My article from List A was from the August 23, 1968 edition of the Houston Post. Entitled “No Weapon: Dowling’s 5th Sword Missing,” it takes advantage of a recent theft of the statue’s sword to discuss the monument’s, and Dowling’s, history. It lists some of the people involved with the statue’s inception, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians and former City Councilman Tom Needham, and speaks of the statue’s history in front of City Hall, then in Sam Houston Park, and finally in Hermann Park. The author of the article, whose name was not listed, goes on to write of Dowling’s heritage: his immigration to the United States from Tuam, County Galway, Ireland to New Orleans, and then to Houston. The article’s brief description of the affair at Sabine Pass still highlights the overwhelming odds Dowling and the Davis Guards faced, and it even goes beyond the battle to point out that, not only was Dowling the proprietor of the Bank of Bacchus saloon, he was also “the first Houstonian to use gas lights and the first to drill for oil in Texas.”

I found two articles related to Dowling in my paper from List B, the September 16, 1863 edition of the Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph. The first, an open letter on the front page from a Mr. Charles O. Otis, is a request for performers for a concert in honor of the Davis Guards. Otis refers to the Guards as “our gallant townsmen” and the “gallant company,” and certainly plays up their success even as he writes that “it is not necessary” for him to do so.

The second article from the Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph was somewhat more informative, detailing the actual events at Sabine Pass for what seems like the first time, given the article itself claims that the information “need be no longer concealed.” The article actually details the strength of the Davis Guards as “six cannon and forty-two men,” and takes pride in the Davis Guards being Houstonians while praising their “greatest feat of the war.”

In the case of the article from the Houston Post, there definitely seemed to be a hint of snark in the author’s voice. The reference to leprechauns, and joking about the stolen swords in general, give the article a lighter tone. The article on the whole seems almost random, if not for the fact that the statue had been moved to Hermann Park “a few weeks ago,” and this was likely the first time the sword had been stolen from the monument’s new location. Not many of the events happening around the article seem to reflect on it; the paper and is filled with references to the Cold War and the arms race between the United States and the “reds.” Editions before and after discuss a recent election with a large turnout for liberals, which might mark a change in Houston’s leadership from those who might care most about a statue commemorating a Civil War hero, but probably didn’t affect the article too much. There is, however, a lack of the pride found in the older articles. It is also not as prominently featured in the newer paper, tucked away three sections into the paper in the local section, on the first page but surrounded by advertisements. The older papers seem to have been limited to two pages, yet they featured two articles on the Davis Guards.

One immediately obvious distinction between the 19th century articles and the 1958 one is that, in the more recent article, there is much more focus on Dowling himself, whereas the older ones do not even mention his name. In fact, the older articles play up the Irish heritage of all the Davis Guards much more as well, but it comes as much more of a surprise that the man who is commemorated by a monument in Houston was not even mentioned by the press so soon after the actual events at Sabine Pass. This just goes to show how, as time passes, we tend to glorify individual men, and attribute entire victories to their leadership, while forgetting the men under them who actually got the job done. Dowling’s statue may list the names of the Davis Guards, but the 20th century article barely even mentions them; there is even a discrepancy between their numbers, with the older articles counting forty-two men while the newer one references forty-seven. In all, it the articles evidence how much the perception of historical events can change over time.

The earliest of the two articles I read was a report on the unveiling of the Dick Dowling Monument that happened March 17, 1905, and the second dealt with the rededication and relocation ceremony on March 17, 1940. When I chose the two articles I was hoping for some sort of St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans, but the absolute focus on his Irish heritage would come at a later date. Both articles make reference to his heritage, noting the Order of the Hibernian’s role in building the monument in particular, but Dowling was regarded and accepted as a war hero so that this heritage did not take over either article.

The 1905 article is very lengthy and goes into all manner of details regarding the construction of the statue, the funding of the statue, and the history of the Battle of Sabine Pass. Veterans from the battle, or at least one, still lived, and there is a general sense of reverence for the bold Confederate soldiers. Interestingly, the article makes a strong assertion about the number of soldiers fighting at Sabine Pass:

There were in all forty-one of the Davis Guards, exclusive of the commander (a list printed elsewhere shows forty-two, but Peter O’Hara, who was a member of the Guards and whose name appears on the roster, was sick in the hospital and did not participate in the fight).

