MovieChat Forums > The Civil War (1990) Discussion > Liberal Propaganda.

Liberal Propaganda.

posted 14 years ago by Scotreb01
44 replies | jump to latest

I expected so much from this series but it was ruined by the maker's liberal viewpoint.
If anyone doubted which side Burns was on this made up your mind along with his comments on the Gettysburg dvd.
Why was that awful dirge "Battle Cry of Freedom" continually played in the background?
Quotes were taken out of context,particularly where Sherman was concerned.
Anyone who hadn't read up on Sherman would believe he was almost an abolitionist after viewing this,which couldn't be further from the truth.
Lincoln's views on slavery were never scrutinised for the simple reason that he would have been exposed as the hypocrite he was.
"My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or 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."(1862)
In conclusion,a nasty, biased piece of work.

[–] enriquepollazzo 13 years ago

You ninconpoop. This doc states many many times Lincoln's reservations about abolishing slavery. Your quote you cherry pick to argue your case is featured prominently in the film.

Burns probably is liberal but you cant tell from watching the film.

[–] JacquesStrappe 13 years ago

Biased liberal propoganda? Interesting choice of words, but I won't debate your opinion, for I suspect it will do little to change anyone's mind.

A quote is a quote. It is the reader who will take it out of context, particularly if it shows someone or something in a bad light.

[–] enneagram4 13 years ago

Polish up your boots, it's reenactment season! After reading some of these posts, I'm thinking perhaps the people still waving confederate clags should NOT be a part of the US. It's 2011, move to West Virginia & stop breeding-

[–] Yorke71 13 years ago

For anyone who's interested, the libertarian magazine Reason has an excellent article discussing the causes of the Civil War here:

http://reason.com/archives/2001/08/01/southern-nationalism

As libertarians you would expect them to be sympathetic to the notion of State's rights, but they clearly come down on the side of slavery as the overriding factor in causing the southern states to secede.

[–] james-1609 8 years ago

My main beef in the program relates to the Lincoln quote in the OP.

Basically, Lincoln was no Saint. My beef is 6 minutes into the program, Burns called Lincoln the greatest president ever.

It is a Lincoln haliography. If Burns would have laid out some of those nasty Lincoln quotes which made him to be not such a Saint afterall, it would be fair enough.

The northerners wanted their tax money from the south. Now I am not saying that the South was right with slavery, cause they were not. However...a good documentary would paint a bit more of a nuanced picture of what the Northerns true motivations were.

In other words, call the South what you want, but don't act it was all about slavery for the north. It was about money.

[–] indy_go_blue44 12 years ago

IMO a reasonable question raised in this documentary and other docs/books/articles/etc. is: Without slavery, would the other fundamental dividing issues (such as manufacturing vs agriculture, protective tariffs, etc.) have caused the South to secede from the union and have led to civil war or, paraphrasing Shelby Foote that the American strength has been their genius at compromise, would they have found a way to work around the issues?

IMO, no, they would have found a way to work them out, and the radical changes in manufacturing from the mid-19th century on would have modernized agriculture within the next 50 years so that the other questions would have become moot.

[–] jaynekranc 12 years ago

My youngest daughter is watching the series in preparation for taking US History in high school next year and I'm watching it with her. We are only up to episode VII but I just don't see that.

I'd like someone's opinion on who could have done it any better. It would be interesting to see someone else try. I'd especially welcome a series this detailed on Sherman.

As for the music, nothing says "Civil War" more than the Battle Cry of Freedom or Dixie. Both songs immediately call the conflict to mind.

[–] andyorwig (56) 5 years ago

Amazing that even something as monumental as this amazing doc could be construed as being 'liberal' or even 'propaganda' at that. Not everything that you seem to have no knowledge of but don't want to acknowledge or may change a belief isn't 'liberal'.

Maybe this will help you: "Denial of actual facts isn't a policy"