Debunking the myth of the Lost Cause: A lie embedded in American history - Karen L. Cox

譯者: 【1002熊詩芸】 Jenny 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

Between 1860 and 1861, 11 southern states withdrew from the United States

1860 到 1861 年間， 南方十一個州退出美國，

and formed the Confederate States of America.

組成美利堅聯盟國。

They left, or seceded, in response to the growing movement

他們離開，或者說脫離，

是為了反對全國日益高漲的廢奴運動。

for the nationwide abolition of slavery.

Mississippi said,

密西西比州說：

“our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery.”

「我們的立場就是奴隸制度。」

South Carolina cited “hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding states

南卡羅來納州則舉證顯示

「非蓄奴州對蓄奴制度表現的敵意」。

to the institution of slavery.”

In March 1861, the Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stevens,

1861 年 3 月， 聯盟國副總統亞歷山大史帝文斯

proclaimed that the cornerstone of the new Confederate government

宣佈新聯盟國政府的基石 是白人至上主義，

was white supremacy, or as he put it,

或用他的話說：

“slavery” and “subordination” to white people

「奴役」和「從屬」於白人之下，

was the “natural and normal condition” of Black people in America

是美國黑人自然且正常的狀態，

and the “immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.”

也是「導致近期分裂 和當前革命的直接原因」。

Three weeks after the now-infamous Cornerstone Speech,

在惡名昭彰的基石演講後三週，

the American Civil War began.

美國南北戰爭爆發了。

The conflict lasted four years, had a death toll of about 750,000,

這場內戰持續了四年， 死亡人數約為 75 萬人，

and ended with the Confederacy’s defeat.

最後以南方聯盟國失敗而告終。

By 1866, barely a year after the war ended,

到了 1866 年， 內戰結束後還不到一年，

southern sources began claiming the conflict wasn’t actually about slavery.

南方消息人士開始聲稱 這場衝突其實與奴隸制度無關。

Meanwhile, Frederick Douglass,

同時，曾做過奴隸的著名廢奴主義者 弗雷德里克道格拉斯警告：

a prominent abolitionist and formerly enslaved person, cautioned,

“the spirit of secession is stronger today than ever.”

「現今的脫離氣勢 遠比以往來得更加強烈」。

From the words of Confederate leaders,

從南方聯盟國領導人的話來看，

the reason for the war could not have been clearer— it was slavery.

內戰原很清楚地就是為了奴隸制度。

So how did this revisionist history come about?

那麼這段修正主義的歷史 是從何而來的？

The answer lies in the Lost Cause— a cultural myth about the Confederacy.

答案就在「敗局命定論」中 一個關於聯盟國的文化迷思。

The term was coined by Edward Pollard, a pro-Confederate journalist.

這個詞是由親南方聯盟國的記者 愛德華波拉德所創造的。

In 1866, he published “The Lost Cause:

1866 年，他出版了「敗局命定論： 新南方聯盟國戰爭史」。

A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates.”

Pollard pointed out that the U.S. Constitution gave states

波拉德指出，美國憲法賦予各州

the right to govern themselves independently in all areas

在所有領域獨立自治的權利，

except those explicitly designated to the national government.

但是將明確指定給 國家政府的領域除外。

According to him, the Confederacy wasn’t defending slavery,

根據他的說法，南方聯盟國 並不是在捍衛奴隸制度，

it was defending each state’s right to choose whether or not to allow slavery.

而是在捍衛每個州是否能自主選擇 允許奴隸制度的權利。

This explanation effectively turned white southerners’ documented defense

這個解釋非常有力地將南方白人記載為 奴隸制度及白人至上主義的辯護

of slavery and white supremacy into a patriotic defense of the Constitution.

轉成為捍衛憲法的愛國行為。

The Civil War had devastated the country,

南北戰爭讓這個國家飽受蹂躪，

leaving those who had supported the Confederacy

讓那些支持聯盟國的人

grasping to justify their actions.

