1/24/2011
CIVIL WAR HISTORY: AN APPEAL TO REASON
There is no time to derail our American conversation with squabbles about the Civil War. This article is an appeal to all Americans of good-will. The spark of interest or motivation on the part of this writer was generated by E.J. Dionne’s recent article, “Let’s not spin the Civil War.” Published in The Washington Post and fed to other papers. Mr. Dionne is concerned that recent events in the South such as, “Secession Balls” could lead to a misreading of the main cause of the war, slavery. I read it with intent interest, much agreement with his point of view and a great deal of concern. My concern stems from the deterioration of our civic dialogue and the recent horrific events in Arizona which many seem to feel may have been sparked by the constant flow of negative commentary. Or, was a disturbed young man ignored amidst the noise of our modern Babel? Probably both. The hostile rhetoric of today is eerily similar to that prior to the Civil War. As we know the actual shooting war began on April 12th, 1861 in Charleston, SC and the generally agreed upon end of the fighting (expect for sporadic clashes in the West and at sea) occurred at Appomattox Court House, VA on April 9th, 1865 when Robert E. Lee agreed to surrender the Army of Northern to General Ulysses S. Grant the commander of the Union armies. This was followed by the controversial years of Reconstruction an era that was ended by the disputed election of 1876. So, we have many anniversaries to contemplate and dispute that will take us all the way to 2026. By that I mean that these divisive issues or arguments will arise again with remembrance of every major battle, the birth and death of every famous politician from either side (the same goes for the important generals) and mention of the career or fate of notable African-American figures from the times.
My purpose is equivalent to Dionne’s. I seek a healing of our nation, a rational conversation about the war, to honor those who fought by resolving the persistent problem or racism in America and moving forward as one people. My fear is that this may be impossible due to fractured and bitter state of our politics. This schism is actually an old ongoing one. The Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson started arguing about the nature and direction of the country as early as the presidency of George Washington. The one moderate Founder who seemed disinterested in ideology and enjoyed politics for the sake of the game, Aaron Burr was attacked by both sides and eventually driven from power in relative disgrace. The terms, “Democrat” and “Republican” have changed meaning over the years but similar arguments prevail…..state’s rights, big government vs. small government and what to do about racism whether subtle or overt continue. The Constitution (with its...” 3/5th of all other persons.” clause), The Northwest Ordinance, the Compromises of 1820 and 1850 were all essentially procrastinations meant to postpone the inevitable reckoning. Therefore; I will take the risk of attempting to illustrate the point of view of the three major groups involved, the North, the South and the African-America slaves along with comments about Reconstruction. There may be digressions because History is complex meaning that we cannot talk about one aspect of the Civil War without alluding to others. My section regarding the South is not meant to be a defense of the questionable aspects of that cause but is offered because that subject seems to me to be the biggest area of controversy. Of course; there is no explanation for human bondage that any rational, good or enlightened person could possible justify. We do need to remember what a gigantic disaster this war was. The over 600,000 killed represents about 2% of the total population of around 30,000,000. When we add the wounded, the refugees, people driven to bankruptcy, the physical destruction of the South and the expenditure of treasure we can see that no one or no family was left untouched by this catastrophe.
The North: It is a very good thing that the Union won the Civil War. To imagine a divided nation with a slave-holding or at best very conservative South is the delight of historical-fiction writers but the slightest consideration reveals a potential historical nightmare. No need to speculate further here….the reader should get my point when thinking about the great events of the 20th Century.
During the first years of the war the Union troops had a terrible time. They were led by mostly mediocre generals, suffered many defeats and were poorly supplied with inferior equipment by corrupt contractors. Yet, they were stoic, they endured and eventually after immense sacrifices (the North had over 100,000 more killed than the South) won the war.
