Bob McDonnell's Confederate History Month is Un-American

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if you think Confederate History Month is "unamerican" then you dont know the truths about the war and think it was fought over race and slavery, because youre a fcking idiot

Tony Campbell of IL 10:00PM February 01, 2012

I am VERY proud to be the ancestor of SEVERAL Confederate soldiers!!! They stood up to A tyrannical government just like our four fathers did!! Do u realize that dag on near everyone of our four fathers decendents fought for the Confederacy??!!! What the south did was well within their rights!!! The aggressive north had no right to stop the south from leaving the Union!!!!! Wasnt it kinda funny that the Yankees never gave Jefferson Davis his day in court like he begged them to do? These days everyone thinks the war was fought over slavery, that is not true!! The United States gov. wants folks to think that cause it makes them look like the good guys! The war was fought to keep the south from being a seperate country. So if you think about it theres nothing "United" about it. The Yankee army could not beat the Rebel army so it cowardly took the fight to the southern women & children!!! Burning their houses, stealing food, & raping the women! When Mr. Lincoln recited the Emancipation Proclamation 1/3 of the Union army deserted! Does that sound like people fighting to free the slaves? There are Yankee generals qouted as saying, "they are not fighting to free slaves, they are fighting to keep the Union together"! The person writting this article obviously has a political/social bias to the Confederacy/South!

ryan of VA 4:51PM December 10, 2010

confederates are the best kind of people and you should be in shame for saying that confederate history month is un american. the southern cross has flown more riths then the stars and stripes

eli of TN 12:53AM May 16, 2010

I attend high school and in school many of us recognise Confederate History Month. Once this country was created, the Civil War was the next biggest thing to happen. Half of the country was againts the other half. There are so many people who are decendants of the fallen Confederate soldiers. So what is theres not a Northern Victory Month as another person on here stated. Should it matter? No. Its how it is. The young people, not even legal adults, and not all southern, even of all races, yet understand this concept of recognizing something so important. Why do immature "adults" have to dwell over this topic, do yall have nothing better to cry about? I hope everyone who is against my Govenors statement reads this. All months are designated for many things, some are petty stuff like apple month; everyone is not going to appreciate every month. For example black history month i do not agree with i dont see any positives in having it, thats probably why its the shortest month. AnywayConfederate history month is needed. The Confederate soldiers were omly fighting to try and make their familys life better to have seperate countries. Bob McDonnell you rock, you have so many young supporters that dont even have say yet, just wait until we are of voting age! Keep doing a great job sir.

Seth of VA 11:40PM April 20, 2010

Clearly, there is a knowledge gap in Civil War History - African American history is routinely minimized, if considered at all. The need to tell a more accurate and inclusive story led to an initiative in the City of Richmond, Va., to explore the Civil War from a more comprehensive perspective, through an initiative called The Future of Richmond's Past.
As there is a clear need in Richmond, Virginia and the United States to include the information about the suffering and triumph of African Americans during one of the most turbulent times in our nation's history, this Saturday, April 17, The Future of Richmond's Past has organized a commemoration called Civil War & Emancipation Day, granting residents free access to museums, sites, discussions and events created to present a more truthful, comprehensive perspective of the Civil War. Slavery will be addressed in addition to Confederate history, through discussions, exhibits and tours.
I will be participating in the event, along with my 4-year-old daughter, 7-year-old nephew and other family members. It is important, I believe, to tell the truth behind the African American experience during the Civil War and beyond, and expose the African American experience during this time.
For more info on Richmond's Civil War & Emancipation Day, visit the event page on Facebook: http://ow.ly/1xsmC.
Visit The Future of Richmond's Past on Facebook: http://ow.ly/1xsic or the website at http://www.futureofrichmondspast.org.
Holly Rodriguez

Holly Rodriguez of VA 5:58PM April 13, 2010

We are very proud of you for considering this. We true Americans who are interested in our ancestry are very proud of our great grandfathers and our great-great grandfathers (whether we are male of female) for fighting for the freedom we have had. They would be surprised at America today. We are losing many of the rights and very important reasons they fought. To them and many of us the Constitution of the United States should be followed. Our leaders wrote this document. Now immigrants are tearing it to pieces. Please hang in there for we Americans Bob. We need someone strong who will represent we Americans. The War Between the States is an important part the history of 13 states. I am a very proud member of the SCV and am depending on YOU to represent ME and many others whose relatives died in this war.

