Q. Stt!

ve, you host a

Southern Heritage Conference
annuallyin Monroe. Whatis
the focus. of this conference and
how did it begin?.
A. We were concerned, as
Jeffetson Davis once told the
Southern people,that we.
should not allow Northerners
to tell our history; We were
concerned that the truth about
our Southern forefathers was
not being told and that our
children might grow up
ignorant as to what their great
grandfathers fought for
and stood for. We believe
Wt! have an honorable
heritage that should be
preserVed and defended.
We recognize that not
everything that the South
did was honorable or
sinless; but, by and large,
it was a culture founded
upon Christianity, and
that reality ought not to be
forgotten by coming
generations. .
Therefore, we started this
conference for our children.
We also hoped we would have
influence with adults. Our
focus is to have men who are
able scholars to corne and set
forth. the heritage, culture and
history of the South from a
Biblical perspective. We have
set aside the last weekeIld of
every May for this conference.
Q. How did you become
interested in Southern culture
and history?
A. When I was studying
American history, Iwent
through the arguments for
American Independence that
the patriots and founding
fathers made against the King of
Great Britain and the'
relationship the colonies had
with Great Britain. They argued
that the King was not keeping
his agreements through his
charters. At that point he was
acting as a tyrant and .they had
the right to defend themselves
against his tyranny. If he would
not abide by his agreements,
then they had the right to
withdraw from Great Britain
and become independent states
and nations. I realized that this
was exacdy what the South had
said in 1860.
The Southern leaders
pointed out that the federal
government was not abiding by
the agreement set forth in the
Constitution. Thus, if the
liberties and integrity of the
states were not being
maintained, then the states had
the right to withdraw from the
Union and form a new Union
or remain independent. Thus,
the logic of the colonies in the
American War for
Independence was maintained,
I believe, by the South in the
Second War for Independence,
or the Southern War for
Independence.
Robert E. Lee said the same
thing. His father fought in the
First War for Independence. He
said he was doing nothing more
than that which his father had
done. Many Southern leaders
were descendants of men who
10 '" THE COUNSEL of Cbalaidon June, 1997
had fought in the Revolutionary
War. They felt the same way as
Lee did. The South was highly
involved in tht!firSt war, Many
.believe it was because of the
valiant fighting of the
Southerners that we won that
first war. There was a
conscious desire to stand on the
principles of liberty and
constitutional government. It
was only as I understood this
that I had an appreciation for
the constitutional views of the
South.
The South was trying
to maintain the principles
of the Old Union. They
believed these priIlciples
were being undermined
by the radicals in the
North.
Q. What makes.the
Southern region and
culture different from
other regions and
. cultures?
A. I believe the primary
thing that makes any region
distinct is its theology.
Historically, beginning around
the 19th century, the SOlith was
one of the most unchurched
. regions in the nation. It had
declined from the time of the
Great Awakening in the rpiddle
of the 18th century. God
revived His work in rhe.South
in the early part of the 19th
century. The South rapidly
became the most faithful
region. It embraced historic
Reformation Christianity,
popularly known as
"Calvinism."
The Second Great
Awakening was not generally a
good thing. It was driven in
the North and West by a very
defective theology.
Consequently, in the North and
West the effects of bad theology
are still being felt.
In the South, the Awakening
was led by very faithful men. It
had a different character. Men
like Moses D. Hoge,]. B. Adger,
R.L. Dabney,]. H. Thornwell,
and B. M. PalmeI'-these were
quite different men,
theologically, from Finney and
his followers. Thus, their
ministry had far different
effects. The South became a
predominantly Calvinistic
region. It became the place
where the Calvinistic faith,
which once was
predominant in the North
and South, resided and was
preserved. Not everyone in
the South was a Calvinist.
However, Calvinism and
the Calvinistic perspective
dominated almost all
denominations. The
Methodists, the Episcopalians,
and even the Roman Catholics
were influenced by Calvinism.
The South became known from
this time forth as the Bible Belt.
This Biblical faith produced a
Biblical culture in the South.
There was an emphasis on
courtesy and manners. This
was an application of the
doctrine that men are made in
the image of God and that we
are to esteem others better than
ourselves. We are to respect
one another. The South was a
region of integrity. It was a
true, not a hypocritical,
kindness. Prior to the war, if a
man disagreed with you, he
would tell you
straightforwardly.
