How the 'Lost Cause' narrative became American history

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[scottyg]

" Loyal to their masters?" WTF! That was the problem! There shouldn't be any masters!

[DavidJ]

In 2017, a descendant of Robert E. Lee stepped down as pastor of a small NC church after his comments supporting racial justice sparked a backlash.

The general's distant nephew, the Rev. Robert W. Lee IV, issued a statement saying he resigned from Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem after the congregation decided to put his tenure to a vote.

Some church members were not comfortable with Lee’s remarks during the MTV awards when he introduced the mother of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville while protesting against white supremacy.
“We have made my ancestor an idol of white supremacy, racism, and hate, ” he said on the music network. “As a pastor, it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America's original sin.”
Although Lee issued an apology to church members for causing them pain with his remarks, he said he continues to “strongly support” removal of monuments to his ancestor and other Confederates..

To me, this is proof that some Christians only talk the talk.  But there are some who actually walk the walk like this pastor.  Kudos to you Reverend Lee.

[marlow]

You all DO remember that Lincoln was also a politician, right? Often when Lincoln would say/write something that is not politically correct to today’s standards, he was attempting to not cause an explosion of opposition and/or a political cataclysm. There is not a subject that is packed more full with political dynamite than this one and that’s today...can you imagine then.

[MrCaptainCrazy]

I was taught lost cause ideological when I was in middle school during the late 1980's in North Carolina within a classroom of equal parts Black and White students. To this day, I wonder how this was allowed to happen

[nathanwheeler]

As the descendant of Confederates I have no problem admitting they were wrong and traitors. Funny that a lot of the people waving that stupid treasonous flag around are from states outside the South, Michigan, Ohio, etc. It’s like a race to see who can look more absurd . I love the South. There’s so much to love. And most of the best of the South is directly from the contributions of African-Americans: food, music, culture. Why focus on the stuff that’s shameful when there is so much other stuff that is so very good and unique?

[RaGeAlucard]

it baffles me that they lost the war, yet they are still naming military bases after those losers, or even worse, put their statues up.

[FreedomsNurse]

So, Edward Snowden is looking at life imprisonment but Jefferson Davis got off scot-free?

[nedwulff]

*If your ancestors were traitors to this country, you don't need to suffer the consequences of that. It wasn't your own doing. Yet, if you try to whitewash it and make it sound like something glorious, then you're in the wrong and you can't get away with that. You will be called out if you insist on it. You won't be treated with respect.*

[timpearson]

We need more celebrations of Union soldiers!

[SPDYellow]

Nearly every state that seceded, published a declaration as to why they were doing it and ALL of them cited Slavery as a primary cause. Saying the Civil War was about slavery isn't politically correct history, it's correct correct history.

Another interesting thing is that nearly every state in the Confederacy had little microstates, parts that pledged their loyalty to the Union and refused to join in the secession, the most notable of these being the Free State of Jones. The Confederacy was basically an aristocracy where the rich planter class had all the power, while your average Joe Blow Southerner had little to none, so it's not like this government was hugely popular even among the people it ruled over. When the Confederacy passed the Twenty Slave* Law, which allowed someone to be exempted from the draft if they owned twenty slaves, the war only became even more unpopular with many poor Southern Whites (correctly) being all, "I'm being sent off to die for some rich asshole's slaves." Mass desertions ensued.

A line I heard regarding the Union in the Civil War went something like, "For every one soldier lost, the Union would gain three, which were usually either an escaped slave, an immigrant, or a southern white tired of all the BS." The South was bitterly divided from the getgo and the divisions only grew over the course of the war.

*They actually used a much harsher word than "slave" in this law, but I really saw no need to bring it up in a casual YouTube comment.

[FoFo_FoReal]

Imagine If Europe looked at the nazis and said "let em off easy"

[Pudentame]

If you think the Confederacy was not about slavery just read the Confederate States declarations of secession.

[joshgates]

Every American citizen needs to watch this twice so we never forget.

[nathanngumi]

Wow, very interesting. The Daughters of the Confederacy, not mentioned, was also a key Southern lost cause propaganda organization which focused on children's books.

[kehhn]

Yes, the 'Lost Cause' is a lost cause.

[sionnachmacbradaigh]

It is absolutely unbelievable that it has taken so long for this mythology to begin to crumble.

[taoiseachjager]

"The civil war was about states rights". A states right to what?

[tootsie]

Interesting that it was the women. Who memorialized those racist. Talk about breeding hate.

[mrzimothy]

My parents are both from the north. In my 1st grade class growing up in the south, somehow we began discussing which side we would fight on in the Civil War. I was the only one who said that I would fight on the side of the north to "Free the slaves." Literally everyone else said they would fight for the Confederacy because they would fight for their family/for their state. 1st grade, supposedly a Christian school. 1st grade.

Unrelated to this, but we couldn't afford this private school the following year; my mom homeschooled me that year and then we promptly moved north of the Mason-Dixon.

[Topself]

Never seen the losing side celebrate so much