Which Forrest later repudiated. His efforts were in vain. In the current hysteria, with Robert E. Lee a goner and Thomas Jefferson on deck, the Shelby Footes are in short supply. Besides, a sculpture is a work of fine art, and the destruction thereof is akin to the burning of a book. A statue of our native son General Emory Upton, postbellum military reformer, directs traffic in the center of my hometown.
It refuses the admission of new slave States into the Union, and seeks to extinguish it by confining it within its present limits, denying the power of expansion. Utter subjugation awaits us in the Union, if we should consent longer to remain in it. It is not a matter of choice, but of necessity. We must either submit to degradation, and to the loss of property worth four billions of money, or we must secede from the Union framed by our fathers, to secure this as well as every other species of property.
For far less cause than this, our fathers separated from the Crown of England. Sheesh, not really seeing too many good things there, Mr. If you want to read the entire declaration, do so. But every sentence in it is about slavery and nothing but slavery. Texas abandoned her separate national existence and consented to become one of the Confederated States to promote her welfare, insure domestic tranquility [sic] and secure more substantially the blessings of peace and liberty to her people.
She was received into the confederacy with her own constitution, under the guarantee of the federal constitution and the compact of annexation, that she should enjoy these blessings. She was received as a commonwealth holding, maintaining and protecting the institution known as negro slavery—the servitude of the African to the white race within her limits—a relation that had existed from the first settlement of her wilderness by the white race, and which her people intended should exist in all future time.
Her institutions and geographical position established the strongest ties between her and other slave-holding States of the confederacy. Those ties have been strengthened by association. But what has been the course of the government of the United States, and of the people and authorities of the non-slave-holding States, since our connection with them? In all the non-slave-holding States, in violation of that good faith and comity which should exist between entirely distinct nations, the people have formed themselves into a great sectional party, now strong enough in numbers to control the affairs of each of those States, based upon the unnatural feeling of hostility to these Southern States and their beneficent and patriarchal system of African slavery, proclaiming the debasing doctrine of the equality of all men, irrespective of race or color—a doctrine at war with nature, in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of the Divine Law.
They demand the abolition of negro slavery throughout the confederacy, the recognition of political equality between the white and the negro races, and avow their determination to press on their crusade against us, so long as a negro slave remains in these States. Nope, not seeing any good things in that document, either, Mr. This speech was given shortly after the Confederate government was formed and just a few weeks before Lincoln tricked the Confederacy into firing on Ft. Vice President Stephens tells us:.
But not to be tedious in enumerating the numerous changes for the better, allow me to allude to one other though last, not least. The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution African slavery as it exists amongst us the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.
What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically.
It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day.
Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. Ooops, well, maybe here is the good part where Stephens gives us the corner stone of his new nation:.
Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth. You see, the actual people who were doing the seceding had no qualms about telling us it was to protect the institution of slavery.
Hell, a lot of them thought they were going to win the Civil War! Notice they never elaborate any further on those so-called states rights. One of the most exasperating things about Shelby Foote is that he was not an ignorant, overt racist. I am for flying it anywhere anybody wants to fly it. I do know perfectly well what pain it causes my black friends, but I think that pain is not necessary if they would read the confederate constitution and knew what the confederacy really stood for.
Talk about putting your Foote in your mouth. This sounds like something Donald Trump would say. If only Mr. Were you on acid, Shelby Foote? Yes, if only black people would just get off their butt and read that dandy Confederate constitution! Sounds to me like YOU were the one who needed to read the damn thing.
Some people are just so sensitive! Oh, another difference between the two constitutions was that a Confederate president would serve but one 6 year term and have a line item veto. Continuing with his historical acid trip, Shelby Foote then says this about the Confederate battle flag:.
But the people who knew what that flag really stood for should have stopped those yahoos from using it as a symbol of what they stood for. I think he even manages to out Orwell Orwell with this one. Take a wild guess at what all that white is supposed to symbolize.
Thompson designed one of the Confederate battle flags that was accepted and approved by the Confederate government about halfway through the war. I hate to break it to you, Mr.
As a matter of fact, this symbol was never more shameful than when it originally appeared. This notion that the Confederate flag only came to symbolize white supremacy and racism during the civil rights movement is beyond ludicrous. I mean, how much more anti-civil rights can you be than fighting a war to establish a separate America where slavery was forever?
It is our American swastika. A holocaust by any other name is still a holocaust. How the hell was removing the Confederate flag from a state capital building hiding history from you, Mr.