This assertion is later contradicted in the 1940 article:

Tribute was paid to the memory of Dick Dowling and his band of 47 Davis Guards who repulsed a far superior federal force at Fort Griffin in Sabine Pass on September 18, 1863

With the names of the soldiers printed on the side of the monument, how can there possibly be such a large discrepancy? Wikipedia claims there were forty-six soldiers excluding Dowling, and that is the number of soldiers listed on the base of Dowling’s statue (including the infirm Peter O’Hara). It is a minor point, but the 1905 article just seems so sure of itself that I find myself bemused by the apparent displacement of four to six men. The article makes other interesting mistakes such as calling Frank Tiech Frank Fiede, so perhaps the assertions of history in this article cannot be taken completely seriously.

Two influential men who were involved with the Confederacy, T. J. Goree and John H. Reagan, who, oddly enough, both died within a day of one another of pneumonia are mentioned in the governor’s speech at the unveiling. There is a general sense of nostalgia and reverence for the Confederacy, and whenever something regarding it was mentioned there was apparently “great applause” in the crowd. In a section describing the history of the monument itself, the Dick Dowling U.C.V. is described as being incapable of raising more than $300 or suceeding “in building a monument that would be either a credit to themselves or worthy of the magnificent deeds of heroism it was designed to commemorate.” In this narrative, the Irishmen come in with their abounding amounts of money and save the day, allowing for the funding for the monument. Despite the clear reverence for the memory of the Confederacy, the ability of the former soldiers is considered to be firmly in the past.

The old battle scarred veterans if left to their own resources would have secured a fund sufficient to have erected a very crude monument, but one that would have been neither an ornament to the city nor worthy of the brave deeds of that heroic band, the memory of whose deeds of heroism are worthy to be inscribed upon a monument that towers to heaven in proclaiming deeds of valor that have no parallel in history.

Much less filled with hyperbole, the article in the St. Patrick’s Day, 1940 Houston Chronicle describes a service held for Dowling following the movement of the memorial from in front of City Hall to Sam Houston Park. There is no mention of the Irish groups other than mentioning that Dowling “is held in reverence by the Irish,” and focus is very much on the U.C.V. and the U.D.C.’s memorial of Dowling. The article is placed in the middle of a page of general Texas state news, but it is the only article with an accompanying picture. The majority of the page is covered with an advertisement for Economy Shoe Corner, and much of the paper is filled with advertisements for various sorts of Easter clothes. World news focuses on figuring out what Italy’s role in the War is, and there does seem to be a general concern with events in Europe. While the concern about war may shift focus of Dowling away from his Irish heritage, it is not enough to eliminate Aunt Jenny’s St. Patrick’s Day cake recipe on the next page.

The two articles I read this week had very little in common except for their subject, which were both about Dowling, but the context of each article within the larger newspaper was interesting.

The Houston Chronicle article, “Memory etched in stone,” was interesting to me because it was advertised very prominently: it made an appearance as a box on the front page of the Chronicle, as well as on the front page of the Houston section within the newspaper. The focus of most of the articles within this issue of the Chronicle were also on St. Patrick’s’ day, and both the article and the rest of the paper made very little mention of Dowling’s role as a confederate hero. Instead, they focused on Dowling as a figure in the Irish community. Although there is a sentence indicating the myth of the Sabine Pass battle (essentially 41 men vs. 5,000 Union troops), this is far from the focus of the article. Instead, the article chronicles the way in which citizens have tired to ensure Dowling will never be forgotten because of his importance to and relevance within the Irish community. Dowling is remembered more as an influential figure for his work within the Houston community than as a Confederate hero.

In the larger context of that issue, there would have been ample opportunity to explore Dowling’s Confederate ties, should that have been the wish of the author or editors. There is a great deal of discussion on the front page and farther within the issue of Val Verde, who was newly elected to a district in Texas despite his well-known connections to the Ku Klux Klan. The election of this figure at this time was particularly significant because he was elected within a prominently Hispanic district, which was previously thought to be more sensitive to such issues of race. Therefore, if the Chronicle had wanted to play up Dowling’s confederate roles or anything relating Dowling to the Civil War and  the inevitable discussion of racism that comes form that, they very well could have. However, they decided not to, which shows how, by 1997, Dowling was remembered far more as an influential Irishman and far less as a Confederate Hero.

The other article in the Houston Post came at a very interesting era in American history: the heyday of the civil Rights movement. On the front page of this issue, we see LBJ affirming the necessity of Civil Rights, and, throughout the paper, we see discussion of the burgeoning Vietnam war. Of more local interest is the fact that on that same day, Hobby gifted $350,000 worth of property to Rice. We also see Alabama’s governor Wallace reaffirming his commitment to maintaining segregation.

