Sons of Confederate Veterans of 1896

I met an attractive, well-dressed, southern gentlemen (who was not in costume) as we left the songfest who was a member of the organization called the Sons of Confederate Veterans, that sponsored the Battle of Aiken each year. He was a walking history book, which many Southerners seem to be, particularly about the Civil War. His philosophy was that the Civil War was started, among other things, because Southerners were selling their crops to Britain for $3 a pound vs. the $1 a pound paid by the North. He said it was just a matter of commerce and good sense to do business with England, but the North objected.

He also mentioned that during Reconstruction, the Southern property owners were taxed so highly by the "Yankees, er - I mean the Reconstruction government", that most people who hadn't already lost everything, did so then because they had no means to pay the taxes. He said the south didn't really begin to recover from the war until the 20's and 30's. He felt that history skewed the entire event.

Well, as Northerners, this was all news to us. Or should I say, we'd never thought about it. To us, growing up in Iowa and Nebraska, the Civil War was just another event in American history for which we had to learn names and dates. We thought the Civil War was fought primarily to abolish slavery. However, it appears to a great many Southerners that was just a convenient excuse.

He also mentioned that this event couldn't be sponsored by any local, county or state government - it wouldn't be politically correct, he said. Some people might not understand.