Today marks the 149th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, the most significant single event in American history!
As we enter the 150th year since the Civil War began, Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell has created a controversy by declaring April as Confederate History Month in his state, and originally failing to mention the role of slavery in bringing about the war.
Virginia was indeed the center of much of the Civil War action, as it was also significant in the American Revolution, particularly the decisive Battle of Yorktown that ended the Revolution in October, 1781.
It is also the home of seven Presidents–Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, W. H. Harrison, Tyler, and Wilson. It is a state worthy of many tourist visits, since it has played such a major role in our history, and is now a rapidly growing state that is quickly changing its image nationally, no longer just a “Rebel” state, but a cosmopolitan state which has gained a lot from the growth of its suburbs which border on Washington, DC!
Again, as stated in an earlier entry on this blog, visiting the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond is well worth anyone’s time to see the Confederate side of the Civil War. There is nothing wrong with honoring those who fought for Virginia, including Robert E. Lee and, even, President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy. It is important to know the whole story, but there is no reason this long after the Civil War to “glorify” the Rebel cause. In other words, teach about it, read about it, and encourage all Virginians and all Americans to visit museums around the country and see the whole story of the war, where two thirds of a million men perished in the name of what they believed in!
But emphasizing the Confederate flag is counterproductive, because it represents to African Americans and many other Americans a “Lost Cause” that was illegitimate–that the nation established by the Founding Fathers, many of them Southern, should rightfully be destroyed by slave owners, whose goal was to preserve an evil institution, and in the process, not only exploit African Americans, but also keep the vast majority of whites, who were poor, as a laboring class just a step above the slaves!
We should celebrate that this nation endured because of the principled fight of those who believed in nationalism, unity, and liberty–not glorify those who were out to promote the continuation of slavery and the degradation of poor whites!