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Quotes from The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy — William C. Davis

born 1946 United States

← All quotes by William C. Davis

6 quotes

All peoples part with their myths reluctantly, and historians are at some risk when they try to dismantle those of the Confederacy.

The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy (1996)

There are very few ways to legally break a contract unilaterally.

The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy (1996)

It is impossible to point to any other local issue but slavery and say that Southerners would have seceded and fought over it.

The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy (1996)

Legalistic Southerners tried to view the Constitution as a contract. Unfortunately, that viewpoint breaks down when viewed as a lawyer views a contract. There are very few ways to legally break a contract unilaterally.

The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy (1996)

In fact, the state rights defense of secession in 1860–1861 did not really appear in force until after 1865 as builders of the Lost Cause myth sought to distance themselves from slavery.

The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy (1996)

Myths simply throw roadblocks in the path to enlightenment, and it is from truth that we have the most to learn. One man's truth, however, can be another's myth, and only through dispassionate and disinterested dissection of such stories can we tell the difference. The Confederate experience is dotted with episodes that are not particularly admirable.

The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy (1996)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: William C. Davis (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.