NewsFix
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

The ideal Civil War monument

3 posters

Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty The ideal Civil War monument

Post by Maddog Fri Jul 24, 2020 11:04 pm

But Texas is not, and never was, a monolith. For a history worth memorializing, look to the Hill Country town of Comfort, population 2,363. Located southwest of Austin off Interstate 10 stands the Treue der Union (German for “Loyalty to the Union”) monument—a dedication to Texas Unionists killed during the Civil War. Erected in 1866, the memorial honors a group of roughly 30 men—most of whom were of German heritage, fiercely opposed slavery, and loyal to the United States—who were slain in 1862 by Confederate partisans at what’s often referred to as the Nueces massacre. As we continue to confront the Civil War’s legacy on our college campuses, in our textbooks, and across our country, Treue der Union offers an example of how a public space can reflect a more diverse and more nuanced understanding of this pivotal chapter in American history.

Austinites love to think their political leanings differ from the rest of the Lone Star State, and the same was true in 1860. After the election of Abraham Lincoln in the fall of that year, slaveholding states like Texas decided whether they would remain with the United States or join the nascent Confederacy. One by one, southern states voted to leave—including Texas, a move fueled by white enslavers who enthusiastically opted for secession. One notable holdout was Governor Sam Houston, who said Jefferson Davis was “as ambitious as Lucifer and cold as a lizard” before resigning in protest. Many Hill Country residents (in addition to the one-third of Texans held in slavery at the time) followed Houston’s lead and remained loyal to the United States: Records show that as much as 96 percent Gillespie County—where Fredericksburg is located—voted to stay in the Union.

https://www.austinmonthly.com/why-this-hill-country-monument-is-the-ideal-civil-war-tribute/?fbclid=IwAR3MHgcyvV9yFIBK3QlI8GFp0mT_vwKafCRd7HftB3sKqvZ2fWzthJKhmvo

More at the link. If you listen carefully in some of the towns in the Texas Hill Country, you will still here a form of German spoken by the old timers.
Maddog
Maddog
The newsfix Queen

Posts : 12532
Join date : 2017-09-23
Location : Texas

Back to top Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty Re: The ideal Civil War monument

Post by Original Quill Sat Jul 25, 2020 12:14 am

Lots of southerners were against the Civil War, just as lots of southerners are not racists today. But they are not enough to counter the racist zeitgeist of the south.

Original Quill
Forum Detective ????‍♀️

Posts : 37540
Join date : 2013-12-19
Age : 58
Location : Northern California

Back to top Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty Re: The ideal Civil War monument

Post by nicko Sat Jul 25, 2020 6:35 am

Zeitgeist ? For fucks sake Quill !
nicko
nicko
Forum Detective ????‍♀️

Posts : 13368
Join date : 2013-12-07
Age : 83
Location : rainbow bridge

Maddog likes this post

Back to top Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty Re: The ideal Civil War monument

Post by Original Quill Sat Jul 25, 2020 4:04 pm

Zeitgeist: the defining spirit or mood as shown by the ideas and beliefs of a region or era.

The term is German (Hegelian) in origin, but is used in English today to speak to the ideas and beliefs of the specified nation or region, in a certain era.

The term comes from Hegel's use of the word volksgeist, which broken down is "volks" (the folks or people--think Volkswagen, which means the people's car) and "geist" (ghost or spirit).  In English, it means the 'spirit of the people'.  In use: 'American southerners have a racist zeitgeist derived from their former practice of enslaving African/Americans'
.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zeitgeist

See, also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist

Original Quill
Forum Detective ????‍♀️

Posts : 37540
Join date : 2013-12-19
Age : 58
Location : Northern California

Back to top Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty Re: The ideal Civil War monument

Post by nicko Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:02 pm

Thanks muchly, don't do it again, try to keep it simple !

nicko
nicko
Forum Detective ????‍♀️

Posts : 13368
Join date : 2013-12-07
Age : 83
Location : rainbow bridge

Back to top Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty Re: The ideal Civil War monument

Post by Original Quill Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:32 pm

nicko wrote:Thanks muchly, don't do it again, try to keep it simple !

Nick, there has been so much discussion about generalizing the sentiments of people of a region or nation, that it seems well to refer to that body of literature that deals specifically with that subject.  People here have said you can't generalize about people and their ideas, but that is absurd: how would there even be a language, let alone a history or a culture, if there were not generalization? The terms Marxism, capitalism or Democracy would have no meaning without a common ideology.

Montesquieu's The Spirit of Law, published in 1748, spoke first about the ideology of a people.  It was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, and influenced the Founding Fathers in drafting the United States Constitution.  As mentioned, George Wilheim Hegel also contributed to the idea.

I use the term 'zeitgeist' in the spirit of these men, and rely on their arguments for validity.

Original Quill
Forum Detective ????‍♀️

Posts : 37540
Join date : 2013-12-19
Age : 58
Location : Northern California

Back to top Go down

The ideal Civil War monument Empty Re: The ideal Civil War monument

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum