471A3--Week 6 Questions/Comments--Tuesday

Blight, 211-254, 300-337
In my high school classes, we studied the different “methods” for black advancement at the turn of the century. It was basically Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois. Washington promoted education and self-help while Du Bois wanted action. Of course, we don’t learn in school how they felt on the slavery issue or the progress made since point “zero.” It would have been Washington who saw slavery as “a necessary stage in a people’s development” (or maybe Crummell who believed in ‘forgetting’ the whole past slavery thing) vs. Douglass who believed that the memory of slavery is exactly what people need to remember. Maybe we could talk about why more black intellectual leaders believed in forgetting the past. -- Brooke

I found Blight's discussion of the origins of the Underground Railroad story to be interesting because I remember learning about it in elementary school and how Harriet Tubman was the heroine who smuggled slaves from house to house under the cover of night. Now that I think about it and know more about what was actually happening, the story that I grew up with seems ridiculously romantic. I agree completely with Blight when he says that Siebert's Underground Railroad stories were written as self-congratulatory adventure tales rather than fact. Yes, there was truth in them, but I feel like alot of it was embellished for the larger white audience. It allowed for the belief that whites and blacks could work together in order to free slaves; which could help in the future to work together during reconstruction. -Cameron F.

I was also interested in the origin story of the Underground Railroad. Its true that what we learn in elementary school is highly romanticized than what actually happened. Probably the story of Christopher Columbus being a remembered and taught as a hero stands out the most to me. Its an interesting notion though, romanticizing history. We see this happen all the time in pop-culture as well. Most recently that I can remember was when a friend and I saw Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter. I understand its supposed to be off the wall, fictional entertainment, and forgive me if you havent seen it yet, but the movie portrays the Underground Railroad as a key part of the movie. (Trying not to give any spoilers)Again its just interesting to see how major events in history can be portrayed so differently.-- George H

I was struck by Grant’s words in describing how he felt after Lee’s surrender, “I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, thought that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse. I do not question, however, the sincerity of the great mass of those who were opposed to us.” (Blight, 215) Grant goes from one extreme to the other and back again. Words and sentiments such as these almost certainly fueled the reunion ideals of both North and South.- Jason

Of all the personalities that Blight discusses in the reading, Ambrose Bierce was the most compelling to me. His wartime experiences coupled with an apparent writing ability make him an important character to the forming of Civil War memory. As someone seeking the truth, I don’t want to read romanticized, censored accounts of Civil War combat. Bierce was clearly suffering psychologically from his war experiences and ends of killed hanging out with Pancho Villa, seriously? (Blight, 244) Bierce for me is an example of a common combat veteran’s unblemished view of warfare. His stories, based on what Blight says, should be digested by those wanting to know about Civil War combat instead of the Shaara series. It is a shame that these types of stories are not prevalent in history.

I really liked the discussion about the Underground Railroad. I thought that I went into a more in depth conversation than anything previous that I have learned. I thought that it was nice to have those different perspectives that what has been previously taught. I wonder though how this work would have been different if Siebert had tried to reach out to freed slaves that may still be in Southern states. (Maybe on the Underground Railroad but returned for family? Maybe they had a failed attempted on the Underground Railroad? Maybe they knew someone who escaped on it?) –Kayle P

One quote that really stood out to me was when Washington said "notwithstanding the cruel wrongs... the black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did."(320). I understand that the slave experience was viewed as a stage in human development, however, to say that t was just as beneficial for both parties struck me as over the top. Any thoughts on Booker T Washington's stance on the matter?- George H

I found the second section to be weaker than Blight normally presents. While he was discussing the black experience during the 1880s, he used works from later years (such as the WPA interviews from the 1930s) to make his argument; I thought that this undercut his argument. -- Carly B.

In the first section of Blight, what did you make of the disillusion (the "adoring hatred" of the war, as Blight describes it on 244) experienced by those such as Ambrose Bierce? Is this something other authors have discussed satisfactorily? --Carly B.

I think it was very important to the memory of the Civil War that the winning general would use reconciliationist language and that that language would be the lasting legacy of the war. This is how Blight starts chapter 7 and this is because the literature that would be written in the following decades would borrow from this layout. Grant also seems to blame the slaveholders while uplifting the dignity of the rest of the southern population. These two themes carry on through the American literary tradition if the Civil War and I wonder whether Grant writing this so soon gave these themes the lasting memory that they have had. --Matt A.

