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"The trouble with Jeff is that he lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech."

George Bernard Shaw, paraphrased

No, That Is NOT a Confederate Flag

I posted briefly about this when I saw it earlier, but I wanted to provide a little more context now that I’m in front of the PC and able to do a longer-form commentary on it. Of late, I’ve seen people sharing an observation about the tiny US flag icon on the upper left corner […]

Worse and Better Days Ahead

In 1857, the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision was issued by the SCOTUS, with the majority decision being penned by Chief Justice Roger Taney. It stated in no uncertain terms that people of African descent could not be citizens of the United States, that they were property, and that Congress had no authority to regulate […]

States’ Rights and the Lost Cause Piffle

Something those of us involved in Civil War reenacting and living histories hear quite a bit from the secessionist reenactors is the old chestnut that “The war wasn’t about slavery. It was about States’ Rights / tariffs/ Northern Aggression / some-other-twaddle.”  Sure, the principle of tariffs were bound up in the whole ordeal, but there was really only one “State’s Right” that the secessionist leaders in Montgomery, or Mobile, or Richmond were really interested in: Their perceived rights to own slaves as human chattel.  The typical “not about slavery” statement, while well-loved by those that choose to wear the grey, is pure, unadulterated tripe; and does a grave disservice to the actual history; and their presentation of it to the public does a grave disservice to those that they share their revisionist history with.