Confederate History Month

Brad DeLong has gathered some fascinating documents re Virginia governor Bob McDonnell's proclamation that April is Confederate history month. Originally McDonnell neglected to mention that slavery was one feature of the Confederate experience, arguing that he thought it appropriate to mention only the aspects of the Confederacy that "were most significant for Viriginia" (apparently he did not consult any of the 1.5 million black Virginians as to what they thought the significant aspects of the Confederacy were). As to the idea that the Confederacy was not really much about slavery, here's the Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens:

The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution -- African slavery as it exists amongst us.... This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.... The prevailing ideas entertained by [Jefferson] and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically... Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery -- subordination to the superior race -- is his natural and normal condition.

Here's Ta-Nehisi Coates on the matter, also via DeLong:

A lot of you have e-mailed me to note that Virginia governor Bob McDonnell has decided to honor those who fought to preserve, and extend, white supremacy. I don't really have much to say. The GOP is, effectively, the party of willfully unlettered Utopians. It is the party of choice for those who believe global warming is a hoax, that humans roamed the earth with dinosaurs, and that homosexuals should work harder at not being gay.

That the party of unadulterated quackery also believes that Birth Of A Nation is more true to the Civil War than Battle Cry Of Freedom, is to be expected. Ignorance does not respect boundaries. It is, at times, qualified and those who know more, often struggle to say more. But people who believe that the Census is actually a covert attempt to put Americans in concentration camps, are also likely to believe that slavery was incidental to the Civil War.

This is who they are--the proud and ignorant. If you believe that if we still had segregation we wouldn't "have had all these problems," this is the movement for you. If you believe that your president is a Muslim sleeper agent, this is the movement for you. If you honor a flag raised explicitly to destroy this country then this is the movement for you. If you flirt with secession,even now, then this movement is for you. If you are a "Real American" with no demonstrable interest in "Real America" then, by God, this movement of alchemists and creationists, of anti-science and hair tonic, is for you.

And Gail Collins from the New York Times can always be counted on for the mots justes:

April is the cruelest month. Or, if you live in Virginia, Confederate History Month... People, what’s our bottom line here. The governor of Virginia has decided to bring slavery into his overview of the history of the Confederacy. Good news, or is this setting the bar a wee bit too low?

Meanwhile here at Gettysburg we're celebrating National Thursday is a Monday Day. Happy TIM Day everyone - gotta go teach my Monday classes.