So far, I liked chapter 7 the most of Blight's other chapters. I thought it was really important that he included both writers from the North and South in order to show how memory has progressed. I thought one of the quotes from included from Tourgée was really powerful and important. "remember of the great war of yesterday is not the battles, the marches, the conflicts,- not the courage, the suffering, the blood, but only the causes that underlay the struggle and the results that followed from it. (220) -Ana Y.

The distinction between recollection and memory. Alexander Crummel: Potentially paralyzing memories-not the epic to be retold, but merely the source of future needs. Frederick Douglas: Emancipation and the Civil War were a felt history, a moral and legal foundation upon which to demand citizenship and equality. -Ana Y.

"Remembering the thrill of emancipation, experiencing the pride of citizenship, witnessing the growth of black education and intellectual achievement, and building new black institutions all afforded the emancipationist vision fertile ground in which to take root." (304)  I found this section interesting because in the many "black commemorations in that special year," black American's were finally capable to memorialize and celebrate their new freedom. (306) The 1883 commemorations of the Emancipation Proclamation highlighted African American's rise in societal prominence in post Civil War America. -- Donald P.

It was interesting to see that even in the remembrance of the underground railroad, the seeds for continual ignorance of the deterioration of race relations in post-war America were sown. In the eyes of these contemporaries, the underground railroad and emancipation ended slavery and solved most problems for blacks in the south without taking into account the struggle for equality that was occurring after the war.-Sean

I was really struck by Blight's comment in the first section that "memory bred resistance, especially among the postwar generation." (251) I had thought about this idea before but really like how Blight phrased it and even more how he showed this resistance through the reception of literary works. I really enjoyed reading the different stories about the veterans that became authors, I find it fascinating that so many of them went through similar things but decided to reach out to the public in different ways. -Meg O

Frederick Douglass
"This monument, symmetrical and beautiful, would be a just tribute to the dead, and a noble inspiration to the living." (52). This closing remark from Douglass stood out to me because, for a moment, I felt as though I was reading a speech for a Lost Cause memorial. Douglass goes on to finish his speech by explaining how the monument will be there to pass patriotism along from generation to generation. I find it interesting that although Northern and Southern post-war views were extremely different, (Lost Cause vs. Emancipationist) they used almost identical terms when describing the significance of what they were commemorating. Just goes to show that both sides knew exactly what to say in order to make their words seem most appealing. --Carly W.

I liked this piece. I thought that Douglass might have been able to reach an audience that might not have been accepting to his ideas. I think that he is able to get his point across while still reaching a wide audience. –Kayle P

I agree with both of the comments before me. Douglass was such a wonderful speaker and knew the best words for his audience. I also really liked the movement of the speech, Douglass really chooses the right words to convey his message and strike the hearts of Americans. -Meg O

W.E.B. Du Bois
My only comment about the W.E.B. Du Bois reading is from the opening summary. The Nation described him as “a slender, intellectual-looking mulatto.” Then the writer continued describing the reaction to him on stage, “the applause burst forth heartily, as if in recognition of the strange significance of his appearance there.” Finally, Du Bois, “handled his difficult and hazardous subject with absolute good taste, great moderation, and almost contemptuous fairness.” I’m repeating all these quotes here, because I think that the reaction in the periodical to his address warrants some attention as well (or maybe it’s my thesis talking). It’s a rather liberal magazine today, so I’m assuming it was liberal from its creation. So a liberal magazine is praising Du Bois—nothing strange there. I find it interesting, however, that the magazine also applauds his critique of the South in the most reconciliatory way possible. Discuss! -- Brooke.

"I wish to consider not the man, but the type of civilization which his life represented: its foundation is the idea of the strong man..." (14). I feel like most studies and critiques of the Civil War focus on the major players or major battles. I'm not sure if I completely understand the reading, and my major question from it is Du Bois trying to compare Davis's life to a civilization or is this an attack on the South as a civilization? --Carly W.

"And finally, as the crowning absurdity, the peculiar champion of a people fighting to be free in order that another people should not be free." (14) Du Bois statement speaks truths for the oddity and hypocrisy of the Confederate cause. According to Du Bois, it seems Jefferson Davis embodied the Southerner's selfish societal behaviors: "The overwhelming sense of the I, and the consequent forgetting of the Thou." (14) The South's inability to adhere to the evolving societal demands of abolishing slavery in order to maintain economic stability, led to its demise and eventual collapse. -- Donald P.