The Civil War: Should We Celebrate It or Commemorate It?

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Is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War a celebration?  The Sons of Confederate Veterans in South Carolina think that it is.  On Monday they will be holding a “Secession Ball,” complete with a 45-minute play re-enacting the signing of the Ordinance of Secession.  The South Carolina State reports:

One of the stated purposes of the ball is to celebrate a ‘joyous’ occasion when South Carolina seceded from the Union,” said the Trust’s statement. “The Trust cannot join in that celebration as a fair reading of the Declaration of Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina adopted by the Secession Convention shows that the cause for secession rested on the North’s hostility to slavery and its refusal, among other things, to enforce the fugitive slave laws.”

The Trust’s Web site links to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a secession ball sponsor that disputes the Trust’s reading of history.

In its press release, the Trust said, “Because we disagree on some points does not mean the Trust cannot find common ground on others.”

Trust president Robert Rosen said his organization wants to “work with groups in a constructive manner,” ensuring all points of view — including Confederate points of view —- have a chance to be aired.

This raises a couple of interesting questions: Should the Civil War be celebrated or commemorated?  Or more broadly, what is the difference between a historical “celebration” and a “commemoration?”

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  1. Russ says

    Not to get too picky, but secession and start of the Civil War are not identical events. The objection based on the content of the Declaration of Immediate Causes seems appropriate to me.

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