How the 'Lost Cause' narrative became American history 

" Loyal to their masters?" WTF! That was the problem! There shouldn't be any masters!

In 2017, a descendant of Robert E. Lee stepped down as pastor of a small NC church after his comments supporting racial justice sparked a backlash. The general's distant nephew, the Rev. Robert W. Lee IV, issued a statement saying he resigned from Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem after the congregation decided to put his tenure to a vote. Some church members were not comfortable with Lee’s remarks during the MTV awards when he introduced the mother of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville while protesting against white supremacy. “We have made my ancestor an idol of white supremacy, racism, and hate,” he said on the music network. “As a pastor, it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America's original sin.” Although Lee issued an apology to church members for causing them pain with his remarks, he said he continues to “strongly support” removal of monuments to his ancestor and other Confederates.. To me, this is proof that some Christians only talk the talk. But there are some who actually walk the walk like this pastor. Kudos to you Reverend Lee.

I was taught lost cause ideological when I was in middle school during the late 1980's in North Carolina within a classroom of equal parts Black and White students. To this day, I wonder how this was allowed to happen

You all DO remember that Lincoln was also a politician, right? Often when Lincoln would say/write something that is not politically correct to today’s standards, he was attempting to not cause an explosion of opposition and/or a political cataclysm. There is not a subject that is packed more full with political dynamite than this one and that’s today...can you imagine then.

As the descendant of Confederates I have no problem admitting they were wrong and traitors. Funny that a lot of the people waving that stupid treasonous flag around are from states outside the South, Michigan, Ohio, etc. It’s like a race to see who can look more absurd . I love the South. There’s so much to love. And most of the best of the South is directly from the contributions of African-Americans: food, music, culture. Why focus on the stuff that’s shameful when there is so much other stuff that is so very good and unique?

it baffles me that they lost the war, yet they are still naming military bases after those losers, or even worse, put their statues up.

*If your ancestors were traitors to this country, you don't need to suffer the consequences of that. It wasn't your own doing. Yet, if you try to whitewash it and make it sound like something glorious, then you're in the wrong and you can't get away with that. You will be called out if you insist on it. You won't be treated with respect.*

We need more celebrations of Union soldiers!

Nearly every state that seceded, published a declaration as to why they were doing it and ALL of them cited Slavery as a primary cause. Saying the Civil War was about slavery isn't politically correct history, it's correct correct history. Another interesting thing is that nearly every state in the Confederacy had little microstates, parts that pledged their loyalty to the Union and refused to join in the secession, the most notable of these being the Free State of Jones. The Confederacy was basically an aristocracy where the rich planter class had all the power, while your average Joe Blow Southerner had little to none, so it's not like this government was hugely popular even among the people it ruled over. When the Confederacy passed the Twenty Slave* Law, which allowed someone to be exempted from the draft if they owned twenty slaves, the war only became even more unpopular with many poor Southern Whites (correctly) being all, "I'm being sent off to die for some rich asshole's slaves." Mass desertions ensued. A line I heard regarding the Union in the Civil War went something like, "For every one soldier lost, the Union would gain three, which were usually either an escaped slave, an immigrant, or a southern white tired of all the BS." The South was bitterly divided from the getgo and the divisions only grew over the course of the war. *They actually used a much harsher word than "slave" in this law, but I really saw no need to bring it up in a casual RU-vid comment.

The UDC was just a bunch of Karens.

So, Edward Snowden is looking at life imprisonment but Jefferson Davis got off scot-free?

Wow, very interesting. The Daughters of the Confederacy, not mentioned, was also a key Southern lost cause propaganda organization which focused on children's books.

Imagine If Europe looked at the nazis and said "let em off easy"

Interesting that it was the women. Who memorialized those racist. Talk about breeding hate.

One of the things I like about the exhibits in the American Civil War Museum is how they integrated the African American story into every part of the exhibit and the story. Completely inextricable, the interpretation falls apart without it. Too often that story is relegated to a separate part or section, like Black History Month. Not in this museum. That's well done.

Yes, the 'Lost Cause' is a lost cause.

Every American citizen needs to watch this twice so we never forget.

It is absolutely unbelievable that it has taken so long for this mythology to begin to crumble.

