Civil War Prompt #1

The pain will never end

One of the many concepts of “Dying for Dixie” circulates around the death of Michael David Westerman, a 19-year-old young man who was shot and killed around the boarder of Kentucky and Tennessee. Many people believe Westerman’s death was based on the Rebel Confederate flag flying from the bed of his pickup truck, and the fact that it stood for slavery and the fact that it was during Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday week. It seems as thought the little town of Guthrie, (where most of this controversy was) wasn’t big enough for both blacks and whites. The reason why the war is still going on in some parts of the south is because of racism between blacks and whites, and racist groups like the KKK, the White League, and the Red Shirts, with the same belief that there is one superior race.


After Westerman’s death more people started flying the Confederate flags, and some even started wearing racial shirts in “honor” of Westerman. The town even started having a Miss. Confederacy pageant where the contestants were asked questions like “What will you do while holding the title to promote and defend Southern heritage?” A man in a confederate uniform then escorted the winner to the Washington Memorial (pg 101). The local high school where Michael Westerman and the four black boys accused of killing him attended wasn’t always racist. In fact there were many black athletes and cheerleaders that had the Rebel team uniform (which had represented the confederate side of the civil war) they had also purchased class rings that had “rebel” on it, they even bought the “Rebel” yearbook, a black girl was even won (amongst all black and white girls) homecoming queen. But after Westerman’s death the racial tensions between blacks and whites hit an all time high in Southern States. The black cheerleaders stopped holding the school flag, there was even a school board meeting that was held to decide on whether or not the school mascot and flag were to be changed.

Off the topic of “Dying for Dixie” and the story and controversy in this little town, it was not the only reason why the war still seemed to go on in the Southern states. The main reason was because of paramilitary groups, groups that have the same ideas that have expanded and made different groups with different names but with the same purpose. Such group formed after the time of the civil war were the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the White League, and the Red Shirts. The KKK was formed almost right after the war by former confederate soliders who sought to kill black people. Some people then broke off in other states to form a smaller group called the White League that would later overthrow the Lousiana Legislature, but instead of just targeting blacks the group also targeted blacks that were against slavery and those who stood up for blacks. Then an other people broke off into even smaller groups known as the Red Shirts that were in various states, but all groups (except for the main group, the KKK) had worked for the democratic party. So, obviously the war and tension between blacks and whites in different parts of the U.S. hasn't finished and probably will still go on for ever, even though the civil war and the war for slavery has been over for years, until ravists give up their beliefs and treat everyone equally it won't end. The entire reason why the war is still going on in the U.S is because of racism, and if people does stop looking on what a person's skin color is nothing would be solved and war between races would continue on forever.