Don't_Shoot_the_Messenger

Aashi Mital “Don’t shoot the messenger!” Within the pages of Apostles of the Disunion, Charles B. Dew attempts to uncover the truth as to why the south seceded from the Union. Historians have, indeed, come to a general consensus that slavery was a contributing factor, however, there is still a debate as to how extensive a role it played in secession, particularly in comparison to the issue of states’ rights, which the south claims was the sole reason behind the parting of ways. The author goes beyond common knowledge and examines this dispute from the southern point of view. In order to achieve this goal, he uses a unique angle often times ignored by historians: the secession commissioners. By using the words of those sent to persuade the southern states into leaving the Union, Dew wishes to create a mentality that allows his audience to establish the real reasoning behind the south’s secession. It is beyond blatantly evident through the author’s work, along with the utterances of the south’s own representatives, that slavery and fears based on this issue were the main incentives behind the south breaking away from the nation. Dew refutes the argument made by southerners, as well as present day neo-confederates, that slavery was not the key factor behind secession. These commissioners were simply men who were appointed to specific states with the intention of convincing them to withdraw from the Union. Throughout the southern states, all of these men were unified in their messages of slandering the north for treating their southern brothers with nothing but degradation and humiliation. The notion of blaming the north became a staple only second to slavery. Time and time again, as Dew follows the path of these apostles, slavery is the central theme in each of the commissioners’ speeches. For instance, when asked why Georgia should secede, Commissioner Benning replies, “It was a conviction, a deep conviction on the part of Georgia, that separation from the North was the only thing that could prevent the abolition of slavery. (pp. 64-65)” Not only does this prove that slavery was a matter of great importance in the process of decisive secession, but it also depicts the mindset many southerners shared at the time due to Lincoln’s confirmed success being so close at hand. The notion that with the election of Lincoln came the abolishment of slavery did nothing short of feed the already growing fears of the southern states. This anxiety was the perfect tool in the hands of the commissioners because they used it to carry out their mission. Throughout the novel, the idea that Republicanism is automatically intertwined with the destruction of slavery is constantly hurtled into the public sphere. If the Republicans came to power, then life in the south would be over. Without slavery, the way these individuals had come to survive economically and socially would be destroyed. Thus, they would be dependent on a cruel and oppressive north, which was unthinkable, “…never submit to the principles and policy of this Black Republican Administration. She had rather see the last of her race, men, women, and children, immolated in one common funeral pile than see them subjected to the degradation of civil, political, and social equality with the negro race. (p 69)” With this being the future of the south, secession was made even more alluring to the masses. With growing support, the commissioners pressed even further in stating that the possibility of slavery being abolished also meant that white supremacy was threatened. If white southerners were on equal footing with former slaves, what would happen next' The fear of change and social extremes allowed this paralyzing terror of what violent incidents could take place based on race, “…nothing less than an open declaration of war, for the triumph of this theory of government destroys the property of the south…consigning her citizens to assassinations and her wives and daughters to pollution and violation to gratify the lust of half-civilized Africans' (p 54)” The white men of the south would not risk the possibility of mobility of their slaves, thus once again, the apostles were successful in their task of convincing the states of the deep south to leave the Union. The commissioners had the powerful weapon of fear at their disposal, therefore it is not surprising there was an overwhelming response in support of separation from the north. The thought of life without slavery was no life at all. The author’s research indicates that slavery was the driving force behind the south’s secession, but the commissioners were, indeed, the catalyst backing this movement. Once the Civil War ended on the battlefield, the former Confederates claimed that secession was due to states’ rights, however, Dew clearly shows another side to the story. The notion that slavery was responsible for the south withdrawing from the nation, compared to the scapegoat know as states’ rights, is still denounced by neo-confederates and confederate supports, hence why they feel free to discuss slavery so liberally. These individuals have conveniently chosen to forget a vital piece of history. Why' Maybe they do not remember it as such because they have created another version of events. Another version that is more appeasing, healing or not deadened with a sense of defeat. There is not a single answer, however, Dew undoubtedly wants his work to be recognized not only by experts, but the public as well, in order to help both sides realized their errors and move on after a bitter war.