The Myth of the Loyal Slave Myth

A commission authorized by the United States Congress claims the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery portrays “highly sanitized depictions of slavery”. Many commentators interpret this as a presentation of the myth of the “loyal slave”. This is a favorite trick of the modern effort to denigrate the South. They decide what constitutes the mythology that stupid, racist Southerners believe. The myth says that Southerners believed that all slaves were loyal, but the truth is that no slaves were loyal so destroy the memorial at Arlington.

Anyone with half a brain knows that real life does not work like this. A binary view of the world either represents a lack of intelligence or an attempt to deceive. Some do admit that slaves or free blacks may have appeared to have supported the Confederacy, but they suffered from a type of Stockholm syndrome or did it out of fear. They even ignore black historians who have researched and written about blacks who supported the Confederacy.

“Negro commitment in the beleaguered Southland varied — for some it was mingled feelings, for others it was sincere, for many it was a necessity…” James Brewer

“The extent of slave disloyalty to the Confederacy can only be inferred, rather than stated with precision. Memoirs of various former Confederates insist that the slave was loyal to his master during the Civil War, as undoubtedly a great number were.” Harvey Wish

The quotes are thoughtful statements summarizing a complex question after research and reflection. On the other hand, the mental midgets who call any loyalty on the part of blacks a myth ignore history and basic human nature.

Those who hate the South are saying they know better than those who were there. It is almost like those who were there and felt loyalty were not human. They deny the humanity of slaves to further their own agenda.