CIVIL WAR SERIES – ROLE OF SLAVERY
August 17, 2010: As part of the special series on the Civil War, Dr. Bernard E. Powers, Jr., Professor of History and Director of African-American Studies at the College of Charleston, addressed the Charleston Rotary Club on the subject of the role of slavery in the Civil War:
His perspective brought into focus the often subdued references to slavery as a potent ingredient in the Civil War, but one that was not overtly discussed for a very long time. In fact, in his own account of a visit he made to Ft. Sumter in 1976, the Ranger talked about the triggers for the war and cited the disputes over states’ rights and tariffs, but made no mention of slavery. “That was an astounding revelation…”
Dr. Powers underscored the deep intertwining of the black and white communities in the South Carolina, in particular. Slavery was a central, complex issue and was, of course, deeply tied to the economic forces at work in the antebellum period.
He cited that while many believed northerners and Union soldiers were assumed to be abolitionists, he illustrated how the situation was quite the contrary. In the north, abolitionists were often mobbed and chided, feeling real threats to their fundamental rights to safety. And while most northerners had little or no interest in slavery, there was increasing conflict over the role of freed slaves. As the Western Territory grew, the position of the Republican Party was to oppose slavery in the west. Eventually Horace Greeley’s time-honored line, “Go west young man,” referred to the opportunities for freed slaves to thrive in the west. Even our own, John C. Calhoun declared, the Western Territory was the common territory for all.
But the growing fear of emancipation among the white population was not widely discussed. In step with Abraham Lincoln’s ascendency, the fear was eventually realized. But it has taken too long to take an honest and courageous look at the real issues and motivations that we must understand.
Submitted by Mark Danes, Keyway Committee