The recently deceased Alan Nolan wrote in his essay "The Anatomy of the Myth", that "the victim of the Lost Cause legend has been history, for which the legend has been substituted in the national memory." Therefore, let us rise in the defense of history and continue our analysis of the Lost Cause mythology. The next phase of our study is going to be an examination of the pillars of the Lost Cause. Before we go on and because of the long hiatus in this discussion, I give a series of links to the posts that have preceded this one, but for the full list of associated posts, click on the Lost Cause link in the righthand sidebar.
Lost Cause #1
Lost Cause #2
Lost Cause #3
In these preceding pieces I've attempted to establish the "why" behind the Lost Cause. Now here are a few of the primary tenets that make up this long-standing and widespread mythology.
1. Slavery was not the cause for the lawful secession of 11 states
2. The Confederacy was not defeated, it succumbed solely to the overwhelming quantities of men and materiel generated by the Union
3. Robert E. Lee was an unparalleled leader of men and, as the best general in the war, should be revered with an almost god-like status. Conversely, US Grant, who accepted Lee's surrender at Appomattox, was a drunken butcher who blundered his way to victory.
4. The Eastern Theater of the war, which pitted Lee and Stonewall Jackson's Army of Northern Virginia against the Army of the Potomac, was far and away the most important theater of combat in the war.
I fully recognize that there are many other points that could be addressed here, but I'll focus on these, as they are arguably the four cornerstones of the Lost Cause.
Let's start with the slavery question first. The sheer genius of this construct was making slavery a question in the first place, and this was accomplished based almost entirely on the retrospective histories that I detest so much. The essays, statements, and discussions that laid the foundation for this claim from men ranging from Jefferson Davis to Jubal Early were compiled after the war. Conveniently, statements from the highest levels of Confederate leadership on the sectional crisis and slavery issue before and during the war, of which there were many (please feel free to request references, I will be more than happy to provide), did not make it into the purview of the Southern Historical Society and the like.
Also, it is important to remember that this whole discussion was something of an apologia ex vacuo, an apology in a vacuum. It's not like there were scheduled hearings at any level to review and investigate these issues. This was simply an effort from these men to write the history that they knew would validate their cause, accuracy be damned. The alternative, being labeled as men who started a war and led hundreds of thousands to their deaths in order to protect their right to enslave and profit off of other men, was something they clearly wished to avoid.
Instead, words like, as Robert Durden wrote "liberty, independence, and especially states rights were advanced by countless Southern spokesmen as the hallowed principles of the Lost Cause" What these ubiquitous terms, and I use the term ubiquitous because they turn up in virtually every high school text and many college curricula, fail to define is the right and independence to do what exactly?
To answer this, one must one study the sectional crisis from the early 1800s onwards. In doing so, it is clear that the southern leadership wished to have the right to not only keep slaves (as the Confederate constitution explicitly guaranteed), but expand into new territories (Kansas-Nebraska Act, Ostend Manifesto, Central and South American filibustering, among other seminal issues) and use the federal government to return escaped slaves in the North back to the South without trial or hearing (the Fugitive Slave Act). If you wish to review these items in detail, I recommend "The Impending Crisis" by Potter. I will be writing my review of it shortly, but the weight of evidence clearly supports the hypothesis that the primary southern motivation for secession and war was the issue of slavery.
Along with this apologia ex vacuo, the other technique to minimize the import of slavery in the national memory was to portray it as a somehow benign institution with peaceful and contented laborers. This myth took off like wildfire in both the history books and popular culture; one needs only watch or read "Gone With The Wind" to see it. This still lives on today with Confederate apologists crafting elaborate discussions of slaves participation in the Confederate war effort, I refer you again to Kevin Levin's Civil War Memory for an excellent discussion on this topic.
We must; however, again look back at primary sources to find out what slavery was really like. If you read Kenneth Stampp's "The Peculiar Institution" which I previously reviewed, you would be hard-pressed to maintain that school of thought. Moreover, the reaction in the South to servile insurrection speaks volumes about the volatility of the master-slave relationship and the white fear of massacre and destruction at the hands of liberated slaves. Few men before General Sherman did more to strike fear into the hearts of Southerners, slaveholder or not, than Nat Turner in 1831 and John Brown in 1859.
