1. And ye shall hear of
wars and rumours
of wars: see that ye
be not troubled: for
all these things
must come to pass,
but the end is not
yet.
(Matthew 21: 9)
2. Is there an Alternative to War
• And he shall judge among the nations, and
shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears
into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more.
• (23 – Isaiah 2: 4)
3. In “THE ALTERNATIVE,” author,
George McNeish, takes a look
at one war and asks, “Could
there have been an
Alternative?
The American
Civil War, 1861 –
1865, was the most
devastating war the USA ever
fought in. Could it have been
avoided? “THE ALTERNATIVE”
explores a possibility
4. April 12, 1861
Four Years of
destruction,
death,
devastation
and misery
April 9, 1865
5. By George McNeish
is a fictional history
that is designed to be
more believable than
the TRUTH!
6. by George McNeish
• Truth is stranger than fiction. This book isn’t
written to express a strange alternate to
reality, but it is to make more sense than the
reality of the Civil War. It is hoped that this
book will be more believable than imagining
that the citizens of one country could cause
more damage to themselves than any outside
enemy could inflict on them.
7. • The USA was its own worst enemy.
• The Civil War caused more American
casualties than any other war the USA fought
in.
• In fact the cumulative total of American lives
lost in all wars up until the Vietnam War
would not reach the total of lives lost in the
Civil War.
by George McNeish
8. by George McNeish
• When studying these facts, the author began
to wonder if there was not an alternative to
such destruction.
• By exploring other possibilities we can not
change the course of history, but it will give us
something to think about next time we
consider killing one another.
9. by George McNeish
• What if just one person did things differently?
• What if one man with the support of a faithful
wife and a good friend decided to do
something about injustice before it got out of
hand?
10. by George McNeish
• Bobby Johnson was an ordinary slave owner’s
son, but he made friends with his father’s
slaves and did not know why they should be
treated differently.
• Slaves were considered ignorant and not able
to learn, but one of Mr. Johnson’s slaves
became Bobby’s best friend. Bobby recognized
Samson’s intelligence. Samson was weak in
body, but strong in mind however the
southern slave laws said that this mind must
not be developed.
11. by George McNeish
• Bobby didn’t understand the teachings of the
pro slavery preachers. He wanted to go to a
northern university away from their influence
to study the Christian veiw.
• He took Samson with him and Samson got
what would have been denied him in the
South. He got an education.
12. by George McNeish
• Bobby decided that Slavery was wrong. He would
take over his father’s plantation one day but how
would he operate without slaves? He didn’t
know, but he thought it must be God’s will, so
God would make a way.
• Samson figured it all out. Not only would Bobby
operate slave free, but he would increase his
profits by doing it. Then other plantations would
see the economic advantages and free their
slaves.
13. • As Bobby pained over his slave free plans he
was also dealing with a rocky romance. He
was on an emotional roller coaster ride as he
got to know Ruthie Lancer who had a very
different life from himself.
• Ruthie’s best friend was Krissy who was one of
her father’s slaves. When Bobby finally
proposed to Ruthie, Samson also asked Krissy
to marry him.
by George McNeish
14. • As best friends they decided to have a double
wedding. Finding a preacher who would marry
a black couple along with a white couple in
slave territory seemed impossible.
• However, a proslavery preacher had an
encounter with a stubborn mule and had a
change of heart.
by George McNeish
15. • Together, the happy foursome went on to
solve a problem that would have led to war.
The evils of the slavery system were exposed
and Bobby often wondered if God would
demand a more sever retribution for such an
evil. However he persevered and raced against
time to change the thinking of the South
before this evil system could cause a
devastating war.
by George McNeish
16. • Using fiction, the author brought out many
evil situations that very likely happened.
• Self breeding was one of the benefits that
slavery brought to the slave masters.
• THE ALTERNATIVE explored how this may have
affected the slave owner’s daughter when she
found out her father got her best friend
pregnant.
by George McNeish
17. • THE ALTERNATIVE was designed to make you
think. Although it is a novel filled with
mystery, romance and humor, it will make one
wonder if there could be a better way.
• Society, as we know it, is competitive in
nature. Some win and some lose. The prize is
the almighty dollar.
• In slavery we saw competition brought to an
extreme were the losers had no chance of
ever winning.
by George McNeish
18. • If a cooperative system could have made
things better then, perhaps we can do better
now if we learn to cooperate instead of
compete.
• Although it is not wrong to compete it must
not be allowed to go to extremes. If those on
the losing end are unable to contribute to
society, they will become a burden to it and
drag it down.
by George McNeish
19. • We all do much better when we assure each
other of a fair share of the opportunities.
When everyone works, none of us has to work
as hard.
• When we care about each other, we will
develop food that is healthy and products that
last, resulting in lower health care costs and
fewer garbage dumps.
by George McNeish
20. • The book ends with this thought:
• “Not until they realize that these practices are
not only hurting their victims but are holding
back all of society, including themselves, will they
have a change of heart. Once one experiences
the joy of cooperation and helping others
succeed, he will never again resort to greed.”
• To find out how we got there, order a copy of THE
ALTERNATIVE today. http://alternative.9li.ca
by George McNeish
21. • THE ALTERNATIVE is now available to order
anywhere in the world.
• Web site: http://alternative.9li.ca
by George McNeish