I'm a Southerner (that would be Southron, using Confederate orthology, but I don't want to confuse any blog readers who reside north of the Mason-Dixon line). I'm a Southerner, not because of my geographic location, but because of the cause for which the Confederate States of America fought—the right of the individual states to govern themselves according to the various rights granted them in the United States Constitution.
"To the victor go the spoils," is the phase that describes the truth that those who win the wars afterwards write the history books. So all those who learned their history from history books have trouble wrapping their minds around the absolute fact that by the time the War began, the South had overwhelmingly rejected the institution of slavery. All of the Confederate States had already placed into law the end of the slave trade in their state. All but one of them had put a date on the total abolition of slavery within their state, most with grandfather clauses and other measures intended to ease the transition to non-slave economy.
depicts Robert E. Lee and
"Stonewall" Jackson at
First Baptist Church,
Federicksburg, Virginia
The War Between the States was not fought over slavery. Slavery was the final issue over which the North attempted to thwart the provisions of the U.S. constitution by forcing their will upon the states to the south—a particularly egregious attack on the Constitution because some of the northern states still approved of slavery and the slave trade within their own borders.
But don't take my opinion as fact—or the opinion of the history books that were written by those who fought an illegal war against their own nation. Take primary documents—documents written at the time that have not had the benefit of rewriting in an attempt to make palatable the sins of the victor.
The following quote was written by Confederate General Robert E. Lee in a letter to his wife, sent on December 27, 1856—a full five years before the outbreak of the War.
Slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any country.... I think, however, a greater evil to the white than to the black race.
The doctrines and miracles of our Saviour have required nearly two thousand years to convert but a small part of the human race, and even among the Christian nations what gross errors still exist!
The Story of Robert E. Lee, as told in his own words and those of his contemporaries (Washington, D.C.: Colortone Press, 1964), Ralston B. Lattimore, ed., pp. 22-23; The Rewriting of America's History (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon House Publishers, 1991), p. 184
Oh dear, I am afraid my thoughts on this issue are completely opposite yours. May I recommend an excellent book, "What this Cruel War Is Over" by Chadnra Manning? It might surprise you. There are many other sources, of course, but I recently reviewed this book and found it very well done. Peggy
ReplyDeletePeggy - Thank you for this recommendation. Unfortunately, I don't tend to have much interest in historian's viewpoints. It is much too easy to rewrite history. So if the book was written, as this one by Chadnra Manning was, after the deaths of all those who lived through the time in question, it is likely to be motivated purely by an agenda. This applies to my comments about the War as well. I do have an agenda. I will, however, accept your recommendation and see if I can find this book and read it. I'll try to write a review of it here if I get the chance (I have a ton of reading on my 'to-read' list already).
ReplyDeleteSo my best recommendation is that you dig up the primary documents yourself and do your own study. I would recommend the book "The Blue and the Gray - Two Volumes in One - The story of the Civil War as told by the participants" (Fairfax Press - Henry Steel Commager, Ed.) This is a complete book of just primary documents, no editorial comment or opinion.
The simple and compelling fact in my mind is that if the Commanding Officer of the Confederate forces did not see slavery as the motivating issue of the War, it was not fought over slavery. It really doesn't matter what most of the other people thought. The two people who matter in this are Jefferson Davis (president and commander-in-chief) and Robert E. Lee (commanding officer). And both of them repudiated slavery vocally.
I would also recommend the outstanding primary document in book form "A Defense of Virginia and the South," written by R.L. Dabney, 1860s era editor of the Richmond Times and General T.J. Jackson's chaplain.
Another very good history book, originally published in 1866 - making it a primary document in spite of the fact that it is a history book, is "Southern History of the War," Edward A. Pollard (The Fairfax Press).
I actually own a signed copy of R. L. Dabney's "A Defense of Virginia and the South" and a signed copy of "Southern History of the War."
Hi Richard,
ReplyDeleteI just read your comments about dressing modestly on Mrs. Wilt's blog and I wanted to tell you that I agree with you and I really liked the way you gently, lovingly said the things you said.
I get down when Christian women take on these silly arguments. To me it just tears everyone down and causes dissension. I think we should be building each other up and encouraging one another in the Lord.
I do feel that dressing modestly is very important and I do. But I also dress very fashionable and I try to look cute (and yes sexy sometimes) for my husband. I have four sons and no daughters. My husband and I have raised our boys to be very modest and to not look at girls as though they were meat or something to own. My boys do not like it when girls show too much skin, they have told me they don't think it is appropriate. If I had daughters, I would let them dress fashionable, but we would have rules about how short a skirt was and not showing the midriff etc.
