One of the simplest and most hotly debated topics among followers and students of Southern history is the name by which the time period of 1861-1865 is called. Hard to believe that something so simple could cause so much discontent and hurt feelings, but it’s true. I’ve been a witness to forum exchanges in which the participants got downright nasty and insulting, all over which name for the conflict was “right” and which was “wrong.” And invariably, the main two participants would be from each side of the Mason/Dixon Line with supporters of each lining up behind them. I always tried to stay out of such petty arguments, because for the most part they were counter-productive at best and totally unproductive at worst. Nothing was ever accomplished that I know of, yet the argument still rages on in forums across the land to this day.
So why not address the topic and my opinions here? Hell, why not? It’s my blog; I can do whatever I want, right?
Having said that, and for what it’s worth, here’s my two cents worth on what name I consider “correct” when referring to the last war fought on American soil. There’s no way I can possibly cover all of the various names being used, so I’ll concern myself with the most popular and leave it at that.
The most common name, the name first used by Abraham Lincoln in his much-vaunted Gettysburg Address, is “Civil War.” Over the course of time this has become the “accepted” and “universal” name used; why, I don’t know. IMHO it’s just as incorrect now as it was then, so why it’s the name everyone settled on is….well, I know why, and I’ll talk about that in a later blog. But the reason I don’t consider this name accurate is simple: a “civil war” takes place when the civilian population of a nation takes up arms and rises up in revolt against the controlling government with the intent of overthrowing that government and installing their own. The Southern states and the Southern people did neither of these. They did exactly the same thing that the Founding Fathers did in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence – they announced their separation from the ruling government with the intent of establishing their own nation and their own government.
Only the Southern people went one step further – they actually established the government, complete with president, congress, armed forces and constitution – before the shooting started. The United States didn’t accomplish that until 1787 with the ratification of the US Constitution. So when the shooting started in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861, what took place was the beginning of a war between two separate nations with two established governments, each with established armed forces – as established as state militia under national control can be – with the Confederate States of America having the express goal not to overthrow the United States government and take over, but to break away from the United States and be a separate nation. And had Lincoln not maneuvered the Confederate States into firing the first shot, this very may well have happened. But in any event, that’s why I don’t think the term “civil war” is accurate.
The next most popular term is “War Between the States.” I used to use this term until I read something about why the term isn’t accurate, and found myself in agreement with it. The reason is simple: this term implies a war between independent states, with no federal or national government or forces being involved. As I have shown in the preceding paragraph, this is not the case. Hence I don’t feel that name is accurate, either.
Some really die-hard pro-modern day secession Southerners will use the term, “War of Northern Aggression,” and to a point – a very small one – they’re right. With the exception of the spring of 1862 when Lee invaded Maryland and again in the summer of 1863 when Lee invaded Pennsylvania, the war was a defensive one for the Confederacy, being fought almost completely in the South and against invading Northern armies. I suppose you could even go a bit further back in history to the many causes of the war and use them to justify this term, but personally I don’t buy it for one simple reason: the Confederacy fired the first shot. And he who fires first is, by definition, the aggressor. So I don’t think this term fits, either.
So what name “fits,” what name do I use when talking about this time period in our history? Well, it’s like this…I use the name which I feel most correctly sums up the war, its reason for being fought, and its goal from the Confederate point of view. Of course, the Yankees will disagree, but that’s to be expected. In any event, I call it:
“THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE.”
Simple, effective, and most of all, accurate…from the Southern point of view, anyway. If the Yankees disagree, which I’m sure they will, then that’s just too bad.
They’ll get over it.
IHC
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