"Confederate" Dorm at Vandy (court case)

[Klinglerware]

Thanks for the input. As an outsider, it's always interested and bewildered me in that people could be both undyingly loyal to the United States and, at the same time, just as loyal to symbols/ideals/etc that seem almost antithetical to that same Union...

[GrantDawg]

I will ad this, Klinglerware. At Stone Mountain park (which is a Confederate war memorial, BTW), there is a laser show every year. They play songs over a PA, and have a laser-light show that draws cartoons on the side of the mountain (It is neat, and I recommend seeing it). At one point, the play "Look away, Dixieland" and "Glory, Glory Halleluea" (song by Elvis, of course) and they draw out the Confederate officers carved out on the rock, and bring them and their horses to life. They ride with sword drawn to cheers of the crowd.

The biggest cheer of the night though usually comes at the end. It shows Robert E. Lee looking around at the dead and damage of war, and breaks his sword on his leg. The broken sword falls to the ground and the pieces tumble together to become the re-unified United States. It always makes me think that while the South might remember those who fought for the doomed cause, in the end we are glad that it was doomed.

[Sharpieman]

This doesn't have much to do with the issue at hand. But can someone tell me why southerners still have Confederate pride? They lost, didn't they? I think its time to get over it.

[judicial clerk]

I think that this argument and the pride that the south feels towards it unique heritage is reasonable, if not a little mis-placed. Our federal government has grown so powerful that we forget that men like Lee lived in a time when they actually felt incredible patriotism towards their state, and not just their country. Lee decided he was a Virginian before an American. I also think parallels can be drawn to Germany in WWII. Most confederate soldiers were not slave owners just as many german soldiers were not Nazis and did not share Hitler's prejudices and desire for geonicide. If you asked the average confederate soldier why he was fighting the north, he would probably say "because fuck 'em; that's why!". Also, both the germans and confederacy could feel prideful of the performance of their armies, and specifically their leaders from a strictly tactical and strategic sense. Rommel and, say, Guderin were not nazi's; and their military achievements were quite impressive. Regarding the Confederacy, Robert Lee and Stonewall Jackson might be the best military leaders West Point has ever produced. It is natural to want to celebrate these people as heroes.

However, there can be bo doubt that both Germany in WWII and the Confederacy in the civil war, were fighting on the wrong side. I completely agree with Coug that reasons for the civil war are inexorably[sp?] interwined with slavery. For this reason, the Confederacy deserved to be defeated and should not be celebrated. I mean, c'mon, we are talking about slavery here. It is incredible that such otherwise honorable men as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and later Robert Lee could think it is OK to keep their fellow human beings in bondage. The South deserved the treatment thet it got from Sherman and I only wish that Andrew Johnson would not have backed off on the harsh reconstruction policies put in place immediatley after the war.

I apologize for my crappy typing skills and any inadvertant misstatements of historical fact.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by mgadfly

Would someone from the South explain to me what the Southern Movement is about in their own words. I've read some about it and how it is championed by organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy ...

You have a PM, sir.

[Buccaneer]

I would highly recommend Tony Horwitz's book Confederates in the Attic. He touched on many sides of the Civil War in today's South.

As a long time Civil War historian, there have been a lot I have read in regards to the Confederacy, as well as the lingering debates that divided our country - culturally, spiritually, economically and socially. It is not something that can be summed up easily for it touches on many themes common throughout human history. Read Tony's book to get a good picture.

[mgadfly]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You have a PM, sir.

That helps, thanks.

[scooter]

Sorry I came to the "party" late, but I once came across an opinion that someone named "Shotgun" wrote on the causes of the Civil War. I did a search and was able to find it and I thought I would share it with you all (again, this is just someone's opinion, but I tend to look at it the same way):

Here's how I feel about the cause(s) of the war (remember, my opinion only): Try to imagine the war as being an old wagon wheel. At the center is a "hub." For the sake of discussion, I will call the hub, "States Rights." If all we have is a hub, there is no wheel (war). Now extending from the hub are spokes. For the sake of discussion, I will call the spokes "injustices" (tariffs, unjust laws, etc.) either real or perceived by the South. With only a hub and spokes there is still no wheel (war). Now around the outside of every wagon wheel there is a rim, the rim is what binds the spokes and the hub together to make it a wheel. The rim, for the sake of discussion, I will call slavery. Now if you take the hub, and the spokes, then bind them together with the rim, you now have a wheel. In other words, I believe that States rights were at the center, injustices were the support, and that slavery was the catalyst.

This was taken from a website with some other opinions and information. If anyone is interested:

hxxp://www.civilwarhome.com/opinion.htm