John Clegg (NYU) and Duncan Foley (New School): A Classical-Marxian Model of Antebellum Slavery. Rafael I. Pardo (Emory): Bankrupt Slaves (and more). From Review 31, Tom Cutterham reviews Battles for Freedom: The Use and Abuse of American History by Eric Foner. The Confederacy was a con job on whites — and still is. Patterns of death in the South still show the outlines of slavery. Juan F. Perea (Loyola): Echoes of Slavery II: How Slavery’s Legacy Distorts Democracy. Misrepresentation and misrecognition: Michael Weinman on Steve King’s American exceptionalism and its ties to the “slaves were immigrants, too” thesis. To be continued, or who lost the Civil War?
John Kelly says the Civil War was started over a “lack of compromise” — historians say it was slavery. A refusal to compromise? Civil War historians beg to differ. Ta-Nehisi Coates schools John Kelly on history of Civil War and “compromise” (and more). John Kelly is as deluded about the Confederacy as Trump is. The Civil War was not a mistake: John Kelly’s account of its causes reflects a widely shared — and incorrect — understanding of the conflict.
Sarah Sanders claims John Kelly learned Civil War nonsense from Ken Burns — she’s probably right. White House press secretary argues that the Civil War wasn’t about race.
