Dixie Blues

TRENT Lott is toast, whether he stays on the plate or not. What does his immolation say about history, and memory?

The Lott episode highlighted two periods in American history—the civil rights movement and, behind it, the Civil War. (The storm blew up when Lott praised Strom Thurmond, Dixiecrat candidate for president in 1948; one of the killer quotes employed against Lott was a line of praise he had uttered about Jefferson Davis.) Each period raises a question about the Constitution, and about the natural force of change.

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

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TRENT Lott is toast, whether he stays on the plate or not. What does his immolation say about history, and memory?

The Lott episode highlighted two periods in American history—the civil rights movement and, behind it, the Civil War. (The storm blew up when Lott praised Strom Thurmond, Dixiecrat candidate for president in 1948; one of the killer quotes employed against Lott was a line of praise he had uttered about Jefferson Davis.) Each period raises a question about the Constitution, and about the natural force of change.