President Abraham Lincoln was a very great, spiritual and sad man. He had to deal with an ambitious cabinet, a fairly crazy wife, politics, recalcitrant generals, winning the war, winning the peace and ending slavery. Lincoln lost a one of his children during the war as did Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president. He was deeply depressed by the slaughter yet made the difficult decision to wage a, “hard” war or to pummel the South to the point where further resistance would be pointless. Yet, he was also willing to engage in a, “soft” magnanimous policy in terms of bringing the South back into the fold. His assassination by John Wilkes Booth was the worst thing that could have happened to the South, the slaves and the country in general. While the North did prosper during the war while continuing to expand West it was very difficult to forget the causalities something that subsequent Northern leaders used to their political advantage. Anyone who has been to a Civil War battlefield can almost feel the devotion (from both sides) rising from the once blood soaked ground. Let us honor Mr. Lincoln and the soldiers in blue by understanding the whole.
The South: Slavery is an abominable institution; it is nothing new in history or peculiar to the Americas and continues internationally to this day mostly in terms of sexual exploitation. The servitude of black people in the South did not magically spring into existence in the colonial, early 1600’s. Slavery did become institutionalized, economically inefficient but permanent in the South and once under attack (in part due to liberal idealism released by the American Revolution) became rationalized in ways that seem bizarre today. However; it is generally true in History that we should not judge people from other times by our own 21st Century assumptions. How will we be judged by future generations for our current and multiple follies?
The Confederacy fought hard and won many spectacular victories usually against long odds. Rebel soldiers were badly undernourished, often shoeless and operated with creaky equipment (unless imported through the Northern blockade or captured from the Yankees). Their morale was generally high (often buoyant) and they tended to comport themselves well when they were in Northern or neutral states. There are exceptions to this such as Quantrill’s raiders and Gen. Early’s burning of Chambersburg, PA. In contrast, it was a clear policy of the North to destroy the infrastructure of the South. Railroads were wrecked, crops destroyed, bridges, cities, cotton and anything useful to the Confederate war effort was burned. This accounts for lingering bitter sentiments in the South and much of the, “Lost Cause” mentality.
I agree; slavery was the cause of the war far beyond the state’s right argument. As Dionne pointed out some very outrageous things about black people and slavery were said at the beginning of the conflict by Southerners. However; amidst the carnage and mounting losses some Confederate leaders began to reconsider their positions including Gen. Patrick Cleburne, Lee and even Jefferson Davis. The idea was to free those slaves who fought for the South. The question became was it worth losing the war (independence) to keep their slaves? Confederate Vice-President Stephens said that, “The Confederacy died of a theory.” meaning slavery. If someone like Stonewall Jackson gave money to black churches or orphanages it still cannot excuse the entire system of bondage. However; it is worth noting that most all Rebel troops were courageous and many individual Confederate leaders had some admirable qualities. In addition; the Rebels had one prescient point; the Federal government is indeed massive, the marriage of mostly Republican politicians and big business did lead to the, “military industrial complex” that Eisenhower warned us of. He must have had some interesting private thoughts while walking the field of Gettysburg in retirement.
The African-American slaves: It would be the height of hypocrisy for any group who are not descended from African-American slaves to claim that they have any real understanding of the psychic pain and deep humiliation of such a historical consciousness. The slavery under discussion here began when mostly Islamic African tribes began selling people (from other tribes) to the sea-going, expanding, exploring European nations. Once established in the New World the horrors of human bondage were unleashed upon innocent peoples. The terrible voyages on the slave-ships, the disorientating new landscape, the whip and lash, the harrowing imprisonments, the innovative forms of restraint with iron implements, to be bought and sold, to have one’s family broken up, the endless labor and finally to be hunted down by dogs and men if escape was attempted this all represents a betrayal of our own revolutionary ideals to say the very least. Yet through all of this, the African-American slaves survived, retained a vibrant culture and kept their dignity.
This had to end and it did in a fashion at enormous cost. Today we celebrate heroes like Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King and Fredrick Douglass while enjoying the music of Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and the many contributions of others while often engaging in a collective memory lapse regarding the tremendous struggle that black men and women had to undergo in order to accomplish anything in life. The nobility of the civil rights movement is to be honored and remembered because it is an ongoing struggle. There is no race, group or nation in all of History that has not been conquered, repressed or slaughtered by another. Whenever one group represses another for any reason it becomes a matter of human rights, thus immorality to be opposed by the just.
