Myths of American Slavery

by Walter Kennedy

  In another attempt to discredit the Confederate flag, many liberals and misguided conservatives will insist that the institution of racial discrimination (i.e., segregation) is the product, or at least the outgrowth, of slavery. Therefore, the South and the Confederate flag represent (in their narrow-minded view) the epitome of racial discrimination in America. Of course, this view overlooks two hundred years of discriminatory laws written and enforced in the North prior to the defeat of the South in 1865. Yes, America has a long history of laws that discriminate against nonwhites. As will be recalled, a Southerner, St. George Tucker, spoke out in opposition to such laws in 1808. But it was in 1898 that the United States Supreme Court made such laws the "law of the land." In a landmark decision, Ples.sev v. Ferguson, the Federal, not the Confederate, Supreme Court approved the doctrine of separate but equal (i.e., segregation) in the United States and affirmed that anyone with at least one-eighth Negro blood was legally a Negro.'(' Although the South often gets blamed for this decision because the case originated in Louisiana, it was the Federal Supreme Court that announced the reality of segregation in America. For those who are determined to blame the South for this decision, a look at how and by whom this Supreme Court decision was made is instructive. In denying that the Fourteenth Amendment offered protection against discrimination based upon color, justice Henry B. Brown of Minnesota, stated, "[I]n the nature of things it [the Fourteenth Amendment] could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either."" Citing an 1849 Massachusetts law mandating separate schools for colored children as the premise for the majority ruling, justice Brown noted that segregation in schools and society existed even "where the political rights of the colored race have been longest and most earnestly enforced."12 Please note once again that this was the Federal Supreme Court and not a Confederate court or a Southern state court that was declaring racial discrimination (i.e., segregation) the "law of the land." Segregation became the "law of the land" in 1898 not because the South imposed its will upon the United States, but rather because a Federal Supreme Court justice from Minnesota, citing a law mandating racially segregated schools in Massachusetts, wrote a majority decision (only one judge voted against the majority decision-it was not even close) that instituted racial discrimination in America.

  After the defeat of the South, during Reconstruction, the Congress of the United States established a segregated public school system for children in Washington, D.C. These schools were segregated until after the 1954 Brown v. Topeka Supreme Court decision which overturned Plessey v. Ferguson. Therefore, Dixie cannot be blamed for segregation. It should be remembered that during the middle of the twentieth century at least twenty-six out of forty-eight states in the Union at that time had laws providing for some form of segregation. Again, the author reminds the reader that there were only thirteen Confederate States of America. Thus, an equal number of border states and non-Southern states had laws promoting racial segregation as provided by the United States Supreme Court. The claim of the left that the South is to blame for the evils of slavery and racism in America cannot be substantiated by historic fact.

  Few people have grasped the feelings that Southerners held for the flag of the Confederacy as did Fr. Abram As a priest, he served as the religious shepherd of his community of faith. As the "poet priest" of the Confederacy, Father Ryan offered solace and hope to a defeated people. His Confederate poetry included such works as "The Land We Love," in which he touches on the loss that the South suffered, yet reminds us of the hope that remains:

  In "A Land Without Ruins" Father Ryan explains how truly poor a land is when it is not peopled with those who will risk ruin of material possessions in the defense of a noble cause:

  In "The Prayer of the South," Father Ryan reminds the South of its duty as a Christian society to pray not only for its loss but also for those who are responsible for that loss:

  In these small excerpts of some of Father Ryan's many poems we see expressed a strong and resolute love for the Southern cause, a love that lived long after the defeat of the South. For many Southerners, his most touching work was entitled "The Conquered Banner":

  It may come as a surprise to many, but some sources claim that the most popular song that came out of the South during the War was not "Dixie" but "The Bonnie Blue Flag." "The Bonnie Blue Flag" was written by Harry Macarthy, a European-born entertainer who migrated to Arkansas in 1849. He premiered "The Bonnie Blue Flag" during a concert in Jackson, Mississippi, at the conclusion of the 1861 secession convention of Mississippi. Macarthy was present when the convention of the people of the state of Mississippi voted to secede from the Union. When the vote was announced, a cry of joy went up from the people around the capitol, and a blue flag with a single white star was displayed before the crowd. Macarthy was so moved by the reaction of the people of Mississippi that he wrote "The Bonnie Blue Flag." The first verse tells the story of the feelings of the people of the South:

  The Bonnie Blue flag became the first Confederate flag for many Southern states as each state withdrew from the Union. As time and events progressed, the single star of the Bonnie Blue flag grew to become eleven. The struggle for Southern independence was defended by many locally raised military units. Often these units of young men were sent off to war carrying a unit flag made by the mothers, wives, and daughters of those men. These flags were as varied and distinct as those seen in any army in history. Oftentimes the flags presented by the ladies would have mottoes inscribed on them. If the war was being fought to preserve slavery, the mottoes adopted by these units do not reflect that idea. An example of a few such mottoes demonstrates that these men were fighting in what they considered to be a noble struggle for freedom and justice. Here are a few such mottoes found on various Confederate battle flags:ls

