July 4 offers us a day to reflect on the American Revolution. Because it coincides as well with the conclusion of the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, it is also a time to look back on the American Civil War. The men who led the Confederate States of America fought for a much worse cause than did the Founding Fathers, yet they drew inspiration from the Founders’ battle for independence. Why did they fail?
Certainly, the Confederate leaders believed that it was at least possible to win their fight to leave the Union. Their rhetoric repeatedly invoked that struggle, and sought to claim the legacy of the Founders. Their theory was that the North would eventually tire of trying to subdue a people who were fighting for hearth and home and would never abandon their resistance. Eventually, they even found a brilliant, dignified, and inspirational Virginian to lead their army – the son of a Revolutionary War hero. At times, they had the upper hand on the battlefield, or appeared to. But their cause ended in disaster. The reasons why are a lesson in invoking historical parallels without attention to distinctions.
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