Summary Of Apostles Of Disunion By Charles B. Dew

The nineteenth century was one the most remarkable period in American history. For it was the century of the Market Revolution as well as the Civil War. The war took millions of lives of innocent people, who either tried to eliminate or defend slavery. The Civil War seemed to be revolved around slavery. However, slavery was not the only causation. The Northerners, for instance, fought to defend state sovereignty (lecture December 8). Therefore, the causes of the Civil War remain a debate. Although one hundred and fifty-one years have passed, many historians still debate whether the cause of the war was slavery or not. Charles B. Dew in his essay, “Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War”, argues

In his essay, he uses speeches of southern commissioners to support his argument. There are three main themes in their speeches that highlight the racism in southern states. The first theme is “the looming specter of racial equality” (Text 294). Dew uses the speech of William L. Harris to demonstrate the theme, “Our fathers made this a government for the white man … rejecting the negro, as an ignorant, inferior, barbarian race, incapable of self-government, and not, therefore, entitled to be associated with the white man” (Text 294). His speech indicates extreme discrimination toward blacks. He, as well as his fellow southerners, perceived blacks merely as animals. The second theme is “the prospect of a race war” (Text 294). The speech of the commissioner Alexander H. Handy suggests, “Under the policy of the Republican party, the time would arrive when the scenes of San Domingo and Hayti” (Text 295). The southerners were afraid of a revenge of blacks on them. Moreover, the most horrid scene for them is a government of blacks. The third theme is “racial amalgamation” (Text 295). In the essay, Dew quotes Henry Benning, “[he] insisted that ‘our women’ would suffer

Gallagher, claims that the war was fought over saving the Union, rather than slavery. According to Gallagher, although America in the nineteenth century was dominated with racism and oppression, America “promised a potentially brighter future” for all people. As Gallagher quotes an Irish-born Union soldier, “’this is my country as much as that was born on the soil’ … If the Union lost the war … ‘then the hopes of millions fall and … the old cry will be sent forth from the aristocrats of Europe that such is the common end of all republics” (Text 298). For the native-born Americans, the war would make the nation “stronger in the absence of slavery’s pernicious influence … and kept a democratic beacon shining in a world dominated by aristocrats and monarchs. However, the northerners fought to save the Union did not mean they are not racist. In the essay, Gallagher claims that African American soldiers were welcomed because they “freed the white men from the kinds of noncombatant work they detested …[however] several drew a sharp line between the idea of equality within the wartime military sphere and in postwar society” (Text 300). Therefore, a majority of northerners were as racist as their fellow southerners, thus making the cause of saving the union more