Shelby Foote died in , at the age of There has, perhaps, never been a history, even a popular history, so devoid of ideas, or economic forces. He did not mention that the notoriously racist Confederate general became one of the founding fathers of the Ku Klux Klan. Foote never knew is that more men from his home state of Mississippi fought for the Union than the Confederacy. Shame on you, Shelby Foote.
As a southern descendant of those who fought on both sides, I can, for their part, verify they did not fight on either side on the slavery issue. They were poor white farmers, who did not own slaves. Their lives were hard and miserable and were looked down upon by the slave owners.
Their issues were based on a divided union. As such, I am not fond of them being compared to Nazis. It is unfortunate that even in this day and age their is still prejudice of black, white, rich, poor and north and south. Seems the war did not erase everything. I found the PBS series very interesting and Mr.
I tend to view an author s perspective when reading anything published in order to derive my own opinions. You think they were against slavery? You think they wanted black men to be free??? Sorry if you are offended by me comparing a traitorous rebellion that tried to establish a slave Republic in America where an entire race of people would be enslaved forever to the Nazis. I am not disputing your belief that slavery was the cause of the war.
Nor frednotfai s belief about competition. I am stating that my family who fought on both the north and south did not do so based on the slavery issue. They re concerns were with splitting the union and felt slavery issues were not something they could end one way or the other.
It is my family and I think I have more insight into it than either of you. I have letters, documents which are first hand accounts of their beliefs at the time. Please don t insinuate that I am a liar. It appears to me you have a great hatred for southerners and revere those from the north. If the north believed in such equality, why is their such racism in the north both right after the war and now? What you both fail to realize is the atmosphere of history at that time.
You cannot compare it to today. I put forth to you the difference between womens rights today compared to back then. Should all men be condemned for that? And as a correction to your statement about Jews being enslaved to Nazis, you are wrong.
Nazis didn t want them enslaved, they wanted them eradicated from the face of the earth. The South had no problems declaring they were fighting to protect and preserve slavery.
It was only after they lost, and they realized it would look pretty bad if their main reason for committing treason and killing American to was establish a slave nation and even EXPAND slavery. It was, as U. Not sure why this old article landed in front of me. Even though it was longwinded and vitriolic, it was also funny and thought provoking. So I read it all. Too bad. I read a grand total of 9 count em! The writer does a great disservice to history and American cultural identity by leaving it up.
Count em? What are the nine factual errors? I learned a lot about our racist past from this, and reading the secession passages of the states provided was kind off shocking. Man, were the Southern leaders racist to the bone. To a southerner. Like me honor. Is everything. An what. You did. Angers my soul. To place that ole flag. Which I love. Next to a heathen Godless flag of the Nazi party is.
You Sir have insulted. My southern. Be in. I wish I was in. Oh, and by the way, the Confederate flag is very often being waved right alone with the Swastika by modern Neo-Nazis because they know what that flag really represents. Not so much what was done under it. Some very eloquent, classy Foote defenders on here lol…. Do you find yourself classy Don?
You have proven yourself to be vile towards anyone who disagrees with you, attacking grammatical errors like that somehow justifies your liberal talking points. Its just like a liberal to write opinion based slander. Especially against one of Americas most distinguished historians who is no longer alive to defend his point of view.
This article is liberal propaganda to spread hate where there is none. You should be ashamed of yourself. You cannot look at the circumstances surrounding a 19th century conflict through the scope of todays political correctness.
People like you will never understand that through your narrow point of view. Open your eyes. Is this Sean Hannity? I have read Mr. I have always disliked the basic dishonesty of Southern war supporters about the cause of the war and was not disappointed by his take.
What upset me even more than the coded embrace of slavery as righteous was the flat out bias against the Union effort to save America. Many of my ancestors were killed by nazis for saving Jews. I think that they stood on the same side as unionists that every man should be free. Confederates were like the nazis. They believed to be a better race. They killed Jews and Poles, enslaved many and believed they were right.
Hmm, as a general matter of fact, I believe books that would ignore historical documents created by the actual subjects of the historical work itself qualify as invalid. Into that bin go every book claiming that the Civil War was not about Slavery.
The writer rightly shows how their flag should be viewed. In fact, it blows them out of the water. There really is no way to claim Foote has any realistic historical viewpoint that is accurate on the matter. Many do like to live in an alternate reality, however.
Thank you for the criticism. And military bases named for Confederate officers! An Iowa Congessman keeps a Confederate flag on his desk! I will do more to ensure our Civil War dead did not Die in Vain. The piece would be more persuasive without all the relentless and heavy sarcasm.
