Ignoring America's Slaveholding Past
Monday 12 April 2010
by: Eugene Robinson, Op-Ed
Written on the back of this 1860s photograph: "...Oh, let me live in Freedom's Land, or die if still a slave..." (Photo: Okinawa Soba)
Washington - It was bad enough when Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proclaimed "Confederate History Month" without mentioning slavery, but at least he came to his senses and apologized. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's contention that the whole controversy "doesn't amount to diddly" is much worse.
"I don't know what you would say about slavery,"Barbour told CNN, "but anybody that thinks that you have to explain to people that slavery is a bad thing, I think that goes without saying."
And that's the problem -- Barbour thinks it "goes without saying." The governor of the state whose population includes the highest percentage of African-Americans in the nation believes it is appropriate to "honor" those who fought for the Confederacy. Clearly, he has no problem with revisiting the distant past. Yet he sees no reason to mention the vile, unthinkable practices -- state-sanctioned kidnapping, torture and rape -- that those Confederate soldiers were fighting to protect.
It amounts to much more than "diddly" that so many Americans try hard to avoid coming to terms with the reality of slavery. It wasn't just "a bad thing." Littering is a bad thing. Slavery was this nation's Original Sin, and yet many people will not look at it except through a gauze of Spanish moss.
The Atlantic slave trade was one of the last millennium's greatest horrors. An estimated 17 million Africans, most of them teenagers, were snatched from their families, stuffed into the holds of ships and brought to the New World. As many as 7 million of them died en route, either on the high seas or at "seasoning" camps in the Caribbean where they were "broken" to the will of their masters.
If he has never done so, Barbour should hold in his hands some of the leg irons, manacles and other restraints that were used to subdue the Africans. He should visit some of the plantations where slave cabins still stand -- there are plenty in his state -- to get a sense of how the Africans lived. He should spend a long, hot day picking cotton. He should read the accounts of plantation life written by former slaves, and then he should explain why there is any reason to "honor" soldiers who fought to perpetuate a system that could never have functioned without constant, deliberate, unflinching cruelty.
The point, of course, is not that Haley Barbour, Bob McDonnell or any other white Southerners living today are responsible for crimes committed long before they were born. They shouldn't have to feel guilty for things they didn't do. But they -- and the rest of us, too -- should know the extent to which the history of this country was shaped by what was euphemistically called the "peculiar institution." Americans should know, for example, that Wall Street's rise as a financial center was largely fueled by the cotton trade, which could not have functioned without slavery -- and that when the Civil War began, the mayor of New York, Fernando Wood, tried to find a way for the city to remain neutral so that it could continue its lucrative business dealings with the South.
What "doesn't amount to diddly" is the revisionist notion -- which Confederate History Month celebrations perpetuate -- that the Civil War was about something other than slavery. The "lost cause" diehards insist that the treasonous rebellion was a fight over freedom or the Constitution or states' rights. But the "right" that was being fought over was the ability to own human beings, compel their labor, buy and sell them as if they were livestock, exploit them sexually and torture or kill them if they tried to escape.
McDonnell's apology, at least, recognized that slavery was nothing to be proud of. It should be noted, however, that Virginia's previous two governors -- both Democrats -- did not feel the need to proclaim Confederate History Month. McDonnell's original proclamation, before he amended it, seemed designed to appeal to a fringe group for whom the Civil War is still an open question.
This is a free country -- for black people, too, thanks to the defeat of the Confederacy -- and so if some white Southerners want to celebrate the "heritage" of slavery, they are welcome to do so. But while they're entitled to their own set of opinions, they're not entitled to their own set of facts. I'd say that Haley Barbour's studied ignorance was "a bad thing," but that would be a gross understatement.
Eugene Robinson's e-mail address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com.
(c) 2010, Washington Post Writers Group
All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.
Comments
This forum is moderated by software. Please allow up to 15 minutes for your comments to go live and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.
