What distresses me as much as these denials of fact (and recorded history), is the almost complete ignorance of the so-called Cornerstone of the Confederacy, art of a speech by Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens at the Athenaeum in Savannah, Georgia, on March 21, 1861, explaining how slavery is precisely the reason for the southern succession:
“ [I]ts 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. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”
While this should be included in every high school history text, in my lifetime I’ve known of very few people to have ever even known of it. Its absence allows people with hate-filled agendas (such as the monstrous Ms. Owens) to make any misleading claims she may wish.
Bailey, thank you for writing this important piece.