  Arkansas, Company B, Fifteenth Infantry-"Let Justice Be Done though the Heavens Fall"

  Florida, Company B, Third Infantry-"Any Fate But Submission"

  Georgia, Company E, First Infantry-"We Yield Not to Our Country's Foes"

  Louisiana, Company K, Third Infantry-"Southern Rights Inviolate"

  Maryland, Company E, First Maryland Cavalry-"Hope Is Our Watchword, Truth Our Guiding Star"

  Mississippi, Company C, Thirteenth Infantry-"Protector and Avenger"

  North Carolina, Company E, Sixth Infantry-"In God We Trust: Victory or Death"

  South Carolina, Company B, Third Infantry-"God Guide Us"

  South Carolina, Company F, Fifth Infantry-"Like Our Ancestors, We Will Be Free"

  Tennessee, Company H, Seventh Infantry-"The Women of Lebanon to the Lebanon Greys. Go and Fight!"

  Texas, Seventeenth Infantry-"Trust in God"

  Texas, Twentieth Infantry-"Our Honor and Our Rights"

  Virginia, Second Infantry-"God and Our Homes"

  Virginia, Thirty-Sixth Infantry-"Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Thus Ever to Tyrants)

  In the literature of their spoken words, in the lyrics of their songs, and in the mottoes emblazoned upon their banners, the people of the South declared their love for home, liberty, and their flags.

  After Southern defeat and Reconstruction, the North and the South came to a tacit agreement about the War, its aftermath, and Southern heroes. The South would support the national government and not again attempt secession, while the North would acknowledge the valor, honor, and courage of the members of the Confederate war effort. This quid pro quo arrangement meant that the North did not have to be on guard constantly against a new Southern "rebellion" and that the men of the South could always be counted on to defend American interests. The South, on the other hand, salvaged the honor of its patriots and the honor of the cause for which it fought. Thus, on the whole, after about 1880 and tip until the mid-1960s, Southern heroes such as Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others were considered "American" heroes. For example, during World War II
the United States built several battle tanks and named them in honor of Confederate heroes such as the US M3 Al Lee, a medium tank which was put into production in 1942, and the US M3 Stuart, it light tank which saw extensive service in North Africa. Highways, counties, and schools throughout the United States were named in honor of Robert Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson. The Mississippi and Alabama National Guards composed the elements of the United States Army's Dixie Division. The term "Dixie" as well as the playing of the song "Dixie" was in near universal usage during that time. As long as both parties abided by this tacit agreement, all was well. But in this age of political correctness, Big Brother has now determined that all such displays are tantamount to it hate crime. In chastising the radicals of the North for refusing to abide by the constitutional mandate of the Fugitive Slave Act, Daniel Webster correctly noted that, "A bargain cannot he broken on one side and still hind the other side."'"' Today, Southern heroes and icons have become enemies of the existing political order in the United States, and the old agreement has been broken. Southerners are required to fight in the wars of the United States, to obey Federal laws, and to pay Federal taxes, yet, Southern heroes and symbols are the subject of ridicule and condemnation, even to the point of being banned from public display. How long should the South be expected to continue its cooperation with a nation that will not honor an agreement made while the memory of its fathers' deeds and untimely death was still strong?

  SUMMARY

  In the present politically correct environment of the United States, it is not uncommon to hear the Confederate flag referred to as the flag of slavery. Although there are several national flags in the world today that are recognized by reliable anti-slavery groups as flags of nations that promote slavery, nevertheless, it is still the flag of a defeated and conquered nation, the Confederate States of America, that is held up to the world as the "flag of slavery." After fifteen years of civil war in the Sudan, Muslims from the northern part of that country routinely make raids on the southern portion of it where they shoot the men and make slaves of the women and children. The slaves taken in the southern region are non-Muslim members of Christian or animist religious sects. At this writing, a slave in Sudan can be bought for as little as ninety dollars, and such slaves are routinely beaten or mutilated for the smallest of infractions. In the Sudan, for example, a six-year-old slave failed to perform a task to the liking of his master and was punished by having his index finger cut off.20 A thirteen-year-old girl was interviewed by a member of an anti-slavery society and described her life as a modern-day African slave. Her interviewer stated, "Throughout the day, she worked in his [her master's] sorghum fields and at night in his bed. During the march [from freedom to slavery], she was raped and called a black donkey." 21 In Mauritania, slavery is as rampant as it ever was in the old days of slavery in the Upper South. Simply put, human rights abuses such as slavery and genocide are not uncommon in Africa today. Unfortunately for those suffering from such abuses, very little attention is given these oppressed individuals by the modern liberal media. This is the same liberal media that waste no effort in ridiculing and defaming the flag of the Confederate States of America. The question is, why do liberals attack the flag of a defeated nation where slavery ended more than 150 years ago, and yet seldom have the courage to speak out about human rights abuses and slavery that are rampant in Africa today? If one-half the media coverage that is given to attacking the Confederate flag were given to the abuses of human rights occurring today in Africa, those individuals now suffering as African slaves and abused citizens of various African nations would have real hope for relief from their suffering.