It is an injustice to history and to the people who suffered under the yoke of slavery to continue to turn a blind eye to the role of this institution as the pivot point on which the ACW turned. When we can finally accurately and comprehensively acknowledge the staggering motivating power and devastating effect that slavery had, we can begin to teach and learn our nation's history and understand its effects on today's culture.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Andy Murray Nickname Contest: Cast Your Votes!
The man is on our shores and winning titles (he took down Novak Djokovic in Cincy this past Sunday). We're also a few weeks away from the US Open, so it's time for the friends of The Tipsy Historian to cast their votes for the best nickname for Andy Murray.
If you look at the right sidebar, you'll find the polling place at the bottom. Each entry will remain anonymous until the final ballot is cast, and the winner gets a stash of fresh-roasted coffee from me. The poll will close and the winner announced Sunday August 25th. I won't vote except in the case of a tie, then I'll cast the tiebreaker.
Let your voices be heard!
If you look at the right sidebar, you'll find the polling place at the bottom. Each entry will remain anonymous until the final ballot is cast, and the winner gets a stash of fresh-roasted coffee from me. The poll will close and the winner announced Sunday August 25th. I won't vote except in the case of a tie, then I'll cast the tiebreaker.Let your voices be heard!
From The Mixing Lab: Summer '08
The concoction I'm about to break down for you needs no fancy name, it is so good and such a delicious way of capturing the flavor of one of our great summer finds, the name "Summer '08" is just about perfect.
It started with a trip to the farmer's market a few days ago when I discovered a stone fruit called black apricots. A relative of the apricot, it's not some funky hybrid (read: pluot), but a long lost cousin of the orange fruit we know so well.
It's skin is darker like a plum, and the flavor is much richer and sweeter than a regular apricot. Needless to say, it's delish! After munching a few, I decided to take the remainder and turn them into a drink. I'm proud to say that, after a bit of experimentation came, in the words of The Jess "the best drink you've ever made!"
Summer '08
one black apricot, chilled in the fridge
1 oz Hangar One vodka
0.5 oz Cointreau
1 teaspoon simple syrup
juice of 1/2 lemon
crushed ice
lime wedge
cube up the black apricot with peel on, add to muddling glass with syrup and lemon juice. Muddle vigorously. Add to strainer over shaker and press the solids with the muddler to push through as much juice and pulp as possible. Pour vodka over remains in strainer and press solids again. Tilt strainer and scrape a small quantity of pulp into the shaker (no skin, though).
Add Cointreau and crushed ice to shaker and shake it up!
Pour into lowball glass that is filled with crushed ice.
Garnish with lime wedge and drink the defining beverage of Summer 2008!
It started with a trip to the farmer's market a few days ago when I discovered a stone fruit called black apricots. A relative of the apricot, it's not some funky hybrid (read: pluot), but a long lost cousin of the orange fruit we know so well.
It's skin is darker like a plum, and the flavor is much richer and sweeter than a regular apricot. Needless to say, it's delish! After munching a few, I decided to take the remainder and turn them into a drink. I'm proud to say that, after a bit of experimentation came, in the words of The Jess "the best drink you've ever made!"
Summer '08
one black apricot, chilled in the fridge
1 oz Hangar One vodka
0.5 oz Cointreau
1 teaspoon simple syrup
juice of 1/2 lemon
crushed ice
lime wedge
cube up the black apricot with peel on, add to muddling glass with syrup and lemon juice. Muddle vigorously. Add to strainer over shaker and press the solids with the muddler to push through as much juice and pulp as possible. Pour vodka over remains in strainer and press solids again. Tilt strainer and scrape a small quantity of pulp into the shaker (no skin, though).
Add Cointreau and crushed ice to shaker and shake it up!
Pour into lowball glass that is filled with crushed ice.
Garnish with lime wedge and drink the defining beverage of Summer 2008!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Lots Of Promise, Plenty To Work On
Sunday afternoon tennis in San Diego, let me explain how wonderful this is. Blue skies with a few clouds, warm but not roasting. A sea breeze rolling back and forth in time with our shots, and even a few gulls flying overhead as I toss the ball to serve.
This is why playing tennis is heaven.
I just got off the court after playing a match in my quest to get ready for the San Diego District Championships. I lost 6-2, 6-2 to a really good player, but as I dissect how I'm playing in my head, there's plenty of positivity as well as weaknesses identified.
On the positive side:
-I'm serving really well; a heavy, flat first serve I can put into both corners, or a solid kicker out wide. My second serve has good movement and is coming in quite deep. Best part was only two double faults.
