Friday, January 7, 2011

The Best Book Ever - That I Disagree With: Race and Reunion by David Blight

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

A former student asked me to elaborate on exactly why I disagree with David W. Blight's  Race and Reunion. Fair enough - I talk about disagreeing with it all the time. Perhaps a little explanation is in order.

But first, I would like to say that this is an important work in the field of Civil War memory - maybe the most important (at least right now). It is beautifully written and about as captivating as a history book can be. I just think that Blight has missed his mark. Here is my thinking on what I term Blight's (and others') "reconciliation premise" - paraphrased from a yet-unpublished manuscript on the subject of veterans and national reconciliation.

Blight, while curiously overlooking northern efforts to commemorate the fight to preserve the Union, examines how participants at events geared toward reconciliation, such as the 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg in 1913, ignored the principal issues leading to war and the Union war aim of emancipation. At these events, mentions of slavery or emancipation were conspicuously absent. Blight reasons, together with white supremacists, reconciliationists “locked arms” and “delivered a segregated memory of the Civil War on Southern terms.” He concludes, “Forces of reconciliation overwhelmed the emancipationist vision in the national culture [and] the inexorable drive for reunion both used and trumped race.”

Scholars can and should agree that Civil War veterans from both North and South shared in their racist sensibilities; they can likewise condemn them for their actions. But while the participants were undoubtedly racist, emphasizing veterans’ reconciliatory impulses solely as efforts to commemorate a “white only” war runs the risk of obscuring veterans’ intentions. Did veterans calculatingly contribute to historical amnesia along racial lines in the name of reconciliation? There is relatively little evidence pointing to this conclusion. It is true that from the point of view of most veterans, reconciliation seemed the soundest course of action. Yet the memories that informed the terms of reconciliation suggest that Civil War veterans acquiesced to reaching across the bloody chasm only so long as their former enemies accepted their respective arguments – a scenario that seldom transpired.

Even a cursory look at the historical record reveals that the memories of slavery, emancipation, and the trials of freedmen coupled with other contentious issues such as treason and the right of secession loomed large for former soldiers from both North and South. In fact, questions concerning race functioned as a leitmotif throughout the reconciliation era. Whether veterans celebrated the demise of slavery and saw emancipation as a worthy component of their cause, or viewed slavery as an incident rather than a cause of the war, race and the plight of black Americans functioned as a central narrative in the battle to write the terms of reconciliation.

Evidence suggests (and I have examples to spare – just ask) that Blight’s efforts to illustrate the memory of the war as a “white only” “southern terms” affair miss the bull’s-eye by a Confederate mile. The terms of reconciliation were – and still are for that matter – undecided, hashed out, and fought over...at least on a national scale. Slavery, emancipation, and black people in general were central to this post-war conflict over memory. Neither Union nor Confederate veterans let the citizens of a reunited nation forget their positions on this volatile subject – a subject that has remained among the most divisive generations after the conflict. But as always - I suggest you read Race and Reunion and judge for yourself.

Peace,

Keith

19 comments:

  1. [...] out this thoughtful “teaser” essay by Keith Harris of Cosmic America about the plusses and a pretty big minus of David Blight’s [...]

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  2. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Keith Harris and Keith Harris. Keith Harris said: I might be in the minority here - but not for long.... http://fb.me/EiJ8TkQq [...]

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  3. Interesting blog, Keith, I'm adding it to my daily online reading.

    So you are saying that veterans continued to debate and discuss race and slavery through the period when Blight contends that the Reconciliation narrative, that wrote slavery and the contribution of black soldiers out of the story, became largely accepted. Did Union and Confederate veterans make reference to black Union soldiers? What part, if any, did black veterans play in this national dialogue? What about the lack of attendance by black veterans at the reunions, such as the famous 50th anniversary Gettysburg reunion?