It is all such a matter of style. My husband would NOT be happy if I wore the long, long dresses with no shape and had no make-up on, I need to honor my hubby!
Sorry to go on and on like that, I just enjoyed your comments and wanted to thank you!
Sharon
Sharon - thank you for your comment. I should probably write something about modesty from a biblical perspective so those who want to communicate or argue this point with me have a forum to do so.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the importance of teaching boys to look at women with respect. I was raised this way and when I notice that a woman is attractive, I am not thinking about sex. If a man (or boy) has the inclination to look at a woman as a sex object, her manner of dress is not likely to turn his thoughts to another target.
When these Christian blogs deal with topics such as modesty, they often show a slavish fundamentalist perspective that is simply a reaction to society in general. It seems to have very little to do with biblical concepts or a desire to follow Christ. See I'm better than you, my post from March 11. Interestingly enough, written two days prior to this whole modesty bruhaha.
I think you have a solid and biblical perspective on the modesty issue. My wife is very attractive and, when appropriate, she also dresses sexy (for me). I am proud of her and I am pleased when other men notice my wife's attractiveness. She never shows an attitude that would encourage men to flirt with her or to think that they would have a chance to have an affair with her. But it is good that they see how attractive she is (and it makes me look good because, hey -- she's with me!).
Thanks for stopping by. And check out my wife's blog if you get the chance. I think the two of you may have quite a bit in common.
Peggy - Do you happen to review books for the Freelance Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia?
ReplyDeleteYes, I do. If you look at my topics, you can tell that history is a love of mine. Peggy
ReplyDeleteHow would I find your topics, Peggy? I looked at freelancestar.com but couldn't manage to navigate to your reviews. I put two and two together to guess at your place of employment. You commented on another blog that you were from Fredericksburg. And I just got the impression that your comment on doing a review of a book was on a professional level. So I guessed.
ReplyDeleteWe lived for many years in South Stafford and spent lots and lots of free time in Fredericksburg. We've always loved Fredericksburg and are sad that Washington seems to be encroaching rapidly.
I'd love to read your book reviews. Send me a link. Thanks.
Richard, Our website is difficult to navigate, but it think if you past in this link you will get at least some of my book reviews. If it doesn't work, got to Fredericksburg.com and click on archives, then type in Peggy Carlson and book, and make sure that you search the entire data base, and hopefully that will lead you to them. I am working on a review now about the new edition of letters of John and Abigail Adams, and my next project is what appears to be an excellent biography of President Polk. I am blessed to have the chance to read and review some grand books. I just need to manage my time better and read more! Peggy
ReplyDeletehttp://fredericksburg.com/ArchiveCatalog/checkrep?CreationDate:int=20010209&CreationDate:int=20080314&CreationDate_usage=range:min:max&sort_on=CreationDate&sort_order=reverse&PrincipiaSearchSource=peggy%20carlson%20and%20book
Richard,
ReplyDeleteI greatly appreicate this tiny treatise on the South. Though we were both raised in PA, my husband attended Virginia Tech as an undergrad and studied under Robinson (one of the gentlemen who offer commentary on the DVD of Gods and Generals -- a good place to start to learn a balanced view of the Southern Cause). My husband was proud to be declared a "fully domesticated Southerner" before graduating from VT.
My first introduction to the Southern side of things came about when we married and lived in Louisiana and heard the Battle Hymn of the Republic played when the Shreveport radio station went off the air. My husband thought that this was an odd and offensive choice because of Southern history. We are conveniently taught selective history in the North, even though men like Lee opposed slavery as you so graciously point out here in this blog post.
I've since learned about how wonderful Robert E. Lee was, and my husband was honored to attend his church while in school at MCV in Richmond. At the time, I didn't understand the significance.
Anyway, I was moved by your post here and am encouraged. There are many who are very ignorant of the history, just as I once was. For the Yankee, we are taught that this was an issue of slavery entirely. Some are taught to hate our very human brethren like Lee with whom, by God's grace, we will spend eternity. Then there are those who are taught to hate Lincoln and those who admire the good that he did, also encouraged to forget the good that came out of a very messy period in American history.
One can love the South and the history and not be a racist or a kinist or a lover of slavery. And one can be both Yankee and rebel at the same time.
Anyway, I was blessed by your writing, as was my husband who asked me to copy the post and send to him in email.
Sincerely,
Cindy Kunsman
(Proud wife of Gary, Highty Tighties Drum Major, VT, 1981)
Cindy - I'm so glad you visited my blog and appreciated this post. My wife was born and raised in Tennessee and many of her relatives have the middle name "Lee," after Robert E. Lee.
