Tonight, while my dad was flipping through the TV and he stopped on ETV. There was some kind of show on about Harry Connick, Jr. and tracing his ancestors. Apparently, his ancestor James Connick signed up to fight for the Confederate Army. When Harry found out about this, not only was he embarrassed that his family was on the side of the South, but he was very disrespectful to his ancestor and anyone else that fought for the South. He kept looking for a reason his ancestor would join the Confederate Army and it not include him condoning slavery or owning a slave. Are you kidding me??? His biggest mistake was not knowing anything about history. I am here to give you a quick history lesson so you don't make that same mistake...
Origins of the American Civil War:
Confederacy (South) vs. Union (North)
Slavery was an issue and a cause in disunion between the North and the South. Slavery had become very popular in the south because the south was conducive to growing cash crops, like tobacco, cotton, and indigo. The first slaves to leave Africa, and the majority of the slaves to leave Africa actually ended up in South America.----NOT in the Southern states of North America. Southerners, while holding slaves, thought that if the Federal government actually held a restriction against slavery that it violated states' rights'. They felt that it would make the Federal government too strong. "As a panel of historians emphasized in 2011, "while slavery and its various and multifaceted discontents were the primary cause of disunion, it was disunion itself that sparked the war." Other factors that helped catalyst discontent among North and South were tariffs, party politics, abolitionism, Southern and Northern nationalism, expansionism, sectionalism, and economics. All of these things actually contributed to the American Civil War.
I hear all the time from students that I teach that the Civil War was fought because of slavery. While slavery was a major issue, it wasn't THE ONLY issue. Also, I know my ancestors fought for the South, some of them. Why would I be ashamed of that?? Have I ever owned a slave? Do I support racism? No and no. In fact, I should be proud that one of my ancestors stood up and was willing to go to war to fight for something that he believed in so wholeheartedly--whether we think it was morally right or not. Slavery was a big issue--and yes, it happened. We should accept it and not be ashamed of it. Make sure it doesn't happen again. And if slavery was really what the Civil War was fought about, why were there African American soldiers that willingly fought for the South? Before you go and make yourself look absolutely uninformed about anything (like Harry Connick, Jr), do some historical research and make sure you know all the facts.
Quick fact: About 70% of white Southerners did not own slaves. Those who did owned 20 or less, and those who owned 50 or more were few and far between.
Found a cool article on African Americans and their role in the Confederate Army: here is the link if you can't read it.... http://www.flatfenders.com/scv/bc.htm
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