  From chattel slavery in Africa, child labor slaves in India, to female sex slaves of Southeast Asia, slavery is still alive in the world today. This is not to mention the political and civil slavery (see St. George Tucker, Chapter 5) that is rampant in the world today. Yes, there are numerous "flags of slavery" that can be identified today, but not one slave is currently held in the Confederate States of America. Again, the author must insist: the Confederate flag is not the flag of slavery.

  MYTH: The Confederate flag is a symbol of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups and therefore should be banned.

  REALITY. One of the largest parades held by the Ku Klux Klan in America was held in 1926 in Washington, D. C. Photographs demonstrate that the flag of the Klan in that parade was not the Confederate flag but the flag of the United States. The use of the United States flag by the Klan and other white supremacist groups is not uncommon in the United States. The largest and strongest defender of white supremacy in the South during the civil rights struggle of the mid-twentieth century was the "Citizens' Council." The logo of the Citizens' Council displays two crossed flags, a United States flag and a Confederate States flag, with the United States flag in the position of the superior flag. If the use of the Confederate flag by these groups is sufficient to cause the banning of the Confederate flag, then what must be said about the use of the United States flag by these same groups? No one should ever be willing to surrender any portion of his heritage because of the misuse of that heritage by a hate group. Remember, the same groups that misuse the Confederate flag also misuse the United States flag, the United States Constitution, the Christian cross, and the Holy Bible. Are these icons of our history and faith to be jettisoned also because of their misuse by hate groups?

  MYTH: The market for slaves in the South made the African slave trade possible; therefore, the Confederate flag is the flag of the African slave trade.

  REALITY: The assumption in this statement is that the only reason Yankees were involved in the African slave trade was to meet the demands of the Southern slave market. As demonstrated in Chapter 2, 94 percent of all those taken from Africa as slaves were sent somewhere other than the South. It is hard to believe that the totality of the Northern slave trade was in response to the 6 percent demand from American slave markets. Although there was a demand for slaves both from Southern and Northern slave markets, it was the planters of the West Indies and the production of sugar that were the driving forces behind the African slave trade.22 This demand was answered by slave traders from essentially every European nation as well as New England's maritime fleet. In the year 1740, the slaving fleet of Newport, Rhode Island, alone consisted of 120 slave ships capable of carrying from 60 to 150 slaves each. By 1750, the slave-trading fleet of that city had increased by 50 additional ships capable of carrying more than 20,000 slaves to the New World each year.23 In 1808, by an act of the Federal Congress supported by an overwhelming majority of Southern senators and congressmen, the importation of African slaves into the United States was prohibited. Nevertheless, the commercial interests of the North maintained a strong presence among the slave- trading fleets operating between Africa and the Western Hemisphere. Northerners were active in this nefarious commerce even on the eve of the War for Southern Independence as the story of the Nightingale demonstrates (see Chapter 4). Although the United States had declared the slave trade to be piracy and punishable by death, only one American during the entire history of the illegal African slave trade was actually executed. On February 21, 1862, Capt. Nathaniel Gordon from New York, described as a "slaver of experience," met the fate that so many other American slavers had avoided. Even as late as 1870, five years after the defeat of the Confederate States of America, the United States Congress was appropriating funds for continuing its efforts to suppress the African slave trade.24 This trade did not end until after Cuba and Brazil had abolished slavery, almost twenty years after Appomattox! Slavery and the horrors of the slave trade existed long after it had been abolished in the South, yet liberals do not condemn the flag of Cuba or the flag of Brazil as "the flag of slavery." Why is this hypocrisy not condemned by those who proclaim themselves to be defenders of fairness and equal treatment?

  MYTH: As a Christian society, the South should be willing to do away with any symbol, such as the Confederate flag, that insults and offends o
ther people.

  REALITY: While most Christians have no desire to be insulting or offensive to anyone, this concern for the feelings of others by no means should be taken as a willingness to ignore the commandment that instructs Christians to "honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12 KJV). Is allowing one's ancestors to be incorrectly condemned as evil, hate-filled individuals upholding the commandment to "honour thy father and thy mother"? Is pandering to the delusions of the ignorant the most appropriate manner for promoting good will and understanding? As has been shown throughout this book, the slave trade, slavery, and racism are not the stock-in-trade of the South nor of the Confederate flag. If people choose to be offended by a Southern symbol, or if they are possessed of a Confederate flag phobia, there is little anyone, no matter how well intentioned he may be, can do to make such people less offended. Kowtowing to the ill-founded prejudices of the misguided places one in a never-ending downward spiral of historical and cultural apologies that will only end with a total debasement of a people's collective history. Christians are called upon to know the truth, for it and it alone will set one free (John 8:32). The truth about the institution of slavery and the Confederate flag should manfully and uncompromisingly be asserted.