Against the backdrop of all of these events is a series entitled “Report from the Confederacy” which chronicles what happened that day in history in response to the Civil War centennial celebration that is taking place at the time. This article details the events of the battle of Sabine Pass. Once again, it glorifies the role Dowling and his men played in the Sabine Pass battle and discusses the insurmountable odds they were up against: 42 men defeating 5,000 Yankee infantry with minimal Confederate casualties. This article is clearly meant  as a morale boost to the Confederacy at this time; it plays up the incredible odds against which these people were fighting and further celebrates their victories. At the same time as the Sabine Pass victories were happening, the Confederacy was suffering huge losses on the astern front in Tennessee and Charleston, and so they very much needed the narrative of Dowling’s story to boost morale among troops at the time.

I found it very interesting that all of this was taking place against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement. The Civil Rights movement did begin and reach its most important peak precisely at the 100-year mark of the Civil War, but it is very interesting to see these two commemorations interaction with each other; on one hand, you have the very progressive battles for Civil Rights in the nation and on the other side, you see the commemoration of a war that was fought with the express purpose of defending slavery. The juxtaposition of these two ideas is striking, and a point that may be worth further exploring.

My article from List A is dated March 16, 1985, and is from the Houston Chronicle. The article consists of a picture of the Dowling statue, attended to by the Miggins family, and a caption that describes the Miggins family as the statue’s primary caretakers. The caption states that the Miggins, an Irish family, have taken it upon their shoulders to make the statue a St. Patrick’s Day holiday tradition. Dowling is described as a Confederate hero of Irish descent. The photographer is mentioned as Howard Castleberry. The article is categorized under Metropolitan, which seems appropriate, as the metropolitan section of the newspaper would cover local news and events as well as human-interest articles. Thus, the placement of the article in the paper does not change the way I see the article, as the subject of Dowling is appropriate for local news. However, the article seems out of place regarding the context surrounding the article. The articles on the same page consist of one detailing the annual trips that the police chief makes and the other article reports that a city councilman does not believe the city should propose state legislation that would prohibit employment discrimination against homosexuals in Texas. Hence, the appearance of a picture of the Miggins family cleaning the Dowling statue along with a descriptive caption seems odd considering the surrounding context.

My article from List B is dated October 10, 1937, and is from the Houston Chronicle. Written by Mrs. Pearl Hendricks, this article attempts to explain the business agreement made 71 years ago between John M. Fennerty, J. Riordan, and Richard W. Dowling to engage in the leasing of Texas lands for the purpose of developing resources. The article mentions this as the first oil lease in Texas history and stipulates that Dowling probably served as the main financial benefactor of the business arrangement. The surrounding articles also contain information about oil deals and other natural resources. Hendricks’s article lends credence to the idea that Houston remembers Dowling for his business knowledge and role as a business pioneer. The article does mention Dowling’s role at Sabine Pass, noting, “his laurels won at Sabine Pass still fresh upon his brow”. Furthermore, this article acknowledges Dowling’s prominent bar business, referring to it as “the bank”. The article raises several questions, including the idea that Houstonians remember Dowling based on the surrounding historical context. For example, is Dowling mentioned for his business skills and role in the first Texas oil lease because of the surrounding oil hype and Texas Oil Boom? If, for example, the historical context would be related to Ireland, would articles referencing Dowling emphasize his Irish nationality? Essentially, my question becomes: does the historical context for the article affect what aspect of Dowling’s life becomes important and worthy of mentioning?

In my own blog post about the Dowling statue, I wondered who the people behind the statue were, and how they managed to collect enough funding to erect the statue in the first place. At the time I was somewhat skeptical that I’d ever know the answers to those questions, but looking through the Houston Public Library archives I’ve actually found quite a few instances of documentation detailing just who those people were.

For example, the “Historical Souvenir Book” located in the archives, even as a document outlining the “Constitution and By-Laws” of Dick Dowling Camp 197 (pg. 1), does seem to offer some insight as to the motivations and workings of the people behind the statue. To combat the “wave of Lincoln propaganda” that the writers of this constitution claim is spreading “like the dangerous influenza” seems to be one of the main interests of the group. (pg. 10); particularly, with a focus on the “names of men of the South who have achieved great things.” (pg.11) The book even goes so far as to give a brief history of the Confederacy and the Civil War through the eyes of these men. But perhaps most exