"At least one in four had been free persons of color before the war. Contemporary whites and their descendants either refused to acknowledge or deliberately distorted the accomplishments of the state's black leaders."
About 190 blacks served in the S.C. Legislature during Reconstruction, more by far than in any other Southern legislature.
That is part of the state's special history. It is one of the few to have been predominantly black and remained so into the 1890s. Like other states with large West African-derived populations, such as Alabama and Mississippi, South Carolina has a long history of using any means possible to subvert the political will of its black citizens.
The controversy there has been stoked by the increasingly radical Sons of the Confederate Veterans. Now dominated by the segregationist and secessionist League of the South, the SCV is more open than before about considering blacks and Northerners its archenemies. The drive to monumentalize the history of Reconstruction has members' blood boiling.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group of Civil War veterans' descendants, wants to stop the effort to federally protect several sites honoring South Carolina's and Beaufort County's prominent historical roles in the post-Civil War period.
"If the National Park Service wants to honor blacks being free from slavery and blacks getting the right to vote, that's fine," said Michael Givens, first lieutenant of the state division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. "Just don't do it under the pretenses of Reconstruction."
. . .Givens, of the SCV, said Reconstruction was a terrible time for Southern whites, who he said were "punished" by Northern whites, or "carpetbaggers," who came South. "The genesis of bad relationships between the races is Reconstruction," rather than slavery, Givens said. [Emphasis mine.]
. . .Recently, the park service included an explanation at a new exhibit at Fort Sumter, which it operates, saying slavery was the underlying cause of the Civil War. Southern groups, such as the SCV, maintain the war was fought over "states rights."The SCV wrote Wilson, drafted a resolution against the Reconstruction study and put it on the group's Web site. Reconstruction study supporters countered by also writing Wilson.
Article comments
1 - nolan corder
your nonsense is just more liberal anti-southern bigotry that has been spewed at the south by virulant yankee radicals for along time and will not go away. you do more to divide us than anyone.
2 - Mac Diva
Really? And, I could have sworn that I am gal from North Carolina some of whose ancestors were here all along.
3 - Know Better Than You
And to think that all those goods, land, money that was stolen by the carpetbagging yankees during reconstruction was really for our own good. All the citizens who were murdered and beaten, was for our own good. All our churches and universities vandalized and burned, and it was really good for us. [personal attack deleted] Try reading "The Tragic Era" by Bowers, for a true look at what the horrible period called "reconstruction" was really like. [personal attack deleted]
4 - Mac Diva
[personal attack deleted]
5 - Mac Diva
Saying I am descended from the 'property 'the commenter above claims was stolen from his ancestors by the Civil War, i.e, slaves, is not a personal attack on anyone. However, seeing it deleted is an excellent reminder of Right Wingers' desire to 'erase' slavery. Meanwhile, the commenter's screeching about being deprived of human chattel is left intact. But no-o-o, Right Wingers are not bigots.
6 - Mike Kole
Being of Slavic descent, and of immigrants who came to the US 25 years after the Civil War ended, I really don't have a dog in this fight, or any ancestral spat. I suppose I could hold some grudge towards people of Germanic and/or Russian descent, since the word Slavic has a literal root (Slav = slave) and their great-great-great-great-grandparents were owning mine, but I can't see any real point.
In the same way, I can't see much real point in those who continue this spat in the US today, on either side. The Civil War ended 139 years ago, folks, and none of you had anything to do with it. None of you were wronged in any way by the Civil War or by Reconstruction.
Of course, it is fun for me to go to Atlanta and wear my 'Sons of General Sherman' t-shirt.
7 - Mac Diva
Stop taking your life in your hands, Mike-:).
My years in Atlanta have got to have been among the most schizoid I've known. My friends were a diverse group of all races, both genders and some internationals. But, the neo-Confederate ethos was still very much present. Among other things, I learned there were still clubs and restaurants where people of color are not welcome. The hatred directed at the political establishment by some white people was amazing. Still, we were young and had a lot of fun. Sometimes, I miss the place.