-The fitness is definitely better and the knee feels good
-When I'm focused on my movement and taking the ball early, my forehand is pretty damn strong
To work on:
-I'm a slow starter. In both sets I was down 0-4 before getting on the board. That's tough, because I started to get a bit frustrated
-Too many gifts. The guy I played was good, but not that much better than me. The biggest issue was, as Brad Gilbert puts it, too many gift points. Too many backhands dumped in the net or second serve returns sailing long. When we got into rallies, I was right there with him. As Simon the Great always tells me and I have to remember, nothing in the net.
-Not serving first. I need to give myself a game to get settled, so if I win the toss, I'm gonna elect to return from now on
-No pagers on the court. This is an easy fix, but damn, that thing was distracting
-Taking my time after a tough game. I broke him to get to 2-4 in the first set and he was frustrated. I was a bit winded after two tough points, but instead of taking a beat, catching my breath and getting focused, I just cruised to the service line. 3 unforced errors later, and I'm down 0-40. There was an opening there, I just need to find a way to keep the pressure on.
Lots to build on and lots to take away. Best part was still Sunday afternoon tennis in San Diego.
This is why playing tennis is heaven.
I just got off the court after playing a match in my quest to get ready for the San Diego District Championships. I lost 6-2, 6-2 to a really good player, but as I dissect how I'm playing in my head, there's plenty of positivity as well as weaknesses identified.
On the positive side:
-I'm serving really well; a heavy, flat first serve I can put into both corners, or a solid kicker out wide. My second serve has good movement and is coming in quite deep. Best part was only two double faults.
-The fitness is definitely better and the knee feels good
-When I'm focused on my movement and taking the ball early, my forehand is pretty damn strong
To work on:
-I'm a slow starter. In both sets I was down 0-4 before getting on the board. That's tough, because I started to get a bit frustrated
-Too many gifts. The guy I played was good, but not that much better than me. The biggest issue was, as Brad Gilbert puts it, too many gift points. Too many backhands dumped in the net or second serve returns sailing long. When we got into rallies, I was right there with him. As Simon the Great always tells me and I have to remember, nothing in the net.
-Not serving first. I need to give myself a game to get settled, so if I win the toss, I'm gonna elect to return from now on
-No pagers on the court. This is an easy fix, but damn, that thing was distracting
-Taking my time after a tough game. I broke him to get to 2-4 in the first set and he was frustrated. I was a bit winded after two tough points, but instead of taking a beat, catching my breath and getting focused, I just cruised to the service line. 3 unforced errors later, and I'm down 0-40. There was an opening there, I just need to find a way to keep the pressure on.
Lots to build on and lots to take away. Best part was still Sunday afternoon tennis in San Diego.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The Importance Of Primary References
I've mentioned it before, but one of the premier Civil War blogs, captained by a high school history teacher named Kevin Levin, is Civil War Memory. I especially enjoy this blog because a primary focus of it's content is how we think and learn about the Civil War (as the blog title makes quite evident).
There has recently been a fascinating storyline unfolding about slaves in the Confederate army that I encourage you to read up on.
In the fourth paragraph of the post, Mr. Levin makes a most salient and important point about how we must utilize primary resources and avoid postwar resources as much as possible in doing good historical research. This is an issue I've been obliquely touching on in my Lost Cause posts, which I promise I will get back to this week, and is a cornerstone of accurate historiography.
Anyway, I posted a comment to his post, and thought I'd share it here...
Hi Kevin,
Great post! You make a point that I want to expand on just a bit, because it is a tremendously important part of good and accurate historical research. You mentioned staying away from post-war sources as much as possible and this is a most salient point. One can never underestimate the effect that retrospection will have on the thoughts, speeches and writings of those involved in a historical moment, thus, as responsible historians we must strive to find the primary sources and the data as close to the moments in question as possible to formulate our conclusions.
Unfortunately, this was not the approach followed by ex-officers, politicians, and historians on both sides in the decades following the war. Just look at Gen Pope's essay on 2nd Manassas in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", Jefferson Davis' comments on slavery's role in secession before and after the war, or the multi-volume "Southern Historical Society Papers" These texts are rife with statements collected and recorded after the war and are clearly built around an agenda that was most distinct from that which was present before and during the war. These documents propagated into influential texts by Foote, Freeman, and others, and these inaccurate statements and revised agendas took root. Now, we are left nearly 150 years later not only trying to piece together what really happened, but fixing the extensive damage that these misperceptions wrought.
