----- Original Message -----
From: Deane <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2002 10:17 PM
Subject: Re: Re: eventual phasing out of slavery AND RE-UNIFICATION


> Dear Bill,
> I was talking about Civil War history  from within the context of pedagogy
> and  classroom instruction.
> Yes, there is a plethora of literature available to those who wish to do
> independent study or pursue a particular avenue of scholarship concerning
> aspects of  that War or simply choose to "read up" for one's own personal
> pleasure.
> It is highly likely, I'm sorry to say, that 100% of American high school
> students are not being TAUGHT, in school, anything of substance about that
> period of our history.
> And, I will say, that what little is taught is probably grossly
> over-simplified and can be summed up with the notion that "Southerners
were
> evil people who kept slaves and went to war to fight to keep their
slaves."
> Deane Mills
> (one "n"; pronounced like Dean)
>
>
> > > The Civil War happened and it happened for a myriad of reasons.
> > > But no one wants to take the risk of thoroughly examining all those
> reasons
> > > and filtering through them  to see what was worthwhile and worth
> salvaging
> > > from BOTH sides of the conflict.
> >
> > The Civil War and Reconstruction eras are not really my primary areas of
> > interest. I am really interested in and somewhat better equipped to deal
> with
> >
> > the 17th Century. Having said that, I cannot imagine an era of history
in
> the
> >
> > U.S. - or Virginia - that has been more written about than the Civil War
> > period. Just go into any bookstore and compare the Civil War books to,
> say,
> > the Revolutionary War or the Great Depression. Maybe World War II has a
> > greater output, but it doesn't seem so to me.
> >
> > You want both sides? I should think that the literature in the field is
> > filled with as many memoirs on one side as the other and as many popular
> > histories advocating each side as the other.
>

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