ECW Podcast: George Washington and the Civil War (with Abbi Smithmyer)
Was George Washington a Federal or a Confederate? Historian Abbi Smithmyer joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to talk about the ways Northerners and Southerners alike tried to lay claim to Washington’s memory to give their side more legitimacy during the Civil War.
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Washington was a Virginian, a Southerner, and the Father of America. The Founding Straight White Males were understandably devoted to the Union and its precepts, which is perfectly understandable, even though many of them – correctly – designed the Federal Government in 1787 to be LIMITED and WEAK. But, then wanted the Union never to see harm, as evidenced by Founding Father Andrew Jackson being opposed to nullification efforts when Federal laws were passed to harm the South in violation of the Constitution.
Thus is theory we can correctly conclude that Washington would oppose any disturbance of the Union were such posed to him. However, were he given details of the suppression of Southerners’ Constitutional rights, the imposition of tariffs designed to crush their economy – expressly forbidden by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution – he would have been outraged. The most accurate assessment of his response is that it would probably be the same as that of the man who married his great-granddaughter, Robert Lee: That the abuses would have to be halted and fair treatment brought to the South, but that secession and/or war should be averted at all costs.
Ever heard of the Whiskey Rebellion?