Open letter to the Governor of Virginia

Published under Uncategorized.

Sir,

I was deeply disappointed to read the language added to your statement about the Civil War that read “the institution of slavery led to this war.”  It is precisely that sort of revisionist history that will lead to our children not understanding the full reasons why such a terrible conflict occurred.

I have visited museums across the US, and the constant themes I have found is a battle cry of “preserve the union” in the north, and “states’ rights” in the south.  I have never seen one piece of history that shows slavery as the primary reason that conflict occurred. 

There is strong evidence to the contrary, actually.  Let me ask these questions:  1) Why, if slavery was the point, did over 90,000 FREE black men fight FOR the confederacy?  2) Why, if eliminating slavery was his motivation, did the Union general allow his wife and family to own slaves?  I could continue, but hopefully have made a point.

Believe me when I say that I am not some redneck southerner who believes the South will rise again.  I am an educated professional who happens to believe that revisionist history is one of the worst things we can let happen.  It is an insult to the memory of our combined culture and history and the people who lived it to say that man never walked on the moon, or the holocaust never happened.  Yet, these ideas exist today. 

It would equally be grave insult to the men and women who died in our country’s history to say that they gave their life fighting for/against slavery when in reality, the issues of the day were incredibly complex, very heated, and very similar to the problems that caused us to break away from England and form this great country to begin with. 

Similarly, saying the Civil War was fought over slavery is like saying the American Revolution was fought over tea.

I’m sure all my comments have no bearing on, well, anything.  But at least they’ve been said.

Sincerely,
me