My parents are both from the north. In my 1st grade class growing up in the south, somehow we began discussing which side we would fight on in the Civil War. I was the only one who said that I would fight on the side of the north to "Free the slaves." Literally everyone else said they would fight for the Confederacy because they would fight for their family/for their state. 1st grade, supposedly a Christian school. 1st grade. Unrelated to this, but we couldn't afford this private school the following year; my mom homeschooled me that year and then we promptly moved north of the Mason-Dixon.

If you think the Confederacy was not about slavery just read the Confederate States declarations of secession.

It's really important to remember that in the Summer of 1864 the war was going so badly for the Union it looked certain Lincoln was going to lose the election that November. One of the most divisive acts was his Emancipation Proclamation. He was encouraged to revoke it. After a hard deliberation, he decided against it. Even though there was a chance it could save his Presidency. Lincoln refused to do so strictly on moral grounds. {Some}“have proposed to me to return to slavery [these] black warriors. I should be damned in time & in eternity for so doing. The world shall know that I will keep my faith to friends & enemies, come what will. . . . Why should they give their lives for us, with full notice of our purpose to betray them?” Lincoln was always against slavery. When he "defended" its practice he did so the grounds he didn't have the power to do end it.

Did no one ever ask "What cause?" What right?"... we ALL knew the cause was slavery, the right to own slaves.

The states' rights people are right and I use it against them. I always ask, "What particular right were they fighting for?" I also ask them why there are no James Longstreet statues. The Longstreet thing makes it painfully obvious what the statues mean.

Im here because the History special Grant. Miss Christie Coleman is amazing!

"The civil war was about states rights". A states right to what?

Never seen the losing side celebrate so much

I have read perhaps thirty books about the history of the Civil War and Lincoln. This short film is a very balanced overview of the Lost Cause aspect of that history.

The Lost Cause represents an interesting exception to the truism that says "history is written by the winners." History usually is. But defenders of the south have been remarkably motivated and persistent in their need to present a more appealing explanation of the war.

USA has to come to grips with its honest past. Manifest Destiny another one we need to address. We have a lot of growing up to do. Thanks for this.

Atun-Shei vids on You Tube actually go over the Confederacy reasons for fighting being NOT over state Rights (BTW States Rights to DO, WHAT?).

The two museum directors are the wise ones. They should be leading a national conversation. Alas, neither are anarchists wanting to destroy the nation itself so will not be given an opportunity. Their work is admirable.

A shameful cause and incorrect history. Grew up in the south and had to learn the truth. Owning human beings is immoral, regardless of the circumstances.

Funny jeffie davis wasn't posed in his dress he was captured in while trying to escape after the war was lost.

@4:30 Karens were born

Christy Coleman is so eloquent. She should be in the Senate.

I remember the first time I heard someone call Lincoln a traitor, thanks to the world wide web, and how shocked I was as a New Englander that anyone could think of Lincoln as anything other than "The Great Emancipator"

It baffles me that conservatives claim to be the party of Lincoln but still fly the confederate flag, the flag Lincoln fought against 🤦

Great video by Washington Post. I need everyone to downvote all the RU-vid videos saying the Civil War was not because of slavery.

Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox ended the political war, but that was ultimately a proxy for the cultural war, which continues to this day. Another tragedy of Lincoln's assassination is that he would have otherwise had 3 more years in his 2nd term to reunify the nation. He also could have been a role model and social leader for unity in retirement and for the rest of his life.

As a South Carolinian who is a descendent of confederate veterans of South Carolina, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Slavery should have never existed in the US period. The confederacy lost as it should have. And the “lost cause” teachings and rhetoric has done more harm to southerners than it ever has any good.

I never understood argument that Lincoln was racist (and by modern standards he was) that somehow means the secession wasn't over slavery. Lincoln might have been racist but by the standards of those day he was much less racist then the average person, especially in contrast to those in Confederate states

Ignorance+ bigorry= lost cause

How can you tell a man, a people or a nation they are wrong, if their moral compass is stuck or hindered by the profits of their evil deeds?

Here in Vermont none of the false "history" purported in this video is taught or known. I always knew that the Civil war was fought because of slavery, that never was downplayed around here.

