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Civil War 150 years
Apr. 13th, 2011 08:36 amSo, if we still lived in Charleston, we'd be living in the middle of a Civil War reenactment. We lived on James Island, where the first shots were fired from onto Fort Sumter. Which they just reenacted, as yesterday was the 150th anniversary of this event.
Of course, there are reenactments EVERY year--usually over a couple days so they can let each side win. So it's not like this has never happened before. When we were there, they held a city-wide funeral for the last crew of the CSS Hunley (first submarine to sink an enemy ship in battle--then it sank, too, and wasn't recovered until 2000).
Band playing outside the funerary viewing of the CSS Hunley crew, Charleston, SC, April 2004
Viewing of the crew of the CSS Hunley, Charleston, SC, April 2004
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, the worst conflict ever in our country. I think that we are still feeling the effects of slavery in our country today. There is still division, racism. Slavery broke up families, and it takes a long time to heal that. It takes a long time to expand education and dignity. But we've come an extremely long way. Who would have thought, 150 years ago, that we would have a president today of African heritage? I notice when I'm at my kids' schools how much less racial division there is than when I was young. I think we are making progress. And I think it will get even better, to the point that someday people will not feel the sting of those racial lines.
I was born in the North and grew up in the South, and I used to smile and say riiiiiiight whenever I was told that the real cause of the Civil War was states' rights, NOT slavery. Because it WAS about slavery. But now...I think it was states' rights, too. I used to think that any question of who had the final ruling in our country was settled once and for all--states or federal government--was settled in 1865. Now, I'm not so sure. Marijuana, immigration, healthcare...some of those issues sound awfully like the same argument. I'm not saying the outcome will be anything like the same. But it makes me think about how we solve issues today versus how they went about it back then. And what people do when tensions run high, when they they feel threatened about basic human rights, about economics, etc.
If you want more on the Civil War at 150 years, Charleston's Post and Courier has a whole section up, complete with video. See here. The one about McLeod Plantation? That was on my island.
Of course, there are reenactments EVERY year--usually over a couple days so they can let each side win. So it's not like this has never happened before. When we were there, they held a city-wide funeral for the last crew of the CSS Hunley (first submarine to sink an enemy ship in battle--then it sank, too, and wasn't recovered until 2000).
Band playing outside the funerary viewing of the CSS Hunley crew, Charleston, SC, April 2004
Viewing of the crew of the CSS Hunley, Charleston, SC, April 2004
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, the worst conflict ever in our country. I think that we are still feeling the effects of slavery in our country today. There is still division, racism. Slavery broke up families, and it takes a long time to heal that. It takes a long time to expand education and dignity. But we've come an extremely long way. Who would have thought, 150 years ago, that we would have a president today of African heritage? I notice when I'm at my kids' schools how much less racial division there is than when I was young. I think we are making progress. And I think it will get even better, to the point that someday people will not feel the sting of those racial lines.
I was born in the North and grew up in the South, and I used to smile and say riiiiiiight whenever I was told that the real cause of the Civil War was states' rights, NOT slavery. Because it WAS about slavery. But now...I think it was states' rights, too. I used to think that any question of who had the final ruling in our country was settled once and for all--states or federal government--was settled in 1865. Now, I'm not so sure. Marijuana, immigration, healthcare...some of those issues sound awfully like the same argument. I'm not saying the outcome will be anything like the same. But it makes me think about how we solve issues today versus how they went about it back then. And what people do when tensions run high, when they they feel threatened about basic human rights, about economics, etc.
If you want more on the Civil War at 150 years, Charleston's Post and Courier has a whole section up, complete with video. See here. The one about McLeod Plantation? That was on my island.
