Mason & Dixon-related: The US recently, and slavery consciousness.

[Mark Kohut]

Learning more about the observations of Joseph T, on the growth of slavery
consciousness in these United States (at least), which I had never noticed
before.

I chatted the other night with an historian who had worked with a few key
people
who led the Parks and Historical Places (not the real name, of course, just
the concept)
in the US starting from about 1996. The Head guy and all of them, and she,
the
historian, helped with research, arguments, leading panels, writing
articles, etc.
 From about 1996 (JT said the US consciousness had changed since M & D,
1997).

A dedicated effort to eliminate at places like Vicksburg, Antietam, Shiloh,
everywhere, the
seemingly neutral but actually loaded words such as the Confederate
soldiers "dying for their Cause";
the half- hidden pernicious myth
that the Cause was states' rights (since real states' rights still exist
and used to be a cry of one
of the major political parties, that concept resonated positively with
many). The steady replacement of
verbiage and pictures at these sites with the truth: the cause was slavery,
as more and more
historians, investigating all the records of all states have been showing
more and more.

One of her friends, also working this project separately from academic
work, as she did, read
all the records of the major states' congressional arguments--took seven,
eight years--and has
finally published a book destroying--with exact historical
citations--anyone's claim that even the
elected officials really felt it was about states' rights.

How cultural awareness can be changed.

More unsung heroes and heroines.