Letter to the Editor - Inseparably Tied to Slavery

Without local news, all we have are rumors. Keep facts alive — give now. Dear Editor, I know I'm not the first person to talking about the band Confederate Railroad, but I'm not writing to harass or attack anyone. I just want to explain what I know about the Confederacy based on what its members said about themselves and the Confederacy. I grew up in Texas, then I moved to Missouri for a few years, and now I live here in Decorah and hope to stay for a long time. I love country music, especially anything made before the 2000s when it turned into pop with trucks. I'm talking George Straight, Travis Tritt, Merle Haggard, Brad Paisley, and so on. I also grew up thinking the Confederate flag was just about southern heritage. Unfortunately, the more I read about the Confederacy, the more I realized that the Confederacy, and the flag we use to remember it, is inseparably tied to slavery and the idea that people with dark skin are inferior. I'd like to walk y'all through how I came to this conclusion. Being from the South, I was taught the reason the southern states left the Union and formed the confederacy was to fight back against the overreach of federal powers and to protect states' rights, and I believed that until high school when I read the declarations some of the Confederate states wrote to explain why they left the Union and joined the Confederacy. While a portion of the stated reasons for separation are about the overreach of the federal government and the desire for states to be more independent, the vast majority of the discussions are about slavery or the anti-slavery attitude of the northern states. In every document, the authors treat the United States as being in two halves: the anti-slavery North and slaveholding South. The exact terminology varies between documents, but they all make it clear the North is anti-slavery and the South is united by its desire or need for slavery. For instance, Georgia's declaration continually refers to the "anti-slavery North," and most of the document discusses why Georgia and the South must secede from the U.S. to avoid the South losing its identity to the "tyrannical anti-slavery North." They state, "The prohibition of slavery in the Territories is the cardinal principle of this organization [the North]." The majority of the document laments that the North is anti-slavery and Georgia must retain its right to practice slavery. The authors also complain that the North is no longer following the Fugitive Slave Act. Next, Mississippi explicitly states that secession is about slavery: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." This is the first reason they list. The authors go on to say that the anti-slavery sentiment of the North "advocates Negro equality, socially and politically," tying their secession not only to the institution of slavery, but also to the idea that people of color are inferior. Then, South Carolina spends a good portion of its document discussing the reasons the 13 colonies rebelled, and laying a framework for the idea that it should leave the Union. However, it then begins lamenting, as Georgia and Mississippi before it, the lack of enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act and the anti-slavery beliefs of the North. South Carolina also begins its document by aligning itself with other slaveholding states, not simply southern states. Next, Texas begins by saying it gave up its independence to join the Union, and when it did it was joining as a state "maintaining and protecting the institution known as Negro slavery," making it clear that slavery was important to the identity of the state. The authors then discuss the ineffectiveness of the federal government and the overbearing northern states. They state, "When we advert to the course of individual non-slave-holding States, and that a majority of their citizens, our grievances assume far greater magnitude." They were upset about sovereignty being infringed upon, but the idea that Texas may have to acquiesce to non-slaveholding ideals made their loss of independence even worse. The authors further align their secession with slavery when they say, "by consolidating their strength, they have placed the slave-holding States in a hopeless minority in the federal Congress." Finally, in the first paragraph of Virginia's document listing its reasons for seceding, the authors say they left because the "Federal Government, having perverted said powers, not only to the injury of the people of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern slaveholding States." Virginia, like the other states, uses slavery as a binding, common factor between the states of the Confederacy. Considering these documents, written and published by each state's government, it becomes extremely difficult to separate the Confederacy from the institution of slavery, and therefore the systematic subjugation of Black Americans. Mississippi's document even says that secession is not just about the economics of slavery, but about their fear that the North is advocating for the equality of Black Americans because that idea is contradictory to the beliefs of the state. Let me say that again. Mississippi left the Union and joined the Confederacy in part because they believed that if Black Americans were made equal citizens, it would destroy the state. Slavery and racism weren't just some of the reasons the Confederacy was formed. They were the primary reasons it existed. Each state makes it clear that slavery is a key reason the Confederacy was formed, but it doesn't end there. I also read a speech given by the vice president of the Confederacy shortly after the Confederacy officially formed. The purpose of the speech was to lay out the foundations for why the Confederacy formed and the basis of its constitution. While discussing the constitution of the Confederacy, he states, "The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution, African slavery as it exists amongst us, the proper status of the Negro in our form of civilization." Here, he is telling the audience that their constitution declares that Black Americans should be slaves; humans who were brought here from Africa should be enslaved because they are not white. He goes on to say that the framers of the constitution believed slavery wasn't right but couldn't get rid of the institution. He says that guaranteeing everyone equal rights "rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error." Again, making it clear that the Confederacy believes people of color are inferior. He goes on to say, "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." For the sake of the reader's time, I won't continue to pull quotes from his speech, but I ask that you read it for yourself. In fact, I urge you to read the speech so you can determine for yourself the identity of the Confederacy. This speech is often referred to as the "Cornerstone Speech." I pray that you take the time to read through my message and the documents I discuss with an open mind and deeply consider if Confederate Railroad, its associated imagery, and the history it represents is something we want to include at our county fair. Sincerely, Eric Rovelo Decorah, Iowa Your weekly dose of local life! Subscribe to the free newsletter and enjoy news, analysis, and stories you'll actually look forward to reading.