Now we have a responsibility as historians to be faithful to primary data as we do our research. What we find may be disappointing, painful, surprising, but our own opinions of the findings are not as important as providing a clear and correct interpretation of the data.
There has recently been a fascinating storyline unfolding about slaves in the Confederate army that I encourage you to read up on.
In the fourth paragraph of the post, Mr. Levin makes a most salient and important point about how we must utilize primary resources and avoid postwar resources as much as possible in doing good historical research. This is an issue I've been obliquely touching on in my Lost Cause posts, which I promise I will get back to this week, and is a cornerstone of accurate historiography.
Anyway, I posted a comment to his post, and thought I'd share it here...
Hi Kevin,
Great post! You make a point that I want to expand on just a bit, because it is a tremendously important part of good and accurate historical research. You mentioned staying away from post-war sources as much as possible and this is a most salient point. One can never underestimate the effect that retrospection will have on the thoughts, speeches and writings of those involved in a historical moment, thus, as responsible historians we must strive to find the primary sources and the data as close to the moments in question as possible to formulate our conclusions.
Unfortunately, this was not the approach followed by ex-officers, politicians, and historians on both sides in the decades following the war. Just look at Gen Pope's essay on 2nd Manassas in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", Jefferson Davis' comments on slavery's role in secession before and after the war, or the multi-volume "Southern Historical Society Papers" These texts are rife with statements collected and recorded after the war and are clearly built around an agenda that was most distinct from that which was present before and during the war. These documents propagated into influential texts by Foote, Freeman, and others, and these inaccurate statements and revised agendas took root. Now, we are left nearly 150 years later not only trying to piece together what really happened, but fixing the extensive damage that these misperceptions wrought.
Now we have a responsibility as historians to be faithful to primary data as we do our research. What we find may be disappointing, painful, surprising, but our own opinions of the findings are not as important as providing a clear and correct interpretation of the data.
Friday, August 1, 2008
A Changing Of The Tennis Guards
As I write this post, Rafael Nadal is serving for the match at the Cincinnati Masters against Nicolas Lapennti. Why does this Friday evening clash deserve special mention? If Nadal closes things out, he will be the new number one player in the world, ending Roger Federer's 4.5 year reign.
We could see this coming after Wimbledon, but the last few weeks have shown serious chinks in Federer's armor, losing his first round match in Toronto and his second match in Cincy. Rafa meanwhile carried his Wimbledon...
I pause because Rafa is now the number one ranked tennis player in the world. Good for him!
...momentum and won the Toronto tourney and is now rolling towards the finals of Cincy.
There can be no debate on whether Rafa deserves to be number one in the world; last year he began closing the gap, this year he has flown into the limelight with his incredible wins at the French Open and Wimbledon. He is clearly playing incredible tennis and it will be great fun to see how long his time on top will last.
For Federer, there is obviously much mental turmoil going on. No doubt the Wimbledon defeat is still on his mind and now after losing matches to Gilles Simon and Ivo Karlovic, it will be a massive challenge for him to regain his top form. He absolutely has the game to do it, but as I've preached here from the beginning, tennis is mostly played above the shoulders. Right now, Roger's head is clearly fogged up with negativity and self-doubt.
On the women's side, there is just ridiculous turbulence as no one seems to want to take the number one mantle. Yesterday it was Jelena Jankovic losing a match that would have given her the top spot. Today, Ana Ivanovic gakked away her shot.
Worse yet, Maria Sharapova announced that her ever-balky right shoulder will keep her out of both the Olympics and the US Open. There is no bigger draw or brighter star on the women's side, especially in New York, and this is a huge loss.
This year continues to gather momentum as one of the most fascinating in tennis memory; we've got an ascendant number one, a legend on the ropes, and a women's game where no one seems to want to take charge. If there has ever been a tennis summer with more riding on it, I'm not aware.
Oh yeah, my tourney is 3 weeks away and I'm trying to get ready. Played really well on Monday evening, have been working really hard the last few days and the rackets have stayed in the closet. Next week should feature much training, and I'm looking forward to it.
We could see this coming after Wimbledon, but the last few weeks have shown serious chinks in Federer's armor, losing his first round match in Toronto and his second match in Cincy. Rafa meanwhile carried his Wimbledon...
