Sunday, April 7, 2013

Week Twelve: Slavery and the Confederacy

I think in most cases, people would describe my sense of justice as "over-developed." This can make life hard for a social historian who specializes in the study of a people who have been traditionally and harshly oppressed for more or less the entire duration of American history, with the possible exception of the last few decades. And even then, it depends on who you talk to and where they live. This week, we were assigned a single article, "Presenting Slavery: The Perils of Telling America's Racial Story," by James Oliver Horton. Dr. Horton is a historian I have admired since first reading his book, In Hope of Liberty: Culture, Community and Protest Among Northern Free Blacks, 1700-1860.

Before I go on, I will state a warning. My intent is not to be offensive here, but given the strong emotions which still exist in relation to the Civil War, Confederacy, and slavery, I'm not sure I will be able to avoid that altogether. Those who have strong positive feelings towards the Old South and Confederacy, read at your own risk. In some places, I will be blunt.

This article deals with some of the tough issues involved in the less-than-savory parts of American history. How exactly does a public historian, or a school teacher, present the issue of slavery to the public? Horton discusses the utter dearth of knowledge the average American has about slavery, and how much of our knowledge, even today, comes from Uncle Tom's Cabin and Gone With the Wind. This is highly problematic. The average American doesn't know that slavery in the US began in 1619. The average American doesn't know slavery was a bone of contention among our Founding Fathers. In fact, according to Horton, far too many school children think American slavery wasn't abolished until the 20th century.

Horton addresses this because he raises a question: How can we discuss slavery intelligently as a nation without being educated about the issue? And that is indeed, an excellent question. Many people know so little about slavery that they do not recognize we are only just now as a nation beginning to really be able to move beyond some of the problems left behind by the "peculiar institution." And I do mean, just beginning. But that's another post for another day.

Of course, how can we discuss slavery intelligently, and even present it accurately, when so many Americans are trying to forget it ever happened, marginalize it, or throw blame on others to take the focus off of the Old South? While I commend the state of Mississippi for finally doing the right thing and ratifying the 13th Amendment, why in heaven's name did it take so long? Slavery was abolished 148 years ago. Why did they just ratify the amendment in 2013? It would be easy to say that after a certain period of time, the amendment got pushed to the back burner. And maybe that is the case in the last two decades or so, though before the late 80s or early 90s, I'd have trouble believing that argument. Mississippi was the most volatile state during the civil rights era. It took them a long time to calm down. I'm not hating on Mississippi here. I have wonderful friends from that state. I am, however, pointing out that we live in a nation which has a state that just now ratified the amendment which bans slavery. But there's more.

Horton writes about a few Civil War reenactment groups which decided to acknowledge slavery. He says, "Larry Beane, past commander of the J.E.B. Stuart Camp #1506 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania attacked Gilmore's reference to slavery as 'a slap in the faces of the Confederate soldiers, their grandchildren, and the State of Virginia as a whole.' Other Internet correspondents expressed similar sentiments." My question is this: What about the slaves, the slaves' grandchildren, and African Americans as a whole? Is not the refusal to acknowledge slavery, apologize, or otherwise honestly address it not a slap in the face to them? Why are we concerned more for the legacy of Confederate soldiers, who chose to fight for a  slave-holding country than we are for those who had no basic decision-making rights at all? I'm actually asking that question. If someone has an answer that does NOT include a comment about how there were a few black Confederate soldiers, or about how the North didn't really like African Americans either, or about how the North treated immigrant workers like slaves, please, tell me what it is.

Regarding the same issue- including an acknowledgment or condemnation of slavery with a celebration of the Confederacy- Horton talks about another statement from a Southerner. Horton quoted Tommy J. Baer on the issue: "It's like Germany having a World War II- I would even call it Nazi- history month but [saying] We're going to include the suffering of the Jews. It doesn't pass the common-sense test." The point here is that Germany simply wouldn't have a Nazi history month. Most Germans want to forget that everything from about 1913-1945 in German history ever happened. They are quick to condemn what happened during that era, especially once Nazism came on the scene. Aside from the fact that Baer used a very bad metaphor (as I'll concede the Confederacy was not as bad as Nazi Germany, but only using a scale of degrees here), he is again forgetting the other side of this issue. I would argue that it doesn't pass the common sense test to have a month or any observance that celebrates the Confederacy and not include a recognition and condemnation of slavery. Again, think of all the descendants of  slavery we still have in this nation. The consequences we are still bearing from that institution in our country. How does it possibly make sense to not acknowledge it?

When lecturing in US105 about the slave issue, I told my students about how lawmakers in this country spent years at a time just completely ignoring slavery in the decades leading up to the war. I told them it was like sweeping the dirt under the rug: you do it long enough, and you're going to trip over it eventually. That's exactly what happened then. That's exactly what happened during the civil rights era after nearly another 100 years of Jim Crow segregation. Why in heaven's name would we then insist on continuing to ignore it? Things are not fixed. Slavery does not reside firmly in the past. It has relevance today. Why then can we not discuss it honestly? What has to happen next?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying as a historian that we should do away with any and all rememberance of the Confederacy. My personal opinions often differ from my historian opinions, but right now, I'm speaking as a historian. I understand the desire of people to talk about their heritage and remember it. To remember great-great grandfathers who died tragically in a failed revolution. I get that. But how is it okay to do so without being honest about what all that entailed? I'm not sitting here as a Northerner saying the North never did anything abominable. I'm also not saying the North didn't hold slaves or wasn't economically involved in slavery. I'm simply saying, when celebrating something many people (and I would argue most) associate with slavery, such as the Confederacy, why can we not also be honest, and acknowledge the bad along with the good?

I say this over and over. We should care about what happened in history, not about focusing only on the good, or finding evidence to prove what we want to have happened in history. If we are going to focus on a portion of history which holds a lot of bad "memories" for a certain group of people, it absolutely fails not only the "common sense" test, but also, if I can channel my inner Mr. Rogers, fails the "good neighbor" test. If we are going to talk about history at all, we absolutely must take the bad right along with the good. We can not cut-and-paste to appease our own delicate sensibilities.  Presenting history is challenging, to be sure, and each of us has to decide if we're willing to do what it takes to do it accurately and respectfully. As for me, in the words of Barney Stinson, "Challenge accepted!"

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