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

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Gone With the Wind, 1939

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Tarzan Movies

Modern Relics of Lost Cause