[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

How does the H.L. Mencken quote apply to the current conversation? Seems out of context to me.

Originally Posted by Stargazer

Not to mention an elitist... which is I find it ironic from someone who earlier stated he believes in a bottom-up perspective v. top-down where the few speak for the many...

What Richard says..........

@Stargazer.

In his post, steel71 offers a skeptical take on contemporary journalism and the "BS" their writings inspire. Concurrently, steel71 offers an historical observation about the motivation of the CSA by a journalist in his signature line.

However, if one does a little digging, it becomes clear that Mencken's observation is not sustainable. According to data in the 1860 census, tabulated here, the eleven states that would comprise the confederacy had a population of 9.1 million. Of that number, roughly 5.4 million were white. If one were to project that 51% of the 5.4 million were men, that would give you 2.8 million or about 31% of the total population.*

If one assumes that every white male in the confederate states supported the cause wholeheartedly and without reservation, the fact that the CSA's constitution made no provision for white women to vote, made more explicit the 3/5ths clause of the U.S. constitution, and established slavery as a permanent feature of everyday life, how can one reasonably make the argument that the CSA fought for self determination?**

So the irony is that while a member of this BB is criticizing the uncritical acceptance of journalistic accounts, he is accepting uncritically a journalistic account of American history.

Originally Posted by Streck-Fu

Historian: an unsuccessful novelist.
---Mencken

]f you share Mencken's view of historians, then why are you reading Foote and why did you read McPherson <<LINK>>?

Or are you making an attempt to be funny? In which case, my reply is:

What I really want to do is direct.


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* The 51% comes from the overall percentage of men in the 1860 census. See U.S. Census Bureau's Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789-1945 (1949), p. 25. This publication is available here.
** The CSA constitution is available here.