Sometimes understatement. I thought that was the best part, actually. How else should he do it. I mean, you can look at the rankings of US Presidents. Trump may push him to 4, however. I mean, Franklin Pierce is ranked third worst president on pretty much every list you can find.
He refused the bible on his swearing in, using a law book instead. He was a dark horse candidate, and he fought for slavery loudly, fanning the flames within the country, helping the push towards civil war.
He had limited success in expansionism, his sole goal outside beating the slavery drum. The Democrats refused to nominate him for the ballot and a second term, a first. Unless you want to really drill down on how much people hated him. Not much to write about. Only other thing I could add is that, In fact, Trump may push him to fourth on the list very soon. The claim is absurd on its face.
A compact and memorable aphorism is not true simply because it is compact and memorable. Who rejects causes that triumphed? That has nothing to do with the meaning of the quote. Who is this? Charles Manson? Crawl back in your hole, Capt Moron. More men from Mississippi fought for the Union…as a Proud Mississippian and a historian i can now say, wthout a shadow of doubt, that you are either just plain dumb or a bald face liar.
And i boldly demand you reference that B. A whopping men accounted for the Mississippi defects to the Union. That is compared to 80, for the Confederates. That number is smaller than the needle in the haystack. Just for the record, historian, sir. I do believe, the author of the above piece, is pretty darn honest, like it or not.
You, dear sir, deserve no respect from anyone. And are exactly the problem of all that transpires today.
May God have mercy upon you. Or may you burn in hell. You deserve to return to serfdom. Southern wannabe. You all fled Europe as you were to lazy to work the fields… as a descendant of your former lords I order you to shut up and return to the field. You are a lazy southern peasant, and I do not tolerate racism amongst my serfs. I am directly related, on both my mothers and fathers side of the family, to men who fought for the Union.
One in particular who after being wounded at 2nd Manasses was mustered out and continued his law practice. After the war, as a lawyer and later judge he devoted his professional career to fighting the Klan and advocating for freedmen in the south. Some would consider him a carpetbagger; to me his legacy fills me with the deepest pride. I despise the Confederate flag, it was carried by a seditious army which sought to tear our republic asunder and keep millions of human beings in bondage.
It was was a cause both morally and spiritually bankrupt. These are opinions I hold onto strongly, but I must emphasize that they are my opinions and are not objective reality. I believe men and women of good faith can look at that flag and see something worthwhile and feel genuine pride.
I had the opportunity to meet Shelby Foote after attending a lecture he gave at my college. We shared a fantastic conversation about the Civil War, every History geeks dream. Shelby was really a lovely man and his demeanor was that of a gentleman. His roots are in Mississippi, mine are in New England so of course our subjective opinions about the Civil War will not always square up! So to the author of this article, I say you need to relax and get a hold on yourself.
I agree with a lot of what you have to say, but when you frame your arguments like such an arrogant asshole, you do yourself an injustice. As a Jew I personally find your clumsy comparison to be offensive and intellectually lazy. Maybe if you took the time to learn more about Mr. That is widely known, even among northern historans, as the most slanted, blatant piece of propaganda against the South available. Widen your references. Have read bits over the years but only recently read the final chapter on poor misunderstood Jefferson Davis.
Read the quotations from his letters and public statements in The Fall of the House of Dixie. They proclaim the good of slavery, the inferiority of the negro, a demand for the return of runaways and right to expand bondage into new territories.
The book also notes that slave return and expansion bottom lines for the compromisers. Foote spoke in abstract of a genius for compromise, but in this instance the slave owning states sought not compromise but submission to their demands. No doubt there is a similar assault on workers today. Wealthy entitlements and corporate welfare vs. To the author, again I love the piece. Recently I read an article about the confederate flag and all the confederate monuments. In that piece the journalist talked about how Eisenhower called for writers, photographers and film makers to document the concentration camps.
Most of these confederate monuments were erected by a bitter and defeated people. Since that event, Foote has become widely viewed as an authority on the Civil War, and more generally, as a representative of an era and region whose place continues to be central to our country's understanding of itself.
He joined the Mississippi National Guard as a protest to Hitler's war. His writings were interrupted when the guard was mobilized by draft in the year By , Foote was commissioned and promoted to Captain. However, while at a base in Northern Ireland, Shelby was accused of insubordination because he was in Belfast without leave, visiting the Irish girl whom he later married.
In , Shelby Foote was court martialed and dismissed from the service. Shelby Foote Miscellaneous. Attended the University of North Carolina from to Shelby Foote fans also viewed:. Mareo-Ahmir Lawson.
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