the culture of war: (re)membering the south
The Northern Abolitionist Movement
After the founding of the Republic, a slowly augmenting chorus of Northern voices called for the abolition of slavery in the South. In 1816, an organization called the American Colonization Society formed with the intention of proposing as a policy the sending back of African slaves to colonies in Africa. They reasoned that blacks would never fully integrate into American society because prejudice against blacks was too great. Proponents of this plan included Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Abraham Lincoln. They believed that slavery had “warped” southern life and ought to be abolished gradually (Masur, 2011). In 1831, the fierce abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison started to publish Liberator, a newspaper that gave a religious voice to the rhetoric of abolition. He believed in a literal reading of the Declaration of Independence and that slavery was a great moral evil.
After the founding of the Republic, a slowly augmenting chorus of Northern voices called for the abolition of slavery in the South. In 1816, an organization called the American Colonization Society formed with the intention of proposing as a policy the sending back of African slaves to colonies in Africa. They reasoned that blacks would never fully integrate into American society because prejudice against blacks was too great. Proponents of this plan included Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Abraham Lincoln. They believed that slavery had “warped” southern life and ought to be abolished gradually (Masur, 2011). In 1831, the fierce abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison started to publish Liberator, a newspaper that gave a religious voice to the rhetoric of abolition. He believed in a literal reading of the Declaration of Independence and that slavery was a great moral evil.
The Old South
At the same time an antislavery ideology developed in the North, a proslavery ideology developed in the South. According to Masur, John C. Calhoun, senator from South Carolina, was a leading proponent of this ideology: “Masters, Calhoun believed, formed a paternalistic relation to their bondsmen, and Southern society in general exhibited greater honor and civility than any part of the North. A racial ideology built around white supremacy united slaveholders and nonslaveholders and provided Southern states with a common identity” (2011).
At the same time an antislavery ideology developed in the North, a proslavery ideology developed in the South. According to Masur, John C. Calhoun, senator from South Carolina, was a leading proponent of this ideology: “Masters, Calhoun believed, formed a paternalistic relation to their bondsmen, and Southern society in general exhibited greater honor and civility than any part of the North. A racial ideology built around white supremacy united slaveholders and nonslaveholders and provided Southern states with a common identity” (2011).
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Perhaps the most significant cultural event in the lead-up to the Civil War was the publishing of Harry Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The book, which painted a realistic picture of slave life in the plantation economy, sold more books than the Bible, and galvanized northern opinion in support of the abolitionist movement. It became the cause of northern abolitionists, in particular, Christian women, who felt the plight of Eliza and Tom, to end slavery. In the South, the book was quickly denounced as inaccurate in its depiction of slavery and banned (Masur, 2014). The modern equivalent of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the same way that the former prepared a generation of Americans for the emancipation of slavery, the latter prepared a generation for Civil Rights. |
Sarah F. Davidson: A Life in Antebellum Charlotte
An extant building in Charlotte from the antebellum period is The Grove, a former plantation house now located on North Tryon Street. The Davidson family lived in this house, and owned about 80 slaves. Sarah kept a diary of her life and reflections, and it remains a remarkable glimpse into what life and attitudes were like. In particular, it shed light on the religious piety and paternalistic view towards slaves of the white slaveowners.
Sarah was deeply religious, and took it upon herself to teach Christianity to the slave children. The following excerpt is from her journal dated May 13th:
“On Sabbath after my Friends left – attended Sabbath School On This day Our good Pastor had previously appointed to preach to the children – The day was unfavourable – cold misty rain – yet as there was a faull attendance at Sabbath School – Our Superintendent – with the teachers concluded to keep the scholars at the Church and apprize Mr. L – which was done – The sermon was well adapted to their capacities – even so the youngest might understand – from all & could learn - Children, Parents - & the congregation – were highly pleased & grateful – I was particularly pleased on leaving the Church to learn that nearly all the young to whom I had been giving instruction were present and immediately resolved in my mind to assemble them as soon as I returned home – and endeavor to impress their minds with the things they had heard – the privileges they enjoyed - & to prevail on them to attend constantly – not from convulsion – but with gratitude for the privilege and the desire to be perfected.” (McConnell, Dyer, & Williams, 2005)
An evaluation of this diary shows that it is a reliable account of life in antebellum Charlotte and in the antebellum South. Her desire to promote Christianity among the slave children reflects the paternalistic nature of how the masters viewed their slaves. She also calls the slaves servants. What’s particularly ironic about this passage is her use of the phrase “the privileges they enjoyed.” Clearly, she does not consider that slavery is incongruous with her Christian faith.
