Yes, I agree. I'd be surprised if there were NO black soldiers in the confederate army ... and whether there are 10 or 10,000 doesn't change the basic facts and interpretation of the war. I find it sad to see these unnamed soldiers being used as political fodder. Analyze any war and you will find so many groups represented. I spent alot of time pondering this issue growing up, as I knew many relatives (and some I never got to meet) who served, who were not yet "americanized" and I spent time listening to how they explained their presence in the wars. Yes, there was a draft, but others volunteered and at least one snuck in illegally at too young an age. Besides the fear and manipulation mentioned by Chris (below) there are simply people forces. Besides issues like states rights, slavery, the communist domino theory (Vietnam) and 9/11 and Pearl Harbor and the Lusitania and "Remember the Maine", there is going along with buddies, a sense of adventure, preserving the status quo, escaping a bad family life, and just conformity and believing at that time that it's the right thing to do. And once in the foxholes, ideology is totally gone and you are left with ... well, just LISTEN to them; now is our last chance to listen to WWII vets btw, they are disappearing quickly. So that's why it irks me to see soldiers used ideologically. Sorry to ramble, that's my personal reaction. I also encourage everyone to visit tombs of unknown soldiers because they are a reminder that each was just a person, stripped of demographic classification & political affiliation.
========================== John W. Kulig Professor of Psychology Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 ========================== ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher D. Green" <[email protected]> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 5:10:07 PM Subject: Re: [tips] revisionist history Mike Palij wrote: A quick search of the internet shows that there are several books that allege to be historical research and to provide public records in support of the contention that African-Americans served in the Confederate army. And what would be demonstrated even if it were true? That men who had known nothing but slavery their entire lives could be bullied and threatened into military service? That men who had no education and no sources of information apart from what their "masters" told them could be persuaded by tendentious fictions about the intentions of northern soldiers (They will rape your wives! They will steal you children!) or even distorted truths (They will burn the farm and you will starve in the winter!) Honestly, now, how desperate must one be to think that the simple "fact" (if it be so) of a few Black soldiers in the Confederate Army will convince people that... what? ... slavery was a good thing and should have been retained? Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] . To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66454&n=T&l=tips&o=5836 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-5836-13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5840 or send a blank email to leave-5840-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
