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The Lost Cause 101
Colbert Report, April 13, 2010
Main Points of the Lost Cause Interpretation
1. Slavery not a cause of the war2. Secession was constitutional3. North had overwhelming advantages—
South never had a chance4. Southern nobility and chivalry, personified
by Robert E. Lee5. South a Christian society, North a
materialistic society6. North started the war7. Slavery was a benign institution
Slavery not a cause of the war
Before and during the war, Confederates frank that this is a war to defend slavery
Alexander Stephens on the Confederate government: "Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery . . . is his natural and normal condition."
Confederate Vice President Alexander
Stephens
The Confederate Constitution
Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 4: "No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed."
Article IV, Section 3, Paragraph 3: "The Confederate States may acquire new territory . . . In all such territory, the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected by Congress and the territorial government."
Alabama Ten Dollar Note
“Rich Man’s War and a Poor Man’s Fight”
From the diary of James B. Lockney, 28th Wisconsin Infantry, writing near Arkadelphia, Arkansas (10/29/63): "Last night I talked awhile to those men who came in day before yesterday from the S.W. part of the state about 120 miles distant. Many of them wish Slavery abolished & slaves out of the country as they said it was the cause of the War, and the Curse of our Country & the foe of the body of the people--the poor whites. They knew the Slave masters got up the war expressly in the interests of the institution, & with no real cause from the Government or the North."
After the War, the Story Changes
Secession was constitutional
“Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government…”
North had overwhelming advantage…
…over the Agrarian South
Southern nobility and chivalry
Slavery was a benign institution
Lost Cause Myths About Slavery
1. Slavery brought savage Africans to civilization and Christianity
2. Masters and slaves formed loving families
3. Most slaves remained loyal during the war
4. Many slaves chose to remain with their masters after the war
5. Many ex-slaves were worse off “Saving his Master”
Art of the Lost Cause
The Lost Cause, Henry Mosler (1869)
Harpers Weekly, 1865
Death of General Robert E. Lee (1870)
Lee Relics
Lee Death Mask
“Americans in all regions would do well to recommend this man's life as a model for their sons. Lee came as close to being perfect as a human being can be. He was tall, handsome and bright, and finished second in his class at West Point without a single demerit . . . He never spoke ill of anyone, even his enemies. He never took credit for victories, but he always accepted personal responsibility for defeats. He was a devout Christian.”
--Charley Reese, 2005
Monument Building—1880s to 1920s
Unveiling ceremony for Confederate monument at Salisbury, 1909
Pensacola Confederate Memorial
Stone Mountain – 1928-1964
Birth of a Nation, 1915
Clip 1
Gone With the Wind, 1939
TrailerClip 1Clip 2
Tarzan Movies
Modern Relics of Lost Cause