DAPHNE, Alabama — People in Baldwin County might be of two minds when discussions of America’s Civil War surface. Just as the two sides, the North and the South, battled each other 160 years ago, contrasting mindsets, opinions and standards continue to war within us.
Religious and humanitarian views speak against slavery, while thoughts of defending homes, families and culture remain, especially present after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Author James Morris will be the first speaker in the Daphne Public Library lecture series that will accompany their free exhibit, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” being held through Feb. 15.
Morris’ Jan. 13 presentation will be on “The Long Road to Secession.” The military historian and Friends of the Daphne Public Library president said he enjoys the Civil War topic because of often forgotten details, for one.
“This subject has long interested me because it is usually misunderstood, being seen in the framework of 1861 instead of the decades before the actual breakup of the Union,” he explained. “while slavery is part of the warp and woof of the story, as I see it, it is actually a ‘clash of civilizations’ of North and South as major changes took place in the development of the two sections.
“It is a constitutional question, yes, but it is also a question of the slave versus free labor, tariffs, political power, abolitionist agitation, failed attempts at compromise and other factors.”
While the war offers fascinating aspects, President Abraham Lincoln played an important part in the controversy.
“regarding Lincoln, as he saw it, it was a question of the constitutional right to leave the Union, a denial of which goes back to the controversy between John C. Calhoun and Andrew Jackson in the 1820s and 1830s over the tariffs of that time,” Morris divulged. “Lincoln basically stood with Jackson on the question in arguing that there is no constitutional right to secede.”
Library Director Tonja Young said that Morris, instructor of such classes as American Military History, Civil War and Reconstruction and Great Battles of the Civil War classes, will offer his interpretations to attendees at the 10 a.m. lecture.
“I would say that Dr. Morris is very knowledgeable about the history of America,” she said. “I have spoken with him about the Civil War and find that he has a great overall knowledge of the history leading up the Civil War, social and economic issues for Americans during the war and during Reconstruction, as well as tactics of the Civil War and more.
“I think Dr. Morris is the perfect candidate to provide an overview and introduction to the Lincoln exhibit, because he is so knowledgeable of every aspect, and he speaks of the topics from an unbiased and clearly historical point of view, rather than from an individual’s point of view or personal position.”
She explained that Morris, other authors and the exhibit itself takes a national view of the subject matter.
“This exhibit is not a North versus South exhibit, but an ‘American’ exhibit, to provide knowledge of our Constitution, issues of how the Constitution has been interpreted and the outcome of the Civil War, which has resulted in the rebuilding of a nation,” she explained. “It’s about the history of a nation that was built on basic values and freedoms that every individual deserves as an American, no matter what their point of view or their place of origin.”
Other free lectures will be offered in conjunction with the exhibit. for more information, visit www.daphnelibrary.org, or call 251-621-2818.