Very good article. These
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 09:54 — Anonymous (not verified)Very good article. These historical revisionists are picking up where the Texas education scene just let off with their history textbooks. I suppose many of these southerns are descendants of Confederates and slave owners, and this is their way of dealing with the shame and guilt over these ancestors of theirs. Instead of being rational about the whole thing, rationality not a strong point for Republicans these days. It's interesting that membership in the two parties has shifted over time; with descendants of slaves and abolitionists tending to the Democratic camp, and descendants of slave owners and racists to the Republican one. Why did that happen? Another thing these revisionists like to tote -- is the falsehood that so many union soldiers and officers were not really opposed to slavery themselves. Many were, indeed, and left behind documentation to that point -- they were deeply opposed to slavery as a grave moral sin. A form of faith and religion that really sheds light on what a crock of hypocrisy the religious right today is, most of whom would trivialize slavery themselves.
McDonnell is a patsy
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 09:56 — Anonymous (not verified)McDonnell is a patsy figurehead, elected for controversy and distraction, along with Cuccinelli.
So it's a contest to see how outrageous they can be in the name of fundamentalist idealism. This gets the adoration of some of the po'folk, who assume it's the Government's fault for all the evil in the world.
Virginia is for Defense Contractors; they own Virginia.
Slavery was also Africa's
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 10:43 — Anonymous (not verified)Slavery was also Africa's original sin, and a whole lot of other places, too. So let's get down on Africa for not constantly harping on how bad they were to be big into the slave trade. For that matter, the Islamic world was huge into slavery, and many Europeans were victims of the practice. Mohammed enslaved people, where are the Muslims lining up to criticize him for it?
Muslims kept slaves until a
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 10:48 — Anonymous (not verified)Muslims kept slaves until a bunch of white, Christian, imperialist businessmen put an end to it (for the most part, some continues to this day). Sure, slavery is a blot on our history, but it is also a triumph, because we put an end to it. Where's the celebration? Where's the credit given where it's due?
The Confederate States were
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 10:58 — Anonymous (not verified)The Confederate States were also fighting to protect their right to secede from the Union. Many today believe the Civil War was more about a US power grab, preventing states from seceding and expanding federal powers, than it was about slavery. Slavery was the excuse used to get people in the North to support the war. I am against slavery, but in favor of states' rights to secede, so I do not believe the Civil War was a just war. If people in the North wanted to do away with slavery, they should have allowed the South to secede, and embargoed goods produced with the use of slavery, or goods produced in a state that allowed slavery. That would have been effective with a lot less bloodshed, and less concentration of federal power.
Beautifully said Mr.
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 10:59 — Anonymous (not verified)Beautifully said Mr. Robinson.
"But while they're entitled
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 11:43 — A fan (not verified)"But while they're entitled to their own set of opinions, they're not entitled to their own set of facts."
Nicely put and sums up what's wrong with this picture: persistent failure to know the facts...
or, put another way, 'faith based' knowledge
Thank you, Mr. Robinson. Keep up the good work.
I believe 15:58-Anonymous
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 12:16 — Doug Patton (not verified)I believe 15:58-Anonymous has a valid point, furthermore...
Who says slavery has been abolished in America?
Just because you get to choose who your overseer is doesn't mean you're not a slave... you're only a number on somebody's P.R. list... and they know how to get you to get yourself out of bed in the morning: Catchy ad campaigns.
Work hard so you can afford the next line of products destined for the land-fill. And do your patriotic duty by not paying cash for them, buy them on credit so the less fortunate (bankers) can share in your prosperity.
The power to purchase crap will make us all "FREE"!!!
Ain't it funny how "free' can be synonymous with "worthless"?
Since some are commenting on
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 15:56 — Anonymous (not verified)Since some are commenting on how slavery is alive and well in the U.S. (which I agree with) -- I'll add as examples, the corporate control over our borders that allows labor to pour in to work for virtually nothing. Also corporate production of goods -- for example -- in Africa, chocolate -- which uses children who labor under conditions that might as well be "modern day" slavery as well. So that American children can have Hershey's candy bars.
Eugene Robinson has such a
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 16:37 — Anonymous (not verified)Eugene Robinson has such a masterful way of "telling it like it is" without being authoritative, insulting, preachy or high-and-mighty with his words that only someone who's shoes are pinching can look for fault in what he says. Right on Mr. Robinson. Write on!
I'm a progressive liberal in
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 17:32 — WhyArts (not verified)I'm a progressive liberal in New Orleans and don't often agree with the likes of Haley Barbour, but do agree this time. "This controversy doesn't amount to diddly." The Civil War didn't become about slavery until Lincoln changed the subject from constitutional states' rights in late 1862 with the Emancipation Proclamation. It was a tactical PR move to give the North (who were losing despite every advantage) the moral high ground. It succeeded and led to victory and to Lincoln's main goal, the restoration of the Union. But the real struggle was between an old world agrarian economy and a modern industrial economy. Slavery was already a fading anachronism when the war began in 1861. Southerners - very few of whom were slaveholders - believed they were fighting for their way of life and the independence of their states, not slavery. Proof: The Confederate Constitution was modeled on, and very similar to, the US Constitution.
Great Article by Mr.
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 18:56 — Cecil Paul (not verified)Great Article by Mr. Robinson. Governor Barbour wants to be President of the USA ? May Heaven help minorities if he wins the Presidency. The Tea Party Movement protestors are slowly exposing themselves for what they are.Their grouse is not about policies, it is about who is making the policies. They cannot come to terms with racial equality.
Oh, good grief, you can't
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 20:24 — Anonymous (not verified)Oh, good grief, you can't compare cheap labor with slavery! There are reasons to seal our borders, but stopping Mexicans from coming up and getting low paying job to avoid slavery is not one of them! If they had better jobs in Mexico, they would stay there. It does them no favors to keep them in Mexico (although, again, there are other reasons it's a good idea to seal the borders).
However, there is real, actual slavery that continues to this day in some areas, including some Muslim countries. It's hard to eliminate a practice that goes back to Mohammed himself.
Nice article-just a couple
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 21:37 — JebusCrust (not verified)Nice article-just a couple of things to be aware of, bear with me a moment:
1.) Slavery was not our first, "original sin". That fact does not negate in any way its unfathomably horrendous place in our history. I cannot begin to understand the totality of what happened to black folk, or its persistent, lingering effects. One thing I do understand is that there was one group that, if you can imagine this, were screwed over even worse than african americans. And I really can't begin to understand how easily they've been forgotten. They were the indigenous populations. Remember them? We made unknown numbers of them our slaves first, but they turned out to not be good slaves, so then they were deliberately and violently eradicated in countless instances...starting at the very begining with one of our favorite historical heroes, the man immortalized forever in elementary school text-books as the discoverer of America, the honorable, brave, intrepid "Christian" Christopher Columbus.
2.) There is still plenty of slavery today in the form of a permanent underclass with little or no social mobility, living pay-check to pay-check-many of them black. Slavery, actually, was not exactly"free labor". There was a main cost bore unto the slaveowner in the form of providing a level of shelter and food in order that the slaves may be kept healthy enough to exploit.Sure they made the slaves do it, but hey thats lost production that could've been money!! Some masters took decent care of their slaves, others that could afford it treated them worse than animals, and simply bought more when worked to death. Today however, we receive fancy pieces of paper, or a few electronic signals on a computer hard drive in a bank, and then turn around and spend all that fancy paper or credits to furnish our own shelter and food. Some employers are better than others, and some are walmart, the fast food industy, the military.etc....There's a middleman called money that has the extraordinary quality of convincing, or rather conditioning people to believe they are free simply because they have the right to accrue it, and then give it right back.I used to get it but now I dont get it anymore.