ReplyDeleteI was born a little north of Bangor, Maine. My father was from Michigan and my mother from New York. When my father was called to pastor a church in Virginia, he began to research the history to prepare himself for the issues he might have to deal with. He located an autographed copy of R.L. Dabney's A Defense of Virginia and the South in a used bookstore and paid less than a dollar for it. It is now in my possession.
I began to learn the true history of the south under the teaching of a Scotsman in a northern Bible college (Baptist Bible College near Scranton, PA). This teacher, Dr. Rembert Carter, told us that we should reject much of what we read in history books and should rely on primary documents instead. In order to make his point, he had all of us read many primary documents from the time of the War Between the States. By the end of the semester almost the entire class had come down on the side of the South. I was the only southernor in that class, most of the students coming from the northeast. It's a fascinating period to study.
For my part, I respect much of what Abraham Lincoln did. But I think most conservatives would have a great problem with some of what he did were he a current president. He violated the US constitution many times and used the military to invade his own nation in one of his violations of the consitution. Nevertheless, I think he was a good president and a Christian man.
As a note of interest, my son is black. I have no tender spot in my heart for bigots and I think slavery was a great evil. My son has been taught all the accepted history and has questioned us at times about the confederate flag. But he particularly likes the large painting of Robert E. Lee that hangs in my study. He also loves visiting Stratford Hall, Robert E. Lee's birthplace.
Richard,
ReplyDeleteYour response has been a wonderful blessing.
I think that Lincoln was faced with some no-win situations, and I thought about him often when I watched footage about Gerald Ford this year (another Michigan man --where I now make my home).
For what it's worth, I learned in high school, in the Accelerated Christian Education curriculm, that Lincoln started out his presidency as an athiest, even holding a seance in the White House all during that transendentalism of the day that the South was rightly concerned about. I also recall that they taught that Lincoln converted to Christianity before his death.
I've read conflicting information that states that Lincoln was an athiest up until the day of his assasination, but I will happily look forward to meeting him in glory one day. You too.
Cindy - Maybe I need to revisit this topic on my blog so we can cover these things further.
ReplyDeleteBTW - I also was an ACE victim
:^)
I attended a high school in New York for one year that used the ACE curriculum in its higher grades. I'm afraid I took advantage of them once I learned the system and didn't learn a whole lot. I ended up having to take an additional semester to meet the requirements of Virginia state educational law since we returned to VA before I graduated. Fun!
I have heard both arguments about Lincoln as well. I have also read some terrible statements that he made against Christianity early in his presidency. He eventually made statements that were defenses (spin on) his earlier statements. I believe he made these adjustments in order to win the election.
His wife was deeply into voodoo and such things and he allowed seances in the white house as well as fortune telling and astrological readings, however, I have not ever seen any indication that he was involved in these.
Toward the end of his life, he made statements that I think indicate a changed heart in regards to Jesus Christ. I don't know if that rises to the level of his turning to Christ as his Savior, but I am hopeful that he did. His assassination was, I believe, the direct result of his invasion of the south, which at the time had begun to think of itself as a new and separate nation.
If you have the time, I'd like to direct you to the same volume I mentioned to Peggy earlier, The Blue and the Gray. It is an oustanding collection of primary documents and allows you to get a good picture of what happened at the time and in the minds of those who lived through it. There's not a lot about Lincoln in it though.
Hi Richard,
ReplyDeleteWe have a copy of "The Blue and the Gray" but I have not read through all of it.
ANOTHER ACE victim????
I don't know if you have this happen, but about once every year or so, I will pronounce some word wrong. The first year of my marriage, I said "dis- heave- led" instead of "dish- sheveled" to my husband. We doubled over laughing when he explained what I'd said. I don't recall it coming up inconversation before, and I apparently never pronounced it aloud before.
I remember pronouncing something wrong in a Biology PACE once, and my teacher doubled over laughing, too.
I wonder if it's a built in way of keeping us all humble?
Cindy - Your story about the pronunciation of words made me laugh. My mother was an English major in college and she worked long and hard with me to make sure I pronounced things properly. Unfortunately, her insistence on correct pronunciation in English mingled with the fact that my father taught biblical Greek at Empire State Baptist Seminary has caused me to be bothered when preachers pronounce Greek words improperly. Now that's anal!
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I attended an ACE school for one year only. My parents were appalled at how little I learned that year while still receiving good grades. Because of my lack of education that year, I had to stay in high school for an additional semester in order to meet Virginia's educational requirements.