Sumter has been fired upon:We""ve borne enough insults from the meddling Yankees.It""s time we made them understand we""ll keep our slaves with or without their approval.""Twas the sovereign right of the state of Georgia to secede from the Union! [January 19, 1861]...The South must assert herself by force of arms.After we""ve fired on he Yankee rascals at Ft.Sumter [April 12, 1861], we""ve got to fight! There""s no other way.Excited and patriotic southerners boastfully predict a quick victory, led by Gerald O""Hara: "The Yankees can""t fight and we can!" Ashley attempts to cool off the room full of Southern hotheads, hoping that the North will let the South leave the Union without war: "Most of the miseries of the world were caused by wars.[Patriotic symbols and images abound throughout the film, often juxtaposed with contradictory, ironic meanings.He was to try and infiltrate, by stripping naked, into one of the cages where unclothed apes were being brought in: "The only safe hiding place for you is among your own kind.Many actors were considered for the lead role: James Caan, Sylvester Stallone, Warren Beatty, Nick Nolte, Jon Voight, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, even Olympic star Bruce Jenner.