Instead of "Let 'em up easy", Lincoln should have said "Smack 'em in the mouth; it's obviously the only way they'll learn"

This is so well done!

Perhaps, the name should be updated to “The Losers Cause”🤗🤗🤗

Can't remember when I agreed with the Washington Post before this.

A little misleading on lincoln, he was an ardent abolishionist (although not realky for equality). At around the 2 minute mark they kind of ignore that he made it pretty clear that he wanted slavery to end, but the preservation of the union was his first priority. The republican party literally distanced themselves from the whigs because the whigs werent resoltue enough in their opposition to slavery. But they are correct in saying that the civil war was fought to preserve slavery, and has very little to do with states rights ( southern states supported the fugitive slave act and the results of the dred scott decision, so they werent actually for states rights)

Great documentary. Many thanks for uploading !!

The Southerners, after their defeat, reminds me of a woman that could not get over a breakup. Knowing he said it is over, she still telling everyone their together. 😩 😩 Gee, get over it already!!!

Great idea to combine the two museums. The truth about this tragic war, slavery, and racism must be told. The old south must never rise again.

the South has a lot of other things to be proud of. Why are they so obsessed with that 4 years of history

Why can't these Confederates, in the current form of the Republicans, get over it?

The best explanation I've seen of how our views on the confederacy have become so disorienting! So glad I watch it.

"Birth of a Nation" is a must-watch. It really provides a nice peek into what people were honestly thinking then, and how it evolved in the short term.

It was actually Ulysses Grant that was opposed to slavary not Lincoln. This is why you never hear about him or know that he lead the Union to win the CW.

How do you explain that the majority of soldiers on both sides were the sons of the poor who didn't own slaves?

What kinda racists are disliking this video?

I don’t think there is anything wrong with confederate museums as long as they’re historically accurate. But a monument dedicated to people who betrayed their own country so that they could own other humans, No.

The war wasn’t over slavery…

Good God I did not expect to see such a beautiful reporter 😍🤩...now I'll restart the video and actually listen this time.

Its happening with the holocaust as well it completely undermines our work towards social progress across the world. But there will always be racists much like there will always be poverty...its the education that really shows how we evolve over time.

If your husbands, sons, and fathers had gone off to fight invading armies and never returned, you'd probably want them fondly remembered, too. If those same armies came in, uprooted your livelihoods, and forceably altered your way of life, you'd probably view the cause for which your loved ones gave their lives pretty highly, as well. That's just human nature.

I seriously doubt half of the US believes the "lost cause" myth. I don't recall what I was taught in school about the Civil War because I have personally studied it so much as a hobbie since. Our curriculum probably did correspond closely to the lost cause, but I have an uncommon family history that gave me more insight to the truth of the war than what most people have available to them. I would estimate maybe 35 to 40% at most are true believers of that myth. Some might feign it around their families to prevent conflict, but I think most people have put the old theories behind them.

Along with the Native American genocide, the original sin of slavery is a stomach-churning reality in our long and difficult history.

Speaking of propaganda! The civil war was over taxes the north was forcing on the south. The slavery issue was used as a social issue to motivate the north to feel correct in starting the war.

Thank you! That was very balanced and well done.

it's never been about black people or white people. It's been the rich, the poor, the ignorant, and the wise.

Abraham Lincoln, a racist.... He wouldn't even be racist by today's standards. People can pull a random quote from obscurity, take it out of context and claim it ruins a man's reputation. I have seen people try and say that Lincoln wasn't that great because he either was too radical or wasn't radical enough. If Lincoln was a racist, why did he even try to free the slaves? If Lincoln was a racist, why did he advocate for black citizenship? If Lincoln is a racist, why did he allow blacks to serve?

ADOS

“How did we get to a point where a propaganda campaign became American history?” Woodrow Wilson. The answer is Woodrow Wilson.

Google the Morrall Tariff if you want the truth!

Lincoln was against slavery. Did you read the Lincoln vs Douglas debate for the Illinois Senate seat? Lincoln was an unknown until the national newspapers covered the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1958. Most White Americans in 1860s did not want to end slavery. Do you think Lincoln would have gotten elected if he did not tell the American public what they wanted to hear? Lincoln and the Radical Republicans ended slavery and automatically gave anyone born in the United States citizenship.

