Posted on 08/03/2003 11:52:20 AM PDT by GOPcapitalist
Last February the Claremont Institute's Mackubin T. Owens authored a review of the movie Gods and Generals that ran in the Washington Times, National Review, and a couple other publications. The review was heavily critical of the movie's portrayal of the confederacy. This month I recieved a copy of the Claremont Review of Books for July 2003 and saw another civil war article by Owens, this one about two recent civil war books. As I read through it several passages sounded extremely familiar. So I pulled up the old one from February and, sure enough, Owens had cut n' pasted passages from it into the July article and left them there in both near identical and verbatim form. Here's a sample:
OWENS IN FEB. 2003 at http://www.nationalreview.com/owens/owens022503.asp
"The Lost Cause thesis comprises two parts. The first was (and remains) that the war was not about slavery, but "states rights." The second was (and remains) that the noblest soldier of the war was Robert E. Lee, ably aided by his "right arm," Stonewall Jackson, until the latter's death at Chancellorsville in May 1863. For three years, Lee and his army provided the backbone of the Confederate cause. But though his adversaries were far less skillful than he, they were able to bring to bear superior resources, which ultimately overwhelmed the Confederacy. In defeat, Lee and his soldiers could look back on a record of selfless regard for duty and magnificent accomplishment.
Almost from the instant the conflict ended, the Lost Cause school towered like a colossus over Civil War historiography. Lost Cause authors such as the former Confederate general Jubal Early were instrumental in shaping perceptions of the war, in the north as well as in the south. Gaining wide currency in the 19th century, the Lost Cause interpretation remains remarkably persistent even today — as Gods and Generals illustrates.
The problem for Gods and Generals as history is that the first part of the Lost Cause argument is demonstrably false. Slavery, not states right, was both the proximate and deep cause of the war. There was no constitutional right to dissolve the Union. Southerners could have invoked the natural right of revolution, but they didn't because of the implications for a slave-holding society, so they were hardly the heirs of the Revolutionary generation."
OWENS IN JUL. 2003 at http://www.claremont.org/writings/crb/summer2003/owens.html
"Almost from the moment the conflict ended, the Lost Cause school towered like a colossus over Civil War history writing. Former Confederate General Jubal Early, among others, was instrumental in shaping Northern as well as Southern perceptions of the war. The works of Douglas Southall Freeman, the Virginian biographer of Robert E. Lee, represent the epitome of the Lost Cause interpretation, but even writers like Bruce Catton, who viewed the war primarily from a Northern perspective, accepted many of the Lost Cause assumptions.
There are two parts to this interpretation. The first is political, insisting that the cause of the war was not slavery but the oppressive power of the central government, which longed to tyrannize over the Southern states. The South desired merely to exercise its constitutional right to secede, but was thwarted by a power-hungry Lincoln. The second part is military: the noblest soldier of the war was Robert E. Lee. For three years, he and his army proved the backbone of the Confederate cause, fighting in Virginia, the most important theater of the war. But though his adversaries were far less skillful, they were able to bring to bear superior resources, ultimately overwhelming the Confederacy.
The first part of the Lost Cause argument is demonstrably false. Slavery was both the immediate and the deep cause of the war. There was no "constitutional right" to dissolve the Union. Southerners could have invoked the natural right of revolution, but didn't because of the subversive implications for a slave-holding society."
Is TN nice? Where would you recommend looking?
I've lived in several places in the south including on the east coast in Virginia and the deep south in Texas and there is a distinct difference in political culture here than on the northeast coast. Even the suburban/urban DC areas of Virginia are different from their mirrors on the Maryland side. By simply crossing the potomac you go from a pro-gun state with mostly republican congressmen (the only D in that area is Jim Moran, and he represents mostly ghetto) into a gun control nazi left wing smart growth utopia with almost exclusively democrat congressmen.
I don't agree. There are alot of transplants in the urban areas, and they have, naturally enough, mucked the place up with their silly accents, the DEAN stickers on their Volvos, and their socialist/marxist philosophy. But outside the major urban centers all of us from the south are still sleeping with our sisters and walking barefoot down to the creek to take a bath once a month, just like always ... :)
Actually, the most morally grounded and conservative part of the country is the intermountain west, it has been proven in election after election. The division in the country is now the coasts vs. the interior and east vs. west.
I don't differentiate too much between the South and the midwest when it comes to actually being the moral center of this country ... there is a 'coasts vs. interior' thing going on, but that is mainly Atlantic Northeast and Pacific coast vs. everyone else.
If you have the $$, and can live where you want, look at the mountains in NC or TN ... very pretty countryside. The major cities of the south, like Atlanta and Charlotte, are probably just about like most other urban areas ... over-run with Metrosexuals and Saab drivers with Gore stickers. But the rural south usually has broadband internet access, and has not yet devolved into a Godless, marxist dystopia like NJ or CA.
LOL, somehow I'm not surprised. Jaffa the Putz must be slipping instructional pamphlets into those alternate-reality novels of his.
BTW, my father is a teacher here in NC (8th grade NC history). Every year they have to go to another seminar telling them what will be taught and how it will be taught statewide. He said the guy leading the conference used this same tired old argument when discussing the War using meaningless graphs, charts, and maps. What was funny is when I talked with my father that night, he made the statement something to the effect that two years ago, he would have believed the line and gone on to teach the material exactly as the state requested. However since we have been discussing the true underlying causes for the war, he said he teaches more truth than fable. Said he still has a warm place in his heart for the northern tyrant after listening to the myths for 60 years and it being the only point of view he ever knew. But it's a good sign nonetheless
Good to know some eighth graders are getting an education instead of a worn out lie
The {ctrl-c/ctrl-v} tactic is not surprising as it allows for rapid volleys and maximum obfuscation, demonstrated to some effect on numerous threads here at FR. And only shoddy scholorship would permit anyone to impugn the home of catfish and collard greens.
My South is hot. My South smells of newly mowed grass. My South was kick the can, creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird hunting.
In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern Conference is the kingdom.
My South is home to the most beautiful women on the planet.
In my South, soul food and country cooking are the same thing.
My South is full of fig preserves, cornbread, butter beans, fried chicken, grits and catfish.
In my South we eat foie gras, caviar and truffles. In my South, our transistor radios introduced us to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the same time they were introduced to the rest of the country.
In my South, grandmothers cook a big lunch every Sunday, so big that we call it dinner (supper comes later).
In my South, family matters, deeply.
My South is boiled shrimp, blackberry cobbler, peach ice cream, banana pudding and oatmeal cream pies.
In my South people put peanuts in bottles of Coca-Cola and hot sauce on almost everything.
In my South the tea is iced and almost as sweet as the women. My South has air-conditioning.
My South is camellias, azaleas, wisteria and hydrangeas.
In my South, the only person that has to sit on the back of the bus is the last person that got on the bus.
In my South, people still say "Yes, ma'am," "No ma'am," "Please" and "Thank you."
In my South, we all wear shoes....most of the time.
My South is the best-kept secret in the country.
This was written by Robert St. John, executive chef and owner of the Purple Parrot Cafe, Crescent City Grill and Mahogany Bar of Hattiesburg, MS. Please continue to keep the secret....it keeps the idiots away.
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