Michael Adkins
To understand what Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders are doing with their attempted revision of history, one must remember the Lost Cause movement following the Civil War. Southerners, awash in the shame of defeat, realizing that former slaves were not going to rise up and subjugate them as had been predicted, needed a means to regain face. This they did with the creation of the Lost Cause myth. And a powerful and effective myth it became.
The Lost Cause myth taught generations of southern youth that the Civil War was never about slavery. Nay, it was the “War of Northern Aggression,” a fight to defend states’ rights, and a number of other fact-less arguments. It mattered not that Mississippi, in it’s Declaration of Secession, clearly stated the defense of slavery was the sole issue. Other states followed suit with such statements. Confederate V.P. Alexander Stevens in his famous oration declared secession was all about slavery.
The Lost Cause argument reminded us that only about 18% of the southern population owned slaves, therefore it could not have been fought over slavery. That ignores three basic facts. Once you add family members to those who did own slaves under the law, the number of people with a dog in the fight rose to roughly half of the non-slave South. C.S.A soldiers were 40% more likely to own slaves than the rest of the Confederate population. As for non-slave-holding soldiers, there are a number of reasons for fighting, including defense of homeland, and for money. And then there is the fact that the nation’s first conscripted soldiers were Confederates. Of course, slavery was so important to the Confederacy, those who owned 20 or more slaves were exempt from conscription. There is of course another annoying fact the Lost Cause myth omits. Desertion amongst Confederate soldiers was exceedingly high — far more so than among Union soldiers. General Lee complained that the Army of Northern Virginia had lost perhaps as much as 40% of his troops from desertion.
The Lost Cause myth, designed in part to keep blacks subjugated, succeeded in large part due to the efforts of The Daughters of the Confederacy, who were great fundraisers, constructing hundreds of monuments to Confederate leaders. They successfully lobbied southern state legislatures to rewrite history books to downplay slavery and even place that institution in a positive, humane light.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The predominance of Southern Democratic Senators and Congressmen in Congressional leadership for decades aided in protecting segregation and Jim Crow Laws. They managed to get many military bases named for Confederates who treacherously renounced their vows to protect the United States.
With the success of the Civil Rights movement, the Lost Cause lost its effectiveness. The removal of Confederate statues and the renaming of military bases followed suit.
This, of course, led to a backlash.
It wasn’t enough for the Klan and other white supremacist groups to march in protest. Southern government officials had to get involved. Hence, Governor Ron DeSantis led a modern-day Lost Cause movement. It is illegal in many states to teach Critical Race Theory, which has never been taught anywhere save some law schools. Florida’s new public school curriculum whitewashes slavery, branding it once again as a benign institution that actually benefited the slaves. In examples to make the latter point, Florida offered false examples. A highlighted former slave was never a blacksmith as claimed. A number of “success” stories were never slaves.
One has to ask, what is the purpose of this new Lost Cause narrative? Why are these Republicans acting in such a way? Why has it spread, even as far as Indiana? I would argue that it has much to do with the sizable minority of white supremacist supporters within the GOP. Ask yourself, how much control over the Republican Party does this minority hold? The answer lies in this new Lost Cause movement.
Michael Adkins is a former Chair of the Hancock County Democratic Party.
