Let's focus on the ideology bit of the question, since we know that the Republican Party (or rather, a Republican President) issued the Emancipation Proclamation. So, who gets credit for ending slavery? [i]Why?[/i] [i]My[/i] answer? It doesn't -blam!-ing matter. At all. There is no point in trying to claim the "Ended Slavery" trophy for your ideological camp. What, exactly, does that trophy mean? Does it mean that anybody outside your camp supports (or sympathizes with) slavery? No. Does it mean that your camp is inherently more virtuous than another? Not necessarily. There's nothing to be gained from bickering over "which side" ended slavery. There is still a related argument that holds value, though. [i]Why is it important that we ended slavery?[/i] That's the question that should be answered. Some ideologues (Dinesh D'Souza and Mark Levin come to mind...) like to answer the question, "Who ended slavery in the U.S?" with, "[i]We[/i] did! The Republicans!" Worthless. They would be better off answering my question. We spend so much time bickering over the original question because we recognize that slavery is immoral. If you want to win points for your ideological camp, show that your ideas don't view slavery as morally permissible. We know it's wrong, so the winner is the group that rejects slavery on a principled basis. On a related note... "Fascism was right-wing!" "No, fascism was left-wing!" There's a fair bit of bickering over this, as well. Cross-apply my first point to this topic. Rather than trying to shift historical blame on another side, examine fascism and compare it to your principles. Why do we regard fascism as wrong? What, exactly, was wrong with it? Do my ideas reject the practices and principles that make fascism wrong, or are do they morally justify it? While I wouldn't mind discussing slavery and the morality (or lack thereof) behind it, I'd actually prefer to discuss fascism. Your thoughts on my points? Your thoughts on slavery? Your thoughts on fascism?