the Confederacy fought to preserve slavery "for economic reasons." The most common response they make is that the North wasn't an egalitarian state that wanted to free slaves and give them civil rights. And while I won't pretend that they were all abolitionists, a good number of them were, more than you think. And even ones who weren't changed their views over time, such as Lincoln and Grant. It showed that they were human, and one of our most important gifts as humans is that we can change, even if it takes time. Okay, I'm rambling. The point is that I kind of stand out amongst my family in spitting on the Confederacy. EDIT: I think I've finally started winning them over--by referencing these videos, specifically when you compare the CSA to Nazi Germany. My mother was shocked, and my dad was almost speechless.

This is an absolutely fantastic combination of history and comedy. Keep it up good sir!

This channel gets all the wins! I once saw a confederate flag on a flagpole and got so angry and thought what's the opposite of the Confederate Flag? It dawned on me it would be *THE UNITED STATES FLAG* thank you for doing these.

The end note about racist great grand pappies is particularly well said. My grandmother was first or second generation Italian American. She lived in New York most of her life. During WWII she worked as a translator in the US censorship office. She spoke English, Italian, French, German, and I believe one or two other languages. At the end of the war she was one of the translators at the Nuremberg trials. She sat in that court room with a hundred or so other people and watched hours of footage depicting the horrors of Germany's concentration camps and death camps. For the rest of her life, whenever asked about her experience in the war, she would shed a tear for "Those poor Jewish babies." She never forgot the footage of piles of tiny corpses. She would also pick up her purse and clutch it to her chest anytime a black person would sit next to her on a public bench or bus. So yeah. Having racist grandparents and great grandparents is the norm, not the exception.

“Ah yes, the totally unbelievable scenario of great masses of people willingly going to kill and die for a tyrannical regime, something which if it did occur would have been a total historical anomaly, with absolutely zero examples before or since.” Like??? Do these people hear themselves

As much as Johnny Reb is a comedic character, you can really feel that confused pain in his voice at 7:25 . I thought it was very poignant how he disappears right afterwards, so Andy is speaking directly to the audience.

4:10 "I know you don't want to hear this, but-" *an ad for Tyson's chicken nuggets plays.*

You need a period accurate U.S. flag.

I love how you address people’s comments and objections as well as making fun of the ignorance of their reasoning

My great grandfather fought in the Wehrmacht in WWII. He disappeared in Stalingrad, probably dying. But just because one of my ancestors fought for the Nazis doesn’t mean that I have to change my views on Nazis. I have decided to remember my great grandfather in the only way I reasonably can: a person who fought for the Nazis, probably committed at least a few war crimes, and someone who is a stain on my family tree. My suggestion is that the descendants of confederate soldiers do the same. To live in denial of the possible harm one of your ancestors did does nothing but legitimize their crimes, and increase the likelihood of history repeating itself. You must accept reality, or you will eventually be consumed by fantasy.

I’m from Maine and my family have been in New England for centuries. And I’m pretty sure my ancestors no matter how abolitionist were probably pretty bad people. Hell my great grandfather was in the klan! I can understand that he was a product of his time while also acknowledging I probably wouldn’t have loved to hang out with the guy

Crazy we’re on the finale now

The concept of a pious christian slave owner is so hard to defend, it’s insane how frequently the south holds to it.

Kind of hypocritical for the south to whine about Sherman when they're out there on the daily demanding the death of whatever new supposed threat they're crying about.

As a fellow Latino myself I would like to apologize for that person's naive and delusion comments.

I just don’t know how anyone at this point in history can side with the confederacy

2:35 is priceless. That's a hell of a "How dare you....."

We often want to see our ancestors as an extension of ourselves, but they were their own people. You think someone you never met shares your exact morals, meanwhile you cringe at thanksgiving when papaw says something demonstrably against your morals

As the video went the validity of the Confederate’s arguments dropped lower than Southern morale after Gettysburg

I live in Columbia SC. Sherman's name is dirt to this day. He intentionally BURNED THIS SHIT TO THE GROUND. AND I LOVE IT.

God I LOVE this dude I'm so glad I found this channel very informative and entertaining thank you for your hard work ❤️😊

"No it's not and I say that as a Latino" I loved it when he tried to not laugh

As my daughter is fond of saying "States' rights? Statesrightstodowhat?"