The Past at Sumter

What did Walt Whitman really mean when he said “All the past we leave behind at Sumter?” When before in the South agriculture was prevalent, after the War they changed to manufacturing. States could secede from the Union before, and, even though this law has not changed, the idea brings terror into people’s minds. When there was slavery in the South, now there are no black slaves, and no slaves at all for that matter, in the United States. The South has changed dramatically after the Civil War, which started at Fort Sumter.

First, the South lived off of agriculture in the past for a very long time. White owners managed plantations which provided food, cotton, tobacco, and other grown items useful for mankind. These plantations were virtually the only way the South lived. Yet, after the War ended, many Southerners realized that agriculture is not as profitable as manufacturing, and thus switched to this new and more advanced way of living.

Second, the Confederate states formed because a good number of states in the South seceded from the union. This created a great Civil War, as Lincoln Described it later, in which so many people died that the casualties weren’t even counted to the exact number. This all happened partially, or even mostly because of secession. Now people understand the losses caused by this terrible act, not one politician dares to mention, or even contemplate secession.

Finally, the South’s economy was based on the concept of slavery. This terrible idea played an important role in actually starting the Civil War. When the Union won, and even before that, slavery was completely and totally abolished. Now, not only slavery, but most of its aftereffects are gone altogether. Discrimination by race sex, and many other things is utterly abolished by the Constitution itself.

All of these changes have played a role in the gradual and sometimes sudden reconstruction of the south. Agricultural production was ultimately replaced by manufacturing; secession of individual states was replaced by national unity; enslavement of innocent African-Americans has been replaced by an equality unique to the U.S. So when Walt Whitman mentioned his infamous phrase, he was speaking the absolute truth: the past is all left with the Civil War and Fort Sumter.