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  4. Thanks so much for the comment, Marc - and thanks for adding Cosmic America to your reading list. Yes indeed, black veterans had quite a bit to say about this. Frederick Douglass and other prominent Black people - many who had fought with USCT or other black regiments - spoke often of the cause of freedom. There was also a good deal of activity between Black and White units of the GAR. Both Barbara Gannon and Andre Fleche have new books out about this subject. Former Rebels spoke of freedom and black soldiers too - if only to argue against slavery as a cause in an effort to distance the Confederacy from what had been obvious in 1860.
    I focus on white Union soldiers precisely because of their racism - to illustrate that despite that, they still supported the emancipationist cause. It comes as no surprise to me that blacks were excluded during the 50th anniversary at Gettysburg. The country being largely segregated at the time explains that handily - not to mention that no blacks fought there in 1863. Still - the battlefield was a principle cite of historical memory when it came to celebrating freedom. I mentioned that I had several examples. Monument dedication speeches from white veterans of units from Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, etc highlight that point. ANd their sentiments were not out of the ordinary...a point that Blight curiously misses.

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  5. Harry - thank you sooo much for posting this to Bullrunnings! And I appreciate your kind words as well!

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  6. And I just though of anther book to take a look at too - Donald Shaffer's After the Glory - it is a great book on Black Union veterans.

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  7. Kevin, no problem - I just wich my Google reader would let me add you. For some reason it feeds from your old addy rather than the new one, so I just get the string of posts ending with "We've Moved".

    Question, since you've thought about this much more than have I - how does Blight treat, if at all, the predominance of Union as a northern cause in post war commemorations as simply a reflection of the predominance of Union as a northern cause in fact? If Gallagher's latest ("Causes Won, Lost & Forgotten") is any indication, I imagine his next will focus on Union as a cause - though I guess I could listen to your interview with him. But I'd rather bug you on a Saturday.

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  8. Harry - you are absolutely correct - Gallagher's next book is on the Union cause - it is even titled, The Union War - as sort of a companion to the Confederate War. Blight doesn't deal much at all with regional causes. His focus is on an issue-free commemoration, where both causes were considered equally just, and where soldiers fought with the virtues such as honor, bravery, etc. "Causes" then, are considered equal (according to Blight) to 19th century Americans.
    Keith
    PS - sorry about the "we've moved" thing - Since the new blog is up and running in good order, I suppose deleting the old one is a safe move.

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  9. Sorry about the Kevin thing, Keith. It won't happen again.

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  10. No worries - it happens all the time I often wonder if people named Kevin are mistakenly called Keith.....

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  11. [...] Keith Harris’s at Cosmic America–a smart blog focused on the Civil War–has an interesting take on David Blight’s Race and Reunion.  Well worth reading. Possibly related posts: [...]

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  12. Thanks for kind words - I appreciate it! By the way - I loved your blog...and posted a link on my blogroll!

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  13. [...] do they? Historians such as Foster (and…David Blight – see post) have effectively misplaced Christian’s form of commemoration. The majority of white [...]

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  14. [...] have fired more than one warning shot right here on Cosmic America – and have written a book on the subject. So stay [...]

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  15. [...] So on we go. Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I speak of veterans, national reconciliation, and celebrations of section embedded in their national commitment. In short – northern and southern veterans embraced reunion on respective terms. Any idea that the issues of war were swept under the rug because of some shared racism are simply nonsense (confused? See this post). [...]

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  16. [...] and forget.” Keith Harris at Cosmic America has argued that Blight far overstated his case (see here), and that in fact, ”the memories that informed the terms of reconciliation suggest that [...]

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  17. thank you for the mention, Bob. You know, Blight's book is among my favorites and one of the reasons why I study history. I love to argue with the best!!

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  18. [...] Brooks Simpson over at Crossroads wrote a very thoughtful response and included a few words on one of the best books (that I disagree with, naturally) on the subject of memory – David Blight’s Race and Reunion. [...]

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  19. [...] have fired more than one warning shot right here on Cosmic America – and have written a (soon to be published) book on the subject. [...]

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