The

1
The Lost Cause in Civil War History

• Dr. Judkin Browning
• Appalachian State University

2
Presentism

1. Lost Cause (1860s-present)
2. Irrepressible Conflict (1900-present)
3. Blundering Generation (1930-present)
4. Consensus (1940s-1960s)
5. Revisionist (1960s-1990s)
6. Post-Revisionist (1990s-present)
7. Post 9/11?

3

• Lost Cause School (1860spresent)
• - fostered a heroic image of secession and the
  war so that the Confederates could salvage at
  least their honor from the all-encompassing
  defeat. Still very powerful today.
• 2) Irrepressible Conflict Thesis (1900present)
• - Expansionistic northern industrial capitalists
  wanted to subjugate peaceful southern agrarians.
  It was inevitable these two different
  civilizations would clash.
• - This has power during times of economic
  depression.

4

• 3) Blundering Generation Thesis (1930present)
• - The war never had to happen. Only came about
  because of ambitious, power-blinded politicians
  who refused to compromise.
• - This has real power after senseless
  destructive conflicts or during periods of
  heightened political partisanship
• 4) Consensus School (1940s1960s)
• - Looks at the Civil War as a destructive, but
  benevolent thing, because the U.S. won, and
  forged a stronger nation that makes it the beacon
  of liberty to the world.
• - This has power at the height of the Cold War.

5

• 5) Revisionist School (1960s-1990s)
• - Civil War wasnt so benevolent, and it didnt
  lead to the great social changes it could have.
  It also embittered and hardened those men who
  fought they became jaded and disillusioned.
• - This has power during the Civil Rights
  movement and the post-Vietnam War era.
• 6) Post-Revisionist School (1990spresent)
• - It is wrong to compare 1960s generation to
  1860s generation because it was a different
  world. Soldiers were ideologically motivated to
  fight for noble principles.
• - This has power in times of affluence.

6
The Lost Cause Pervades Us All

• Word Association
• What words come to mind when you think of Robert
  E. Lee?

7
Actual Student Answers

• Military Genius
• Perfect Gentleman
• Honorable
• A god
• Sacred to the South
• I want to be like him

8
Word Association

• Ulysses S. Grant?

9
Actual Student Answers

• Drunk
• Butcher
• Not very bright
• Only half the general that Lee was
• Benefited from superior numbers
• A monkey could have done what he did

10
More Word Association

• What caused the Civil War?

11
Actual Student Answers

• States Rights
• Tariffs
• Industrial North vs. Agrarian South
• Abolitionists like John Brown
• Northern invasion of the South (War of Northern
  Aggression)
• Note whats not mentioned SLAVERY

12
How about Battles?

• Tell me what you know about the Battle of Stones
  River

13
Student Answers

• Huh?
• Who William Rosecrans vs. Braxton Bragg
• What Important Union Victory
• When Dec. 31, 1862Jan. 2, 1863
• Where Murfreesboro, TN
• Fact Highest proportion of casualties than any
  other battle of the war

14
Tell me what you know about the Battle of
Gettysburg
15
Student Answers

• It was Longstreets fault
• It was J.E.B. Stuarts fault
• It was Richard Ewells fault
• It was George Picketts fault
• It was because Stonewall Jackson was dead
• Because the Confederates were barefoot and hungry

16
Major Tenets of the Lost Cause

1. Slavery was NOT the reason the war started
2. Abolitionists provoked the war
3. Slavery would have ended on its own
4. Slaves were content in the South
5. Southern culture was superior to northern culture
6. The Confederate was an ideal soldier
7. Lee was a military genius who made no mistakes
8. Stonewall Jackson was second only to Lee
9. Grant was a butcher who used superior numbers
10. The South never could have won the war.

Much of this list comes from Alan Nolan's essay
Anatomy of a Myth, in Myth of the Lost Cause
and Civil War History, by Gary W. Gallagher and
Alan T. Nolan.
17
Myth 1Slavery was not the reason the war
started

• Lost Causers argue that it was primarily about
  states rights.
• In fact, a major reason the South rebelled was
  because they were angry the Federal government
  was not enforcing its laws, especially the
  Fugitive Slave Law.

18
In their words

• Lincoln is a mere instrument of the great
  triumphant party, the principles of which are
  deadly hostile to the institution of slavery. --
  Gov. Joe Brown, Georgia
• The question of Negro slavery has been the
  apple of discord in the government of the United
  States since its foundation we have dissolved
  the late Union chiefly because of the Negro
  quarrel. -- Alabama representative, Robert
  Hardy Smith
• Our new government was founded, its foundations
  are laid, and its cornerstone rests upon the
  great truth that the Negro is not equal to the
  white man. That slavery, submission to a superior
  race, is his natural and normal condition. This
  is our new government. It is the first in the
  history of the world based on this great
  physical, philosophical and moral truth. --
  Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the
  Confederacy

19
Myth 2Abolitionists Provoked the War

• Actually, most northerners simply wanted to
  prevent slavery from expanding. They would allow
  it to remain in the southern states.
• Southerners refused a compromise just before the
  war that would have protected slavery forever in
  the states where it existed.

John Brown
20
Myth 3Slavery Would have Ended on its Own

• Actually, slavery was a dynamic, evolving
  institution. It had undergone many changes from
  the 1600s. There is no reason to think it would
  not have continued to evolve.

21
Myth 4Slaves were content in the South

• This is absurd on every level. If they were so
  content, why did tens of thousands risk their
  lives to escape?

Flogging is not degrading, and unless excessive,
occasions little pain. James Hammond, 1845
22
Myth 5Southern culture was superior to
northern culture

• This is based on the belief that all white
  southerners were plantation owners and lived like
  Scarlett OHara. They believed northerners were
  urban factory workers who lived in hovels.
• Actually, 65 of the northern population lived in
  rural areas as well.

Rosewood plantation, Natchez, MS
23
Myth 6The Confederates were ideal soldiers.

• This myth implies that all southern soldiers were
  noble, marksman hunters, natural fighters, and
  nice to all women.
• It also suggests there were no deserters, drunks,
  rapists, or murderers in the army.

24
Myth 7Lee was a saintly military genius

• This implies he never made a strategic mistake.
  It absolves him from blame for any defeats.
• Lee was a difficult man to know. He never drank,
  smoked, cussed, or chased women. He had no close
  friends, and was such a controlling man that none
  of his 3 daughters ever married.

25
Myth 8Stonewall Jackson was second only to Lee

• This suggests that if only Jackson had lived, the
  South would have won.
• It also absolves him of ever making any mistakes.
  In fact, he was unduly harsh on his subordinates
  and his men. As well, his extremely poor
  performance in the Seven Days Campaign greatly
  hurt the Confederate army.

26
Myth 9Grant was a butcher, who just used
superior numbers to win

• This denies Grant any credit for defeating Lee.
  It also ignores his 3 years of service in the
  west, where he did not have superior numbers, and
  he employed strategically radical campaigns.
• He also did not outnumber Lee any more than other
  generals had, but unlike them, he came up with a
  strategy for victory.

27
Myth 10The South never could have won the war

• This allows the South to emphasize the noble
  sacrifice of their fight. It also means they
  need not place blame for defeat, because the odds
  were hopeless.
• Then why do we continue to point out the what
  ifs of the war (Gettysburg, Antietam, etc.)

Lee surrenders at Appomattox, April 9, 1865