Reconstruction: All of this being said we come to Reconstruction. The South was divided into ten military districts and occupied by Union troops meaning that until they came into line (regarding the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to simply here) the Southern states were basically abolished. The North sent many people who did good deeds and organizations such as the Freedman’s Bureau to help uplift the former slaves. Black people were protected for a time from the worst abuses of their former masters. Nevertheless, things did happen that continue to fuel the ill feelings and debate of today. Carpetbaggers and other sorts who were basically scam artists entered the South in search of profit. African-Americans were elevated to public office much to the annoyance of many whites because some of them were unprepared (hardly a surprise if shortly prior they were slaves). This in turn led to various forms of vengeance (the KKK) and legalized separation (black codes, Jim Crow laws and segregation). Reconstruction ended with the closely contested Election of 1876 a dubious exercise in Electoral College democracy as controversial as those of 1800 and 2000. Basically; Union troops were withdrawn from the South to satisfy the Democrats while the presidency remained in the hand of the Republicans. Black people were the real losers here as segregation became institutionalized. It is rather amazing to recall that this situation was not really addressed until the time of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson along with some vital Supreme Court decisions a distressing one hundred years later.
In conclusion; I see a sort of a line here when considering, “spinning” the Civil War. The line is the difference between being proud of one’s ethnic background or culture and actually harboring racist feelings of superiority over others. Personally I do not object if a Southerner wishes to celebrate his or her heritage by various sorts of re-enactments and other cultural activities. In a perfect world this should not bother us more than focusing on any aspect of American History. When these events become a cloak for racism then we face a divisive, destructive danger. (Note: I find it rather ironic that the most commonly seen Confederate flag, the “Southern Cross” is actually the flag of the CSA Navy.) In a back-handed way this indicates what is really needed. That solution would be a deeper understanding of our own history including the symbols. This necessarily implies the ability to look at all sides of the argument and the story from the points of view of all involved in the Civil War in order to make informed judgments. I see little point in screaming at each other from the politically correct left or the reactionary right. This serves only as a distraction or heated rhetoric that leads to misinformed hatred and an inability to heal these ancient wounds.
For all their differences The Founders, the Union and Confederate soldiers would be shocked if they knew the condition of America today. We are all human; we have chances, we make mistakes and hopefully do our best. The human genome project showed us that we are all something around 99% the same regardless of race. The cynic can point to Martin Luther King’s peccadilloes yet what a brave, fantastic and good man he was. It was his birthday recently and I share the dream with guarded optimism. Robert E. Lee was a good man yet what havoc he wreaked with his aggressive tactics in his personal quest for honor and nobility (Lee just had a birthday too). Abraham Lincoln shares greatness as well as he evolved as human being from a political ambivalence about slavery to becoming the leader determined to end it. The question arises; was he successful?
To put a hard, satirical point on it slavery still exists today except that we call it things like, “minimum wage”, “below the poverty line”, “falling through the cracks” (of the almost impossible to navigate public assistance system), “too big to fail” (favoring the great corporations and banks over the people), massive student loan debt that will plague many people their entire lives (many countries such as Germany actually pay grad. students to go to college) and perhaps worst of all the concept of, “at will employment” which invariably favors the employer over the employee. As the historian Barbara Tuchman put it, “….folly is the pursuit of policy contrary to the self interest of the state or constituency involved.” Human folly is alive and well in many forms. We might note a seemingly permanent state of war in the Middle East. The United States and the individual states stumble on in constant financial deficit. We continue to pollute the environment in spite of many alarming warnings while practicing the greedy habit of over-consumption. The buying and selling of, “toxic assets” or “derivative” (bets) is a clear cause of the foreclosure crisis. Racism represents another form of human folly. I believe that racism is largely learned, that it is not inherent in the human species. George Washington and the other Founders wanted America to be the blessed nation whose purpose was to bring the light of freedom and uplifting amelioration to the rest of humanity. This means that we should stand together as a country and accept the fact that we are diverse in terms of race and culture. We can hardly do so if we spend our precious time in a declining economy while facing a dangerous world re-fighting the Civil War with words. To do otherwise is to dishonor the fallen Confederate and Union troops, the slaves and ourselves. William James spoke of, “The Moral Equivalent of War” meaning that it is the citizen’s duty to show courage and act for the greater good. The Civil War is in our hearts….the center must not give way in our civilization…..let us open our hearts.
Keith Keller
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