I grew up in Texas in the 90s. Not once did we talk about slavery, they mentioned a Buffalo Soldier 1x in our studies (briefly).

I was raised in AZ 1960, 70's and no way was the Civil War taught as anything except about slavery. In the History book we used it described what the slaveowner did to the slave in graphic detail. When I moved to the Carolinas I was surprised by the entrenched racism and the fond memories of white dominated history. Free labor you know.

Any time I hear someone call Lincoln a racist I immediately think Of Frederick Douglass' words at the unveiling of the Freedman's Monument on April 14, 1876. I think those around him, men like Douglass, though at times impatient with him recognized a great change in his thoughts and beliefs throughout his life. Even by today's standard's Henry Lewis Gates refers to him as a "recovering racist". So just blatantly calling him racist does a deep disservice to his memory and continues to perpetuate the "Lost Cause" narrative.

as the Cynical Historian says: "WILLLSSOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It’s unfortunate I can’t see those statues any more.

Who else had to watch Gone with the Wind in history class?

I was really hoping to learn more about HOW the Lost Cause started to be taught. I should've expected less from this publication. My bad

Thank you. I guess I need to go to Richmond

This "Winners" versus" Losers" argument is not very helpful. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the "losers," in this case, did not just go home but to Washington--to the White House, and to Congress--where they enshrined the policies which institutionalize segregation and racism to this very day.

The other thing is the interpretation of the linguistic difference. When they use terms like "he was a staunch defender of slavery" that does not mean he was into oppressing Black people. In the Southern language, it actually means he was a champion of their skills and abilities. This repeated misinterpretation of Southern English has created an enormous misrepresentation of the Confederacy and the Civil War. Prior to the Civil war, there was a sort of underlying belief that Black people could not be successful, so in the South, when you defend slavery it means that you took up for them, and you would promote their skills to the greater public. So when you read things that say that, keep the context in mind. The changing beliefs that Black people SHOULD be counted equally, and WERE worthy of educational opportunities and Civil Rights, were what fueled the development of Black Education in the South at that time. There were people like Horace King who demonstrated that that Black People could perform at a very high level and was then able to break through any existing stereotypes. Once you had enough people demonstrate that they were capable, and enough defenders of slavery - You had a Confederacy that had a solid case for demanding equal counts. Which was the protest that triggered the process of establishing emancipation and then the 14th amendment. It needed very complex legal maneuvering to enact equality. If you want to dumb it down to "abolishing slavery" you can, but it does not adequately explain everything that had to happen to find equality among the states. The 3/5ths compromise was enacted as part of the constitution, so it was not so easy to repeal, First they had to eliminate the Missouri Compromise (Dredd Scott Decision) eliminating geographic limitations on slave states. Then they eliminated the use of the term slavery, with the 13th amendment, so no one was considered a slave anymore. This kept anyone from being counted at the rate of 3/5s. THEN, because there were Native American populations who were neither freed nor enslaved, They had to enact the 14th amendment further generalizing a persons citizenship on the basis of birth or naturalization. Once they did that, ALL of the people in ALL of the states could be counted for apportionment, so that the House of Representatives could receive a fair count and adequate Representation from the apportionment. This is NOT directly related to the institution of slavery. In Virginia, prior to the Civil War - Black People were assumed to be enslaved unless they had freedom documentations from a previous sponsor. This does not mean that everyone was living enslaved. Many people were perhaps living in freedom without documentation. So the 13th amendment meant that you no longer needed documentation. It was more of an immigration amnesty for Black People. If you don't take the time to study what the Confederacy was and what the Civil War was about, and the history and evolution of Slavery prior to the Civil War. You will not understand what happed. It's not so easy just to say that slavery ended. That was not enough to end the war. They still needed an equal count, which would allow the south to rejoin the union. This is why its wrong to attack the Confederacy because their protest on the basis of equal representation is what lead to the emancipation. Lincoln didn't just all of a sudden have a change of heart, The Black People left the union because they were not being represented. You have to take the time to understand the whole thing. The Confederate Army, the Confederate Movement was not white supremacist at all, it was moving to overturn a an old census rule. The White Supremacy was instituted closer to 1900 during reconstruction when the segregation rules began to appear. The Confederate Movement was opposing the existing systemic White Supremacy that was generated by the 3/5ths Compromise, to seek Congressional Equality. In 1861, the Penn Center in South Carolina began the first education for black children, in 1870 the University of South Carolina graduated the first all Black class of College Graduates. In time, that school shifted to a white enrollment towards the end of the Reconstruction era and the onset of the "Jim Crow" Period, but during the Civil War Era, it was a time of advancement for Black People in the South, as they gained the right to be counted equally in the census and provided property, voting and educational rights to their communities. This was largely related to the Confederate Succession that caused Lincoln to have to take steps to qualify their constituents via a means other than 3/5ths, which is what lead to the emancipation. You need to correct this article and stop spreading hate. It does not discuss the reasons for succession and the unnecessary excessive violence from the North for something that could have been resolved diplomatically.