An extant building in Charlotte from the antebellum period is The Grove, a former plantation house now located on North Tryon Street. The Davidson family lived in this house, and owned about 80 slaves. Sarah kept a diary of her life and reflections, and it remains a remarkable glimpse into what life and attitudes were like. In particular, it shed light on the religious piety and paternalistic view towards slaves of the white slaveowners.
Sarah was deeply religious, and took it upon herself to teach Christianity to the slave children. The following excerpt is from her journal dated May 13th:
“On Sabbath after my Friends left – attended Sabbath School On This day Our good Pastor had previously appointed to preach to the children – The day was unfavourable – cold misty rain – yet as there was a faull attendance at Sabbath School – Our Superintendent – with the teachers concluded to keep the scholars at the Church and apprize Mr. L – which was done – The sermon was well adapted to their capacities – even so the youngest might understand – from all & could learn - Children, Parents - & the congregation – were highly pleased & grateful – I was particularly pleased on leaving the Church to learn that nearly all the young to whom I had been giving instruction were present and immediately resolved in my mind to assemble them as soon as I returned home – and endeavor to impress their minds with the things they had heard – the privileges they enjoyed - & to prevail on them to attend constantly – not from convulsion – but with gratitude for the privilege and the desire to be perfected.” (McConnell, Dyer, & Williams, 2005)
An evaluation of this diary shows that it is a reliable account of life in antebellum Charlotte and in the antebellum South. Her desire to promote Christianity among the slave children reflects the paternalistic nature of how the masters viewed their slaves. She also calls the slaves servants. What’s particularly ironic about this passage is her use of the phrase “the privileges they enjoyed.” Clearly, she does not consider that slavery is incongruous with her Christian faith.
20th Century Film: The “Lost Cause” Narrative in Filmic Depictions of the Confederacy
At the end of the war and in the decades, even century, following, a predominant historical interpretation of the war known as the “Lost Cause” took root in the South. The Lost Cause is not an “official” interpretation, but it has several themes in films about the Civil War:
· States rights, not slavery, was the reason for Southern secession
· Slaves were loyal to their masters throughout the war
· The fight against the North was cast as hopeless and the South paid a huge sacrifice in the face of a much bigger, more powerful foe
· The South had the constitutional high ground, which allowed the South to retain its honor
· The centrality of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Battle of Gettysburg as a decisive moment in the war
Although the purpose of Hollywood film is to entertain and to earn profit, and not to be didactic, the films about the Civil War, most famously Gone With the Wind and Birth of a Nation, have formed the interpretation of countless viewers of Southern life before, during, and after the Civil War (Gallagher, 2009). Lost Cause historians in the wake of the Civil War also demonized General William T. Sherman. Sherman was infamous in the South for the brutality of his total war policy of destruction. He carved a path in his “march to the sea” in Georgia that brought about defeat for the Confederacy. His casting as an evil, ruthless military leader does not stand up to a more objective view of his orders and mission (Moody, 2011).
At the end of the war and in the decades, even century, following, a predominant historical interpretation of the war known as the “Lost Cause” took root in the South. The Lost Cause is not an “official” interpretation, but it has several themes in films about the Civil War:
· States rights, not slavery, was the reason for Southern secession
· Slaves were loyal to their masters throughout the war
· The fight against the North was cast as hopeless and the South paid a huge sacrifice in the face of a much bigger, more powerful foe
· The South had the constitutional high ground, which allowed the South to retain its honor
· The centrality of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Battle of Gettysburg as a decisive moment in the war
Although the purpose of Hollywood film is to entertain and to earn profit, and not to be didactic, the films about the Civil War, most famously Gone With the Wind and Birth of a Nation, have formed the interpretation of countless viewers of Southern life before, during, and after the Civil War (Gallagher, 2009). Lost Cause historians in the wake of the Civil War also demonized General William T. Sherman. Sherman was infamous in the South for the brutality of his total war policy of destruction. He carved a path in his “march to the sea” in Georgia that brought about defeat for the Confederacy. His casting as an evil, ruthless military leader does not stand up to a more objective view of his orders and mission (Moody, 2011).