Ghosts of the Old South

Over the weekend, the remnants of “the Cause” gathered at the Alabama Statehouse to celebrate the swearing in of Jefferson Davis as Confederate president 150 years ago. In effect, they were there to cheer the 11 Southern slave states that started a conflagration through secession and eventual use of arms against Fort Sumter in April 1861. At bottom for these kepi-capped Rebels, it was all done to preserve a “way of life.” The Civil War cost over a million American casualties (3% of the population), including some 620,000 soldier deaths. Some 3.5 million slaves were emancipated, but it would take another hellish century for African Americans to fully realize their freedom. At the rally, the Davis obsessives pined for “the land of cotton” where “old times there are not forgotten.” Most everybody else in Dixie just chose to “look away, look away” in quiet embarrassment. It was also telling that the Confederate re-enactors outnumbered the spectators. It’s a free country, no thanks to the Confederacy, and these folks can toast Jeff Davis to their heart’s delight. But I’ll never understand these apologists for the Old South and the legacy of its crimes against humanity.