Why Treason In Defense of Slavery Month

There's been a few comments, both here and at other sites, that question the value of Treason in Defense of Slavery Month. These posts claim that focusing on the treasonous aspect of the war mutes the importance of race. Others say that it ignores race at all, particularly northern racism at the same time.

These comments somewhat miss the point. No one is claiming the North was not racist at the same time. But that's not the point here. What I and others are attacking are the myths of the Civil War as a noble "lost cause" that was not about slavery and that slaves were treated well by the South and in fact supported their masters. That mythology has helped prevent a real discussion about the history and impact of slavery in the United States and therefore race relations today. Moveover, these myths have deeply influenced conservatism today, allowing the symbols and myths of the Confederacy to become acceptable and respectable in modern America. Everytime you see a Confederate flag, you see a sign that slavery was OK, even if the person displaying said flag does not even understand what it is for.

As for specifically attacking the treasonous aspect of the conflict, I have two points to make. First, it is an attack on neo-Confederates today who embrace the myth of the Confederacy. These people are saying it was OK to the South to leave the nation in order to defend the institute of slavery. Second, it is an attack on those who say that the Civil War was not about slavery. Of course it was. Any other "reason" not only does not have proper evidence to back it up, but it also moves us away from pointing to the role of slavery and racism in 19th century America. Also, the idea that whether leaving the Union was treason in the 19th century was still undecided smacks of people believing the rhetoric of Confederates and their descendants. Of course, it was treason, as slaveholder and US president Andrew Jackson knew when he threatened to hang members of the South Carolina elite if they continued with their nullification ideas.