The politicians of the South
were statesmen. They spoke
the truth .. Unlike most modern
politicians, they maintained.
their positions with honor.
They were bold and principled
in their positions. They were
not the political manipulators
for which the South has
become known since the war.
Although there have been
changes in the South, there is
still a marked difference in its
culture when compared with
the North.
I should also mention the
influence of God's covenant.
This made the family very
important. Connections
between people were
important. Today, when
Southerners meet somebody
they often ask, "Where are you
from? Who are your parents?"
If the Southerner knows
anybody in a stranger's town,
he wants to know if his new
acquaintance knows them. I
have talked to some
Northerners who think this is
hilarious. Southerners want to
make "personal" connections
with others. That is covenantal
thinking. Thus, maintaining
connections through family
reunions is very important in
the South. These are '3.11 fruits
of a Biblical worldview.
Q. Dr. RJ. Rushdoonyand
others have defined culture as
"religion externalized."
A. Yes. That is true. Every
culture shows its religious base.
Unbelief in pagan cultures
manifests itself in brutality and
barbarism.
Q. Why is the War
Between the States of great
interest to so many today? One
would think there would be
more interest in our First War
for Independence.
A. The First War for
Independence was not a
-revolution in the French or
modem sense of the word, in
the sense that the foundations
of SOciety were broken up and
overthrown. However, the War
Between the States,
commonly called the Civil
War, was, in my opinion, a
true revolution. The
foundations of western
culture were being broken
up and overthrown.
Society was being built on
a different foundation. The
radicals in the North were
not embarrassed to make that
plain. Their purpose was not
merely to destroy slayery and
its evils but.to destroy Southern
culture. Wendell Phillips said
that this war was against
Southern attitudes and beliefs.
There was a radical hatred of
Scripture and the old theology,
which they felt were so bad for
the country. They saw the
South as the embodiment of all
they hated. Thus the Northern
radicals were trying to throw off
this Biblical culture and tum
the country in a different
direction.
The Northeast had already
thrown off the old Puritan
foundations.
The South was the only
region that maintained this
theology. In destroying the
South they basically destroyed
what was left of the old
June, 1997 '!HE COUNSEL of Chalcedon f 11
America. They began what we
would call today the modem
state-centralization of power
being the dominant
characteristic.
This country Wils
transformed into a monolithic
nation. No longer was it a
union of sovereign states. This
was a significant change in our
nation.
As James MacPherson has
pointed out, prior to 1860 the
term "United S,tates" was "
accompanied by the plural verb
"are."
FollOwing the war, "United
States" became a singular noun;
We became a united nation '
where the individual states
were no longer recognized.
This was a true change in the
structure of our country. This
was our French Revolution.
There were many aspects of the
French Revolution policies that
were evident in the
Reconstruction era. In fact,
many laws reflect the
Reconstruction policies of the
last century. For example, the
Voting Rights Act applies only
to Southern states. We cannot
change our congressional '
districts without the approval of
a federal judge. This is noLtrue
with the Northern states. This
is clearly unconstitutional. The
South is still not viewed or
treated in thesarne way as ,
other states.
The war continues: Now,
many people are realizing that
the South was right. A.H. ' "
Stephens once said, (1 am
paraphrasing) "In the First War
for Independence the cry went
out, 'the cause of Boston is the
cause of us all.' Now the hope
for our nation is that a sinrilar
call go forth from the North to
the South, from East to West union; all we want is to be left
that the cause of the South is alone." That was the point the
the cause of us South continued to maintain.
. , . .
If we do not return to the By the title, "the Confederate
position that the South sought States of America," the South
to maintain, then we will all be signified a return to the old idea
slaves. of what this nation was
Q. Prior to the 1860s, originally, a confederation of
Northerners believed in the . independent states, They
right to secession. Even warned to preserve'the nature
Lincoln appealed to the right of of the old union.
secession in 1848. 'Q. How did the Sou,thern
A. The right to secession constitution differ from the
Constitution 'of the United
was never questioned. None of
the states would have ratified States (17.8m
the Constitution and joined the ' A. 1 think the Southern
Union if they thought they " constitution is the highest
could never get out of it under development of
' any circumstances, It was constitutionalism thus far. It
understood they could get out improved upon the federal
of the Union if the terms of the constitution at a number of
Constitution were not followed. " points. The Southerners had
The New England states , lived under the old constitution
especially were quite hot about since 1787, and they had seen
secession when things did not those places where it was
go their way. They threatened subject to abuse.
