Is there a difference in how the American Civil War is taught in the South as opposed to the North?

by Hey_Arnoldo

I live and went to college in Ohio, and in an American history course I asked my prof this question. He said that some kids in the south know the Civil War as The War of Northern Aggression. So I want to know more about this. How is the American Civil war viewed and taught by Southern historians?

mhbeals

This is a very complicated question, as 'the South' is a very broad group of individuals and it depends greatly on what level of education you mean (high school / college). In addition to 'The War of Northern Aggression, those who believe in the legitimacy of secession also refer to the conflict as the 'War between the States', to indicate a conflict between to different nations, both of which had 'States' in their name, rather than a civil or internal war within a single state.

There is also, generally speaking, a much heavy emphasis on the issue of states' rights over the slavery question; this, however, is not unique to the South by any means, particularly in recent years.

There is also the issue of 'the West'. Having attended high school in Southern California, and university in New England, I was shocked to find out, much, much later, how small a role the west played in the Civil War, as our teachers always referred to the Union as 'we' and never explore the abortive attempt at western secession (to an independent Pacific Republic) or the role this had in Reconstruction transportation improvements to the west.