Make the Confederacy's Defeat a National Holiday

[Laxman]

36. There Might Be Something To This....

that is beyond "bashing the South". Celebrating the end of what could only be described as a horrendous war and the re-unification of the country might be worthwhile. In the aftermath of the Civil War the country wanted to pretend it never happened. Andrew Johnson bungled reconstruction after Lincoln's assassination. The failure to appropriately address the divisions that led to the war in the first place still haunt us to a degree-despite the time that has passed and the history we have shared as a nation. So,as a vehicle for shaming or taunting the South this would be a ridiculous idea. As a reminder that the war ended and the country brought back together-well there are worse things to celebrate.

The surrender completed, the two generals saluted somberly and parted. "This will live in history," said one of Grant's aides. But the Union commander seemed distracted. Having given birth to a reunited nation, he experienced a post-partum melancholy. "I felt . . . sad and depressed," Grant wrote, "at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought." As news of the surrender spread through Union camps, batteries began firing joyful salutes until Grant ordered them stopped. "The war is over," he said; "the rebels are our countrymen again, and the best sight of rejoicing after the victory will be to abstain from all demonstrations." To help bring those former rebels back in the Union, Grant sent three days' rations for 25,000 men across the lines. This perhaps did something to ease the psychological as well as physical pain of Lee's soldiers.

After 150 years it might seem silly to keep re-living the past, but isn't that what we keep doing-in an increasingly nonsensical manner as it becomes almost spiteful on both sides of the issue. Maybe taking the time to acknowledge the horrific nature of the Civil War and the real meaning of reunification would be beneficial.