Good article.

A lost cause video without mentioning Woodrow Wilson? SMH.

WTF America you don't see Hitler statues in Germany!!!! Remove them now!

5:08 "One of the underrepresented stories of the American Civil War is the US Colored troops....people need to know that". 5:21 "We have completely removed black people from the narrative, when they were central to it." That is what the lost cause does, when it's believed and accepted that the war wasn't about slavery.

This is what I have heard. That late in the war, the South en masse realized that the war was about establishing a new country, different from the North. Different in all ways, with Slavery just one aspect of this. For example it was Oligarchical and Agrarian, and Christian but not Catholic. But it was too late the war was lost by that time. So chime in but please no flames, This is just what I have heard.

“We don’t want to join your rebellion. We’re forming our own state and staying with the Union” -West Virginia

I’m watching this for homework

They don’t even mention daughters of confederacy.. Wow

You should have spoken to Shelby Foote someone who's not going to lie to you about it just to protect their own heritage

As a Trinidadian of Indian descent, what seems to me as a deliberate and malicious attempt to cast these people, the confederate ancestors and their descendants, as villains makes me admire them even more. The real losers of the American Civil War were not the white confederates, they fought and died honourably, the real losers are the descendants of people who despite being freed for over 150 years still don't now how to get on with their lives in a land where every other immigrant class does well.

This dude is a logical fallacy machine. Consistency is for sure overrated

Very good

When I first heard this notion about the Civil War being about States Rights I was like WHAT? I was born in Raised in Cincinnati, but my mum was from Canada and my dad's family was from Charleston SC and Columbia and Georgia. I will admit that my dad's side were culturally racist. My father was a good man and I never heard or believed him to be racist.. but my dads side was not KKK devoted racists they were just brought up that way and were casual about how they spoke about certain people. I have photos of my grandmothers black caregivers and stories about them. My geneology is a long deep history in Charleston (streets named after direct ancestors) but I also have recently discoverd how deep into it they were .. going so far as having ancestors directly involved in running the slave trade. It is hard square, that is for sure... My mum's side were from Canada and Iowa and so I have this history that is what it is .. I am no more a racist.. but It is funny because I was just watching a documentary about Scottish Clans, namely the MacGregor Clan which I am connected to and how the British and Clan Campbell treated them.. Mac Gregors were forbidden from using thier name MacGregor, carrying a sharpened blade and had bounties on their head and even sold into slavery for just being a Mac Gregor. The Scots were forbidden after culloden from wearing the kilt, playing the bagpipes. Point is that humans have a long history of finding ways to oppress and destroy other human beings, regardless of color of skin. Color of skin certainly makes it easy to discriminate but humans are just horrible to each other and find excuses and means to acquire cheap /free labor, to STeal land (Clan Campbell fought with the MacGregors and became wealthy through acquiring MAc Gregor lands etc. The point is.. humans are are horrible to humans...

Well done, Ms. Ellis.

LOL! The wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis looks a lot like a light skinned Black woman. Her name is Varina Howell-Davis.

Wasn't it president Johnson who succeeded Lincoln that pardoned the Confederates including Jefferson Davis ?