 Having an above average knowledge of Southern history, it is always good to get perspectives from individuals from other parts of the country. Defending Dixie’s Land, by Jeb Smith, writing as Isaac Bishop, provided such a perspective as the author hails from Vermont.
Bishop begins by detailing his “government-approved” education and indoctrination about the War Between the States and the issues surrounding it. Although I was born, raised, and educated in the South, I suspect what I was taught is quite similar to what was taught to the average Vermonter since the federal government has such an inordinate amount of influence over education—an area where they have no legitimate constitutional authority. The book’s Preface, written by Clyde Wilson, references the fact that the Founders did not envision a country run largely by crony capitalism in juxtaposition with moral decay. Many other topics are referenced as a warm up for the book’s contents. The book includes Patrick Cleburne’s well-known prediction about how the winner’s narrative would distort the South’s cause of independence and self-government into a mythical Northern righteous cause. There is also a comment by Milan Hubel, a Czechoslovakian communist who described the strategy of liquidating history that falls outside the “approved narrative,” echoing the warnings of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who despised the Godless communists. Bishop quickly gets into the issue of Southern slavery, noting that a considerable number of slave owners were native Northerners. Angles are explored as to whether Africans, who were slaves in their native country, were better off in America. Included is the fact that, despite the obvious limitations of slavery, Africans in America did receive food, medical care and housing. The argument is made that slaves were frequently better off than their “free” counterparts. Multiple quotations came directly from the slave narratives (using the words of actual slaves) and often paint a positive relationship between slave and master. Since this testimony falls outside of the approved narrative, one would surmise that such primary source quotes would never be allowed in the modern education system. Indeed, referencing the comments about being better off under slavery than “freedom” would likely get a teacher terminated. In Chapter 3, the causes of secession are explored. With the election of the Republican Lincoln, many in the South immediately feared disruptions in Southern life. There was understanding that the entirely sectional Republican Party (fueled by the protectionist wing from the defunct Whig Party) was based on corporate welfare, crony capitalism, protectionist tariffs, and central banking. The South had fought these battles virtually from day one of the republic. There is considerable commentary from modern “Austrian” libertarians such as Thomas DiLorenzo and Tom Woods, both known to identify uncomfortable facts in the eyes of establishment historians. Bishop touches on the Confederate Constitution with its emphasis on State Sovereignty, decentralization, and recognition of God Almighty. The South’s constitution was a “free market” document, the complete antithesis of the Republican Party’s love affair with protective tariffs, cronyism, and corporate welfare. There was also mention of whether these United States are supposed to be a democracy (described as mob rule by most Founders) or a federal republic. The book covers the fact that the North and South were two separate and distinct cultures. As an agrarian region with a direct connection to the land (and minimal industry), the South was naturally a conservative region that overwhelmingly advocated decentralization of government power. The North was significantly agricultural but the greatest concentration of political power was within the industrial sector and the railroads and they worked tirelessly to promote their interests. Bishop touches on the impetus for the secession of Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee—Lincoln’s call for 75,000 troops from each State to invade the seven seceded States. He covers nullification, relying heavily on the writings of historian Woods, Clyde Wilson, the Kennedy brothers, and DiLorenzo. The influence of Thomas Jefferson and John Taylor of Caroline are duly noted. Numerous topics throughout U.S. history are also summarized, with an overriding emphasis on the centralization of power. This leads to the discussion of Abraham Lincoln, the father of centralization, who has been mythologized through American history. Added to that is the patently obvious influence of Christianity throughout the history of the country. Bishop delves into the highly controversial topic of Black support for the Confederacy, citing numerous examples of loyalty to the South. Here he quotes Booker T. Washington and references several books that use primary sources to document Black support. As he moves into industrialization, Bishop relies heavily on several politically incorrect comments from the Slave Narratives. This includes commentary where slaves stated they were treated humanely under the slave labor system and there was a bond of loyalty between them and their masters. There is also coverage of the way industrialization has diluted the value of families, lessened morality, feminized society, and led to acceptance of socialism. Chapter 7 covers the ways minorities have been treated in both the North and the South, referencing U.S. Grant’s infamous General Order #11 against Jews, treatment of Catholics, American Indians, and Blacks. The general conclusion is that, from an overall historical standpoint, all groups have typically fared better in the South. As Bishop gets toward the end of the book, he covers Lincoln’s White supremacy, support for colonization, the Corwin Amendment, racial segregation, and creation of the Lincoln Myth where all of these facts are typically swept aside. In Chapter 9, the subject shifts to “taboo” facts about slavery, noting how several Northern States did not allow Blacks to vote and they opposed living among Blacks in general. There is also a reference to the Cherokee policy of threatening execution to any tribal member marrying a Black person and the tribe’s complete disgust with Abolitionists. Other politically incorrect examples, include Whites enslaved by Muslims, Black slavery in Africa vs. in America, Black loyalty to the Confederacy, Black slave owners, and more. Bishop concludes by noting how the South has been mis-portrayed largely because the winner wrote the history. As a native Southerner, this became more and more obvious to me as I read and researched the events of that era. It is refreshing that Isaac Bishop, a native Northerner, has produced a book with primary sources, that exposes so much of the mythology of American “Civil War” history. Considering the venomous attacks likely to come from the “Court Historians” toward this work, I highly recommend the book and applaud Bishop’s temerity to provide this worthwhile information to anyone interested in this era—especially those who suspect or know they been taught a slanted version of past history.
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