NYT Opinion Urges 1861-65 Civil War Be Renamed Slaveholders’ Rebellion
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 2
NYT Opinion Urges 1861-65 Civil War Be Renamed Slaveholders’ Rebellion
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 2
Summary
A New York Times opinion essay argues the 1861-65 Civil War should again be called the “Slaveholders’ Rebellion,” saying the current name obscures treason and slavery.
The piece ties that language fight to President Donald Trump’s Appomattox statement, which marked the Confederacy’s 1865 defeat without condemning slavery and quoted Ulysses Grant on reconciliation.
It says Americans did not always use “Civil War”: during and after the conflict, “insurrection” and “rebellion” were common, partly because Congress was asserting authority to suppress the Southern revolt.
From 1899 to 1911, Confederate heritage groups and allies in Congress pushed to remove “rebellion” from public use and legislation, with “Civil War” emerging as a compromise over “War Between the States.”
The essay argues restoring “Slaveholders’ Rebellion” would resist historical revisionism and sharpen public language around later anti-democratic violence, including the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.