George and Sandra Weddle of VA 3:37PM April 13, 2010

Why should we celebrate Confederate history? We don’t celebrate National Redcoat Month to commemorate those brave English soldiers who died in the American Revolution. We don’t celebrate Nazi History Month to honor the courageous German soldiers who gave their all for their fatherland. There’s a reason. They were on the wrong side of our great American history. They were the killers of brave American soldiers. The same is true of the rebels of the confederacy who tried to tear our nation apart through armed rebellion and the continuation of slavery.
And if memory serves me wasn’t it the Republican Party under Abraham Lincoln that prosecuted the Civil War? If this is true what would possess a Republican governor to issue a proclamation celebrating the Confederacy?

Art Sheppard of CA 2:04AM April 13, 2010

A national study conducted by Mediacurves.com explored opinions of 600 Americans regarding Virginia’s reinstatement of Confederate History Month. Results found that Among political parties, the majority of Republicans (62%) indicated that confederate history should be honored, while the same proportion of Democrats (62%) reported that confederate history should not be honored. In addition, nearly half of the respondents (48%) reported that celebrating Confederate History Month promotes racist ideals.
More results can be seen at http://www.mediacurves.com/NationalMediaFocus/J7798-ConfederateHistoryMonth/Index.cfm

Ben of NJ 4:54PM April 12, 2010

"Let's not forget what it was: an armed insurrection aimed at destroying the United States of America"
The torrent of ethnic hatred and anti-Southern bigotry on the part of self-professed and self-righteous "anti-racists" may be par for the course, but the sheer ignorance revealed by their "arguments" remains striking. It is simply a matter of historical fact, utterly uncontroversial, that the Confederate States of America neither attempted nor intended to "destroy" the United States, but rather merely sought political independence from them. It is simply not in dispute. This renders Schlesinger's entire argument discredited. The question is, is Schlesinger a sincere ignoramus, or is he being dishonest? Is he a fool, or is he a liar? I would wager on the latter.

S.L. Toddard of MA 7:57AM April 09, 2010

Muser of NM wrote: "States do not have the right to secede. States do not have the right to override federal law or the constitution. Not then. Not now."
Really?! So, the very fact that 13 colonies left British sovereignty, based on your interpretation, they would have been wrong.
Consequently, America's founding fathers Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson et al, would essentially be criminals for inciting their rebellion.
Yet we hold them in reverence and esteem.
Remember the civil war happened less then 100 years after the revolutionary war. The nation was essentially a fledgling conglomeration of states that were more or less join in a weak union of states. In other words, the union only existed because states permitted/allowed their association to the union.
In fact, at the time of the civil war folks had far more loyalty to their respective states than they did the newly formed fledgling government.
There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution or any other legal document which precludes any state or group of states from seceding from the United States. This was true in 1861. Today, countries are split and otherwise reconfigured almost daily and the United States has evolved as the world's moral leader in supporting rights of peoples to declare themselves independent. This is a comfortable position for U.S. politicians ... as long as secession occurs in Europe, Asia, South America, or Africa.
In 1860 controversy between the North and South raged over tariff laws. The North had begun to openly defy fugitive slave laws. All across the North, states refused to honor warrants for return of slaves -- in direct defiance of federal law and of the Constitution which clearly mandates that each state must recognize Constitutional laws of all other states. Additionally, the federal government refused to intervene on behalf of southern states.
A present day analogy would be if those states with NO death penalty should refuse to enforce fugitive warrants from states WITH the death penalty. Refusing to honor such warrants would create a Constitutional crisis similar to the one that arose in 1860. Would the question then be over the death penalty, or would the question be over obeying the Constitution and the law of the land?
Hence the erroneous conclusion that the civil war was about slavery. Slavery was simply an impetus to a larger, greater, and more profound issue of states rights.

david of ID 2:58AM April 09, 2010