Make no mistake, the South never forgot Reconstruction. Just like Georgia never forgot Sherman's March To The Sea, burning everything in his path.
Yes, but that's simply stupid thinking.....human but in the end, self defeating. And its that kind of thinking that leads to destructive blood feuds.
The landholders encouraged anger with the North. The Deep South is littered with shrines to this or that, battlefields are carefully preserved and re-enactments of battles are common. The North winning wasn't anything pre-ordained. If some small things had gone the other way, the North would have lost. So the feeling that "we wuz robbed" is very strong. The benefit the landholders got from fanning the flames is that it made people less likely to seek change in the system. Which was fine with them.
I don't necessarily agree with that. The South had better military leaders but the north had considerable industry at its disposable. They were in a better position of starving the South into submission. IF the South believes they could have won, I think that's more wishful thinking than reality.
Economic development made a huge difference. Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, being an obvious Yankee anywhere in the rural South could have a negative impact on your well being. That isn't true any more. The racism had faded a lot for the same reason. And the South is better for it.
Nonetheless, there is a southern undertone that seems to have become more prominent since Bush took over. Too often, like with this disaster, I think there is the attitude that the South shouldn't have to rise to the standards imposed by others. True many southerners are unhappy with the recovery but the party that best represents the South, the GOP, is trying to shift the blame to others while expressing frustration that the primary problem is "those poor black people" who can't keep it together and not FEMA, Bush et al. The stuff that MM and Harris are promoting on the thread.
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