secession no less than five times They clarified some bf the
prior to 1860. During the things that were not clear in the
debate in 1848 regarding the U.S. Constitution, For
admission of Texas as a state, example, they left out the
Abraham lincoln on the floor ' "general welfare" clause. They
of Congress argued that make specific mention of
secession was the right of any "Almighty God" in the
people. He argued that this is preamble. The federal
the foundation for freedom. constitution had basically
Indeed, it is the last defense assumed God without
for a people who want to mentioning Him. The
preserve their liberties from a Confe<ierate constitution began;
"We the people of the
to those Confederate states invoke the
favor and guidance of Almighty
Thirteen years later, lincoln God .... " They clarified the '
thought the South's secession phrase, "We the people of these
was terribly treasonous. He United States;" which has been ,
never acknowledged the misinterpreted as an appeal of
South's secession as legitimate. the people in mass as opposed
Many in the North viewed the to the people as constituted in
Southern action as an effort to the several states. The, ' ,
destroy the union. However, Confedera,te constitution reads,
the Southern position was,"We "WI?, the people of the ,
have no desire to destroy your CoiUederate states, eadt state
12 '" THE COUN$EL of Chalcedon '" June, 1997
operating in its sovereign and
independent character .... "
There were other changes,
too. Any federal judge that .
made an unconstitutional
decision or any federal official
operating within a state could
be impeached by the people of
that state.
This gave the states a high
level of protection against
federal intrusion and tyranny,
especially tyranny through the
courts.
The constitution also gave
the line-item veto to the
President.
Furthermore, each bill in
Congress had to relate to
one particular issue and
that had to be specified in
the title of the legislation.
The Confederate
constitution forced the
legislators to be men of
honesty. Pork-barrel legislation
could not be attached to these
bills.
The president of the
Confederacy could not succeed
himself. He could only serve
one six-year term. He would
have to sit out one term before
running again.
We see many safeguards in
this Constitution against federal
tyranny. The rights of the
individual states are preserved
at every point.
Q. To change a culture the
religiOUS base of a people has to
be changed. How did that
happen in the South?
A. One of the keys to
understanding the South after
the war is to realize how many
men were lost in the conflict.
There was a tremendous loss of
male leadership. The men who
remained were either too young
or too old to fight. The others
were the men who refused to
fight. Many times these were
not the best men. A huge
percentage of the best men of
the culture were lost. No
culture can suffer that type of
loss without tremendous
ramifications. There were
towns that lost over 80% of
their men.
During the war, due to the
absence of the men, many of
the churches were run by
women. Of course, that did
"One of the keYB to
underBtanding the South
after the war iB to realize
how many men were /OBt in
the conflict,"
not change after the war in
many of these communities that
had lost so many men.
Over time, the church and
culture became matriarchal
rather than patriarchal. There
is a significant difference. The .
women of the South were quite
noble. They are worthy of our
esteem because of the fortitude
they showed and the grace God
gave them to maintain the
business of the South while
their men were gone.
It is quite a remarkable
story.
But the bad side of this was
that children grew up thinking
of the church as a ladies' club;
Christianity was viewed as a
woman's religion.
Conscientious preachers had to
address those who sat before
them; so, they preached to the
. women. You address women
differently than men; their
needs and problems are
different. Consequently,
preaching became more
feminine in its character; the
masculine qualities of the
Gospel were lost. The culture
became more focused on
feelings, emotions, and
sentiment.
Southern literature became
highly romantic in the wrong
sense of the word.
The South Was also
influenced by national
education which at that time
meant Northern education.
The South became a type of
educational laboratory in
which the attempt was
made to alienate children
from their parents. This
experiment was successful,
and for the first time in this
country's history, there
arose a generation that was
ashamed of their fathers.
The experience of suffering
defeat also played a part in the
transformation of the South.
We are the only region to have
been invaded by the United
States in an unprovoked way,
defeated and occupied by the
United States. Then we were
reconstructed in a negative
way. This country did not de:il
with Germany or Japan like it
dealt with the South.
This explains something of
the lingering mistrust
Southerners have for
Northerners. Just as in
European cultures there are
some bad memories of the
atrocities by one culture upon
another. so also in the South.
We still have a lingering doubt
of how much we can trust
people in the North. ( to be
continued)
June, 1997 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I' 13