3.)"the vile, unthinkable practices -- state-sanctioned kidnapping, torture and rape "- oh how far we've come- And to think the most infamous as of late being right on one of those caribbean islands where natives first experienced these atrocities a la american, and then a people from across the atlantic. I generally feel that progress slowly lurches upwards-I mean black people and women have more rights and respect now for example,..but I dunno. I must be having a moment, pardon me. Its just sinking in on me how we have all the tools, whats truly relevant, that is all the knowledge and the technology, and even a lot of resources still left to really make this a nice place for everyone, but money or "economics" and politics always gets in the way.No one seems to understand how the monetary system truly works...there's always debate...yet a small select group seems perpetually perched at the top of the pyramid-you know, like the major financial dynasties. Its almost like their the new masters, on a global scale, and the chains are much more abstract-money. Thats our slaveholding future.....nah thats silly! I can buy nice sneakers and t.vs and whatnot with my money! I need to go revisit my economics text books from college.
...now what were we talkin' about? Oh yeah Barbour is a horse's ass
There is no "permanent
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 22:47 — Anonymous (not verified)There is no "permanent underclass with little or no social mobility" except when a group chooses to stay where they are. Many immigrants who don't even speak good English and have nothing but the clothes on their backs can be successful here, and the second generation is often even more successful. Asians are a major success story, earning more than whites, with better health, lower school dropout rates, etc. It's not because they have had no discrimination to deal with, it's because they apply themselves and make something of themselves. They do not wallow in self-pity and blame everything on the white man. Going back into history, white people have had tough times, too. So what? Looking backward will not do any good.
Why honor them ? Perhaps
Wed, 04/14/2010 - 01:58 — Andrew Preston , UK (not verified)Why honor them ? Perhaps becuase they were some mothers' young sons, who died bloodily , years away from what would normally be called living out their lives. Honoring them isn't the same as honoring the cause.
Is 'a gauze of Spanish moss' a form of linguistic masturbation?
Southern Culture seems to be
Wed, 04/14/2010 - 11:17 — Anonymous (not verified)Southern Culture seems to be what the whites keep referring to when they talk about things like the Confederate Flag. But when I ask them to give me an example of "Southern Culture," they are hard-pressed to say much beyond "Gone with the Wind" as a model. How many whites lived THAT existence? It sure would be fun to have some of these folks actually live ONE day like a slave did -- they can better understand Southern Culture from that perspective, I think. It seems funny that they take such pride in the Confederate History and the revisionism that takes place -- Did you know that South Carolina did not leave The Union because of slavery? Yeah, it was a "state's rights" issue -- even though the succession letter itself says it was about slavery! Fly the Flag Proudly, Bubba.
Good post,
Wed, 04/14/2010 - 20:04 — webfoot doug (not verified)Good post, "Anonymous"(above, "Southern Culture seems....") is right on; it's not about "States' Rights."
It's about equality among all Americans.
"The more things change, the more they remain the same."
Or,
"Those who do not understand history will be doomed to repeat it."
In 1856, South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks brutally beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Summner
with a "gutta perche cane"; in 2010, Representative Joe
Wilson of South Carolina shouted "You lie" at the
President of the US.
Such is always the way of bullies when they can't get their way.
01:24 An apologist for
Fri, 04/16/2010 - 01:13 — Anonymous (not verified)01:24 An apologist for slavery. How quaint. What do you think slavery is, if not cheap labor? Oh, apparently you do know that.
Get a grip lady.
01:24, How much do you pay
Fri, 04/16/2010 - 01:15 — Anonymous (not verified)01:24, How much do you pay your docile Mexican slaves? Ever hear of 21st century labor laws?
Some people need to learn
Sun, 04/18/2010 - 01:26 — Anonymous (not verified)Some people need to learn about other cultures and countries. India's caste system provides no social mobility. Everyone is forgetting about the slave labor used in private prisons. Its a business and they want to keep those prisons full.