Thesis

This paper will explain to you how the southern socialites changed the history the civil war to benefit them. Showing you the reader the real history of the civil war without any biasness will help you understand the socialites’ negative actions. Then you will learn how the socialites’ actions affected African Americans.

Background

Slavery was established In America when African Americans were forcibly brought to American colonies and after decades of being in America, they were stripped of human rights and enslaved. Slave masters would whip slaves who “disobeyed” orders. All treatments went on for two centuries. During this time slave owners tried to find many reasons to justify slavery even going as far as to say slavery was in the will of God and scientist “proved” blacks were less evolved a subspecies of humans. Slaves were finally free the mid 1800’s because of the civil war and the emancipation proclamation. Even though they were free, they weren’t “free” … They faced many more problems after slavery like KKK, lynchings, racism, racist attacks, racial segregation.

Civil War

The Civil War was very defining in the history of the United States, it pinned brother against brother on the topic of slavery. Battles raged all over the United States causing immense damage to life and properties. Cities were virtually razed to the ground leaving thousands displaced. New technologies entered the battlefield shaking the idea of classic warfare to its knees and allowing the first steps of modern warfare to arise.

Abraham Lincoln had to hold the nation together at all costs during these gloomy times. He grappled with failures such as the Battle of Bull Run showing his general and the public that these rebels were being serious on their threats. A defeat showing that the Union was ill prepared for a major war.  He had to deal with the unfortunate death of his little kid because of illness. The death of his little boy that most have sadness him to his very core. This a quote that perfectly describes his feelings, “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!”[1] Behind the scenes, political successes were being accomplished to ensure the legitimacy of the “war” and the emancipation of slaves.

After everything was said and done, the Union triumphed over the Confederacy due to the Anaconda Plan which was to split the Confederacy and encircle their forces. Abraham Lincoln intended to re-unite the Union by soothing the wounds of fellow brothers. The Freeman’s Bureau was established to provide freshly released African Americans a second opportunity in society after so much wrongdoing. Former slave owners’ newly acquired land was given to newly freed slaves because of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15, but they were relentlessly persecuted and driven out of the south.

Reconstruction

Following the Civil War during reconstruction, an organization called United Daughters of the Confederacy, which was made of female descendants of Confederate Soldiers, was formed to preserve the “Southern way of life” and to inform the public “correct” history of the South. They pressed legislators to acquire textbooks that portrayed the Confederacy and slavery in a greater light.  “After the Civil War, from the 1870s through the 1910s, public schooling grew more common in the South, and Confederate sympathizers wanted to ensure that their children received an “appropriate” [2]education on Southern history and culture,” writes Georgia State University Magazine. This shows how the plans of these daughters were to make sure the generations to come would only know information that they were biased too, knowing the children easily believe whatever is thrown in their faces. This demonstrates how these daughters planned to ensure that future generations would only know facts that they were biased about, knowing that children quickly believe whatever is placed in their faces.

The United Daughters of Confederacy

The United Daughters of the Confederacy were an organization whose members were descendants of Confederate soldiers and officials. The organization’s goal was to collect historical records, sites, and resources, and it even offered rewards to students who wrote essays about the historic south. This organization plays a role in disseminating and sustaining the lost cause ideal of the civil war and claim, which dismisses slavery as the cause of the civil war and argues state’s rights were the reason. It has been abused to fulfill the purposes of white nationalists.

            The United Daughters of the Confederacy focus on education for both young and old pupils for them to comprehend southern history. The organization formed a second group called Children of Confederacy to focus on children’s education. The goal of all of this was to implant the lost cause in children at a young age so that it would remain in their brains throughout their lives and future generations.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy even rewrote the history of slavery. They stated, “What was the feeling of slaves towards their masters?” “They were faithful and devoted, and they were always ready and willing to serve them,”[3] and this was all in the book, “The U.D.C. catechism for children”, which was published in 1904.          

The propagation of the concept of the “lost cause” throughout the south had a negative impact on African Americans. The lost cause was an understanding of the Civil War from the standpoint of the Confederates. It was created by white southerners who served as Confederate generals after the war. The lost cause created and fantasized about the “old south,” frequently distorting history in the process. One of the main reasons historians call the lost cause a myth is because of this.

Conclusion

We must urge our legislators to reconsider these outdated traditions and ensure that future generations understand the country’s true history, even if it is dark and unwelcome knowledge. Furthermore, by having accurate information, we ensure that the hundreds of thousands of slaves are never forgotten. This will enable us to build a better country. A country that is always learning from its mistakes to build a better future. As a result, I chose this topic to enlighten you on how the selfish prejudice of southern socialites harms this country.

---

[1] “A House Divided, America in the Age of Lincoln.” A House Divided, America in the Age of Lincoln, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/ahd/wps4.html. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.

[2] “Rewriting History.” Georgia State News Hub, 8 July 2021, news.gsu.edu/research-magazine/rewriting-history-civil-war-textbooks.

[3] “United Daughters of the Confederacy – Encyclopedia Virginia.” Encyclopedia Virginia, 10 Sept. 1894, encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/united-daughters-of-the-confederacy.