逮住機會為自己的行動辯護。

Many pro-Confederate writers, political leaders, and others

許多親南方聯盟國的作家、 政治領袖和其他支持者

were quick to adopt and spread the narrative of the Lost Cause.

很快地就採納了「敗局命定論」的說法

並廣為宣傳。

One organization, the United Daughters of the Confederacy,

一個名為「聯盟國婦女聯合會」、 簡稱 UDC 的組織

played a key role in transmitting the ideas of the Lost Cause

在「敗局命定論」思維的散播上 扮演了關鍵角色，

to future generations.

影響了世世代代。

Founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1894,

1894 年成立於田納西州的納什維爾

the UDC united thousands of middle and upper class white southern women.

UDC 號召了成千上萬 南方的中上階級白人婦女。

The UDC raised thousands of dollars to build monuments to Confederate soldiers.

她們募資了數千美元 為聯盟國士兵興建紀念碑。

These were often unveiled with large public ceremonies,

以大型的公開儀式揭幕，

and given prominent placements, especially on courthouse lawns.

並放置在顯眼的地點， 尤其是法院的草坪上。

The Daughters also placed Confederate portraits in public schools.

她們也在公立學校懸掛 聯盟國主要人物的畫像。

They monitored textbooks to minimize the horrors of slavery,

她們監督教科書的內容， 致力降低奴隸制度的恐怖

and its significance in the Civil War,

及其在南北戰爭中的重要性，

passing revisionist history and racist ideology down through generations.

並將修正主義歷史和種族主義意識形態

傳遞了世世代代。

By 1918, the UDC claimed over 100,000 members.

到了 1918 年，UDC 聲稱 擁有超過 10 萬名成員。

As their numbers grew, they increased their influence outside the South.

隨著她們人數的增加， 她們在南方以外的影響力也越來越大。

Presidents William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson

威廉浩爾塔夫特總統 和伍德羅威爾遜總統

both met with UDC members and enabled them to memorialize

都會見了 UDC 成員，並允許她們

the Confederacy in Arlington National Cemetery.

在阿靈頓國家公墓紀念聯盟國。

The UDC still exists and defends Confederate symbols

UDC 現今依然活躍， 並努力捍衛著聯盟國的標誌，

as part of a noble heritage of sacrifice by their ancestors.

因為這是她們祖先犧牲下的崇高遺產。

Despite the wealth of primary sources

儘管大量原始資料顯示

showing that slavery was the root cause of the Civil War,

奴隸制度就是南北戰爭的根因，

the myth about states’ rights persists today.

但關於州權利的迷思至今依然存在。

In the aftermath of the war,

戰爭結束後，

Frederick Douglass and his abolitionist contemporaries

弗雷德里克道格拉斯 和他同時代的廢奴主義者擔心，

feared this erasure of slavery from the history of the Civil War

將奴隸制度從南北戰爭的 歷史中抹去，

could contribute to the government’s failure

可能會導致政府

to protect the rights of Black Americans—

無法保障美國黑人的權利，

a fear that has repeatedly been proven valid.

已再三有證據顯示 這種擔心是有依據的。

In an 1871 address at Arlington Cemetery, Douglass said:

1871 年，道格拉斯 在阿靈頓公墓的一場演講中說到：

“We are sometimes asked in the name of patriotism

「我們有時會受到要求， 以愛國主義的名義

to forget the merits of this fearful struggle,

來忘記這場可怕鬥爭的價值，

and to remember with equal admiration those who struck at the nation’s life,

並要以同等的欽佩 記住那些威脅國家生存

and those who struck to save it—

以及奮力拯救它的人，

those who fought for slavery and those who fought for liberty and justice. [...]

也就是那些為奴隸制度而戰， 及那些為自由和正義而戰的人。

if this war is to be forgotten, I ask in the name of all things sacred,

如果你說我們該忘記這場戰爭， 我就要以最嚴肅的心情問：

what shall men remember?”

人們記住的會是什麼？