Apostles of Disunion
In Apostles of Disunion, Charles Dew attempted to explain what caused the South to secede and start a civil war. One topic he focused on and believed was a major reason the South seceded was the pro slavery attitude the South held. Dew believed that if slavery did not exist then the civil war would have never occurred. Through his writings he showed the pro slavery attitude Southerners held and he used several examples to support this idea. Two of the best examples he used were actions that pro slavery Southerners took before the civil war started and speeches made by pro slavery southerners in attempt to gain an allegiance against the North.One example that Dew provided that showed actions Southerners took that demonstrated there pro slavery attitudes was the use of scare tactics by these Southerners. In an effort to build an alliance through the South, Southern leaders would use emotion to gain support of the common people. They would give examples of what would happen to them and there families if blacks would be free. These examples would explain how the lives of Southerners would be ruined and that the country would come to an end if slaves were freed. On page 22, Dew gave portions of
Another action that showed that pro slavery attitude Southerners held was the commissions that they held. There he said, "Every other issue paled in comparison to the Republican threat to the South's racial order" (29). Dew showed many possible reasons why the South seceded but believed that there was only one real cause. Southerners had no intentions of losing slavery, so they held these commissions to get ready to leave the Union. These commissions were first held in the Deep South and the purpose of these commissions was to get the South ready for secession. Another example of pro slavery attitude seen in the commissions was seen when Judge William Harris spoke to the Georgia General Assembly. This quote affirms the attitude and belief that Southerners held. Southerners believed that once Lincoln was elected slavery would be abolished and they were terrified of this. Dew believed that if slavery did not exist then the civil war would have never occurred. One example of the pro slavery attitudes that was held in these commissions was seen by John Archer Elmore, who was Alabama's commissioner to South Carolina. Petus was attempting to rationalize that the state would become a haven of criminals if slaves were freed. It also supports the idea that Southerners believed that America, especially the south would be destroyed if slaves became free. He was really concerned about losing the revenue from slavery, but he used scare tactics to get approval for secession.
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