I pause because Rafa is now the number one ranked tennis player in the world. Good for him!
...momentum and won the Toronto tourney and is now rolling towards the finals of Cincy.
There can be no debate on whether Rafa deserves to be number one in the world; last year he began closing the gap, this year he has flown into the limelight with his incredible wins at the French Open and Wimbledon. He is clearly playing incredible tennis and it will be great fun to see how long his time on top will last.
For Federer, there is obviously much mental turmoil going on. No doubt the Wimbledon defeat is still on his mind and now after losing matches to Gilles Simon and Ivo Karlovic, it will be a massive challenge for him to regain his top form. He absolutely has the game to do it, but as I've preached here from the beginning, tennis is mostly played above the shoulders. Right now, Roger's head is clearly fogged up with negativity and self-doubt.
On the women's side, there is just ridiculous turbulence as no one seems to want to take the number one mantle. Yesterday it was Jelena Jankovic losing a match that would have given her the top spot. Today, Ana Ivanovic gakked away her shot.
Worse yet, Maria Sharapova announced that her ever-balky right shoulder will keep her out of both the Olympics and the US Open. There is no bigger draw or brighter star on the women's side, especially in New York, and this is a huge loss.
This year continues to gather momentum as one of the most fascinating in tennis memory; we've got an ascendant number one, a legend on the ropes, and a women's game where no one seems to want to take charge. If there has ever been a tennis summer with more riding on it, I'm not aware.
Oh yeah, my tourney is 3 weeks away and I'm trying to get ready. Played really well on Monday evening, have been working really hard the last few days and the rackets have stayed in the closet. Next week should feature much training, and I'm looking forward to it.
The Green Dream
I was lying in bed last Sunday night getting my mind right for the work week when I thought "what would happen if I mixed some gin, lime, basil and sugar together? Would it be good? Would I rejoice or would it be heaved against the wall?" I had just bought fresh lime from the farmer's market and The Jess is growing basil outside, so why not.
After work I repaired to the mixing lab and got to work. I had made a batch of simple syrup some time ago which has been resting quietly in the fridge, so that came out. I got some robust, fragrant basil leaves, and quartered the lime.
I muddled, shook, mixed and tasted, as did The Jess. We looked at each other and knew it was back to the drawing board.
It took a bit of finagling, but what came out of the lab was one seriously delicious beverage I call The Green Dream. Here's the official breakdown
The Green Dream
1.5 oz Tanqueray Ten gin
3 fresh basil leaves, finely minced
one small fresh lime, quartered
1.5 teaspoons simple syrup (note: my simple syrup is not particularly sweet, so you may need to vary this ingredient depending on your syrup and personal tastes)
In glass, muddle lime, basil and syrup. When I say muddle, I really mean MUDDLE! Like put your back into it! You want to extract as much of the oils from the basil as possible.
Strain into shaker already filled with crushed ice
Add gin
Shake and strain into chilled martini glass. Serve up with small basil leave floated on top for garnish.
Great spice from the gin, basil up front, then a nice limey-sweet finish. We actually paired this beauty with some amazing moussaka The Jess whipped up and it was perfect! I really will try to start adding pics, I get so excited when the drinks are ready, I forget.
After work I repaired to the mixing lab and got to work. I had made a batch of simple syrup some time ago which has been resting quietly in the fridge, so that came out. I got some robust, fragrant basil leaves, and quartered the lime.
I muddled, shook, mixed and tasted, as did The Jess. We looked at each other and knew it was back to the drawing board.
It took a bit of finagling, but what came out of the lab was one seriously delicious beverage I call The Green Dream. Here's the official breakdown
The Green Dream
1.5 oz Tanqueray Ten gin
3 fresh basil leaves, finely minced
one small fresh lime, quartered
1.5 teaspoons simple syrup (note: my simple syrup is not particularly sweet, so you may need to vary this ingredient depending on your syrup and personal tastes)
In glass, muddle lime, basil and syrup. When I say muddle, I really mean MUDDLE! Like put your back into it! You want to extract as much of the oils from the basil as possible.
Strain into shaker already filled with crushed ice
Add gin
Shake and strain into chilled martini glass. Serve up with small basil leave floated on top for garnish.
Great spice from the gin, basil up front, then a nice limey-sweet finish. We actually paired this beauty with some amazing moussaka The Jess whipped up and it was perfect! I really will try to start adding pics, I get so excited when the drinks are ready, I forget.
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