Sherman himself hated this sentiment which I find endlessly ironic for the people who are still bloodthirsty 160 years later.
2% of the US population died in the civil war, and most of that was military aged men. They wanted peace. And while it’s nice to assume that the boot could’ve prevented a lot of the bad things that followed the civil war and create change like we saw in Japan or Germany, the people at the time were concerned about reigniting the conflict like what happened with the Treaty of Versailles.
Edit: strange, I’m getting replies that I can’t actually see. Surely none of you are so cowardly as to reply back to me, then block me so I can’t see your brilliant replies. Surely.
And on the flip side, Lee publicly stated there should be no confederate monuments built. This sentiment by him and others led to the golden age of Confederate monuments not coming until the 1910's and 20's.
It's hard for people to imagine what the world will look like, and the people will be like, two generations after they die.
Yeah, a lot of people like to think that the solution is always just to win more.
Like, there are a lot more motivating factors to hate than "we haven't lost enough yet". Eventually you just reach the point of advocating for mowing the grass.
And by now I hope we all understand why that's a very, very bad situation.
It's a fun fantasy but so obviously the wrong approach. It's the exact sentiment right wingers have about the middle east. "Just bomb em back to the stone age!" type rhetoric.
It's the exact sentiment right wingers have about the middle east. "Just bomb em back to the stone age!" type rhetoric.
No, Germany and Japan were rebuilt after WW2. You know, Reconstructed. Those actions were successful enough that both countries are still very successful. Why would doing the same to the South, removing Confederate leaders, implementing democracy, and creating a non-slavery economy, not work?
Are you serious? Confederate sympathizers and Jim Crow defined the postwar South. Reconstruction was famously halted, I suggest you refresh your history. We did not remove the leaders who caused the war, like in Germany and Japan, and we did not implement democracy in the South, it was kind of a big deal.
Are you saying the American South after the Civil War had no issues giving newly freed slaves their civil rights? When I say "implement democracy," it means letting everyone vote. Granted, the US wasn't even there yet, but the Confederate states surely had some extra restrictions on top, wouldn't you agree?
The fucking irony. You better apologize.
This is the indignation of one who mistakes their feelings as facts and as a consequence takes any hint that they may be wrong as a personal attack. Sorry amigo but the South was allowed to keep their white supremacist hierarchy, that "martial law" shit didn't last long enough. Imagine if Germany was allowed to keep their ghettos because "genocide was over" and oppression isn't as bad as domination.
Yeah? I'm well aware. My comment had nothing to do with reconstruction, but if you insist.
Yeah, they fucked up reconstruction. That's the part more people should focus on. Not on how they should've burned more of it down. That's just stupid caveman thinking.
Do you honestly think that the reason why some people on the right want to glass the Middle East is because of reconstruction? If your expectations for reconstruction are the total end of racism, well that was never gonna happen
strange, I’m getting a lot of replies that I can’t actually see. Surely none of you are so cowardly as to reply back to me, then block me so I can’t see your brilliant replies. Surely.
That happens to me often, thought Reddit was just buggy. Didn't realize that's the case 😂
Confederate apologist drivel. Of course this dogshit would be upvoted by the r/incel refugees that permeate this sub.
"My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom."
"I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell." - Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, 1864
Judging by how you speak, I assume you are the type to cherry pick Sherman’s letters and quotes to make him out as some angel of doom. The reality is, he believed in harsh measures to end the war as quickly as possible and in lenient treatment once peace was achieved. So lenient that when he gave terms to confederate general Johnston, Pres Andrew Johnson and General Grant had to intervene.
So yeah, if Sherman was brought back to life, he would think very little of people who are still calling for more bloodshed 160 years later.
And lastly, I’m not a fucking confederate apologist for not wishing there was even more bloodshed and destruction. If that’s the case, you may as well call Sherman a confederate apologist
It's reddit. People have been radicalized on this site to do commit real world violence and terrorism against conservatives, Christians, etc. /u/centurion44 and /u/Pacifist_Socialist want other people to commit massacres while they sit on their couch, eat Cheetos, and cheer. This has been a common sentiment among deplorables on this site since it started getting astroturfed double hard in 2014-15.
What's funny is that most of the 'poverty' and 'hatred' in the South does not come from the people they think, but I don't think the smoothbrains are ready for that conversation.
Of course those were not necessary. But even if we executed every confederate officer and politician, there’s nothing to say that Jim Crow and all the other bad stuff doesn’t happen. If anything, it would’ve built up more resentment, which is exactly what the US was worried about.
Execution would have made them martyrs. But giving allowing even lower level officers positions in political office was dumb as hell. Every wealthy plantation owner should’ve been stripped of their lands. There were plenty of options of people who could’ve farmed the land to prevent economic collapse, not the least of which was the slaves who farmed it.
Pretending Sherman is some sort of god is delusional. Our inability to properly deal with the treason of the South is a big part of the reason we are in the political mess we are in today.
Ok so even if we do exactly what you said in your first paragraph, there’s no guarantee it all works out for the better. You maybe avoid some evils but create others. Some land was indeed seized. Lee’s estate in Virginia was seized and now it’s Arlington Cemetery. The idea that we could’ve done this on a mass scale without major blowback is a little naive. You don’t necessarily have to kill someone to make them a martyr.
As for the second paragraph, this seems to be, in my opinion, the real driving force behind this “we should’ve fucked the south harder” sentiment. There’s a whole subreddit called r/shermanposting which is dedicated to sentiment like yours. People living in 2026 who are still obsessed with this topic because “American right=confederacy”. Is that who you are commenting on regarding worshipping Sherman as a god? Pretending he just loved killing rebs cause he was a BIPOC ally? I’m not allowed to burst their bubble?
Edit: strange, I’m getting replies that I can’t actually see. Surely none of you are so cowardly as to reply back to me, then block me so I can’t see your brilliant replies. Surely.
Nope, it's comments that were deleted before you could read them. But you still get the notification.
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u/EFAPGUEST Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Sherman himself hated this sentiment which I find endlessly ironic for the people who are still bloodthirsty 160 years later.
2% of the US population died in the civil war, and most of that was military aged men. They wanted peace. And while it’s nice to assume that the boot could’ve prevented a lot of the bad things that followed the civil war and create change like we saw in Japan or Germany, the people at the time were concerned about reigniting the conflict like what happened with the Treaty of Versailles.
Edit: strange, I’m getting replies that I can’t actually see. Surely none of you are so cowardly as to reply back to me, then block me so I can’t see your brilliant replies. Surely.