Lay My Burden Of Southern History Down

The Confederate heritage appears to be of waning importance in the South, or--perhaps more accurately put--of importance to a dwindling number of southerners. In 1994 the Southern Focus Poll asked residents of the South and other Americans, "Did you have any ancestors living in the United States in 1860?" If the answer was yes, respondents were asked, "Did any of your family fight in the Civil War?" If the answer to that question was yes, they were asked, "Which side did they fight for--for the Confederacy, for the Union, or did members of your family fight on both sides?"

Twenty-nine percent of southerners indicate that their ancestors did not fight in the war, and 43 percent don't know whether they did or not. Only a quarter of southern respondents believe that they had ancestors in the war--and nearly a third of those have ancestors on both sides or only on the Union side. Nonsoutherners are even less likely to have ancestors in the Civil War, primarily because more of them are descended from postwar immigrants.

Percentage with Ancestors in the Civil War	CSA	Both	Union	Didn't Fight	Not in U.S.	Don't Know
South Total	18	4	4	11	18	43
Nonsouth Total	4	3	8	13	29	42

Overall, 22 percent of southern respondents report ancestors who fought for the Confederacy (18 percent with only Confederate forebears and another 4 percent with ancestors on both sides). This figure rises to 26 percent among those respondents who consider themselves southerners and to 28 percent in the Deep South (SC, GA, AL, MS, and LA) and among life-long residents of the region. It is also higher (27 percent) in nonmetropolitan areas than in cities, and higher among those over forty-five-years old (30 percent vs. 19 percent of those under that age). Among the standard demographic categories, only college graduates display a percentage of Confederate descendents that exceeds one-third (34 percent), a relatively high level that reflects a decrease in "don't know" responses as education increases. Not surprisingly, only 3 percent of black respondents report Confederate ancestors.

When asked "Can you name any Civil War battles, right off hand?" southern and nonsouthern respondents display equally high levels of ignorance, although southerners are more likely to mention some battle other than the Union victory at Gettysburg.

Percentage Who Named a Civil War Battle	Gettysburg	Other	Can't Name
South Total	24	33	44
Nonsouth Total	34	25	41

When asked what the conflict was about, majorities of both southern and nonsouthern respondents agree that it was "more about slavery than it was about states' rights or any other issue," although southern respondents are slightly more likely to disagree strongly.

Percentage Who Believe the Civil War Was About Slavery	Strongly Agree	Somewhat Agree	Somewhat Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Don't Know
South Total	28	24	17	20	11
Nonsouth Total	28	26	22	16	8

In the South, the overall percentage of disagreement--37 percent for the entire sample--is higher for life-long residents of the region (40 percent), whites (37 percent vs. 22 percent for blacks), men (45 percent vs. 30 percent for women), those over forty-five (41 percent), and those with incomes of $60,000 a year or more (46 percent). Only among college graduates do more respondents disagree (50 percent) than agree (40 percent) that the war was primarily about slavery.

The poll included two "mirror-image" questions, each asked of half the sample, which tapped respondents' attitudes toward a hypothetical Confederate ancestor:

"If I had an ancestor who fought in the Confederate Army, I would be proud that he fought for what he thought was right."

Percentage Proud of a Hypothetical Confederate Ancestor	Strongly Agree	Somewhat Agree	Somewhat Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Don't Know
South Total	58	28	4	4	6
Nonsouth Total	53	27	4	4	12

"If I had an ancestor...