Civil War Reenactment Gone Too Far?

This past weekend in St. Louis a special Civil War Reenactment took place on the steps of the Old State House, only it was not your typical gun smoking affair. This time a group of historians and local residents reenacted what they called a “last slave sale.”

From the article:

The site of the “auction,” the Old Court House, has a long history related to the slave trade. It was the site of public auctions of all kinds of property at sheriff’s sales, usually in the course of settling estates or enforcing court orders for damages stemming from lawsuits. The Old Court House was also the site of the first hearing of the infamous Dred Scott case.

The auction, as expected” drew some criticism. If you’re interested here it is:

I think the intentions were good and the presentation effective.

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3 Responses to Civil War Reenactment Gone Too Far?

  1. Hello!

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  2. B.J. Welborn says:

    History is history and should be remembered as accurately as possible.  Otherwise, we won’t learn real lessons from the past. But there remains a fine line in re-eneactments between remembering history and celebrating it.  A slave auction might best be left to print.
    As for Keith Olberman’s report:  I soon will be asking for discussion on my blog http://www.civilwarodyssey.blogspot.com about this question:  Are Southerners Today Embarrassed By The Civil War? My take here in South Carolina is yes, the majority is.  

  3. William says:

    I say no. When we reenact history, we have to reenact the entire history not just the shiny parts. As an African American it is my belief that Slavery was as much of the American society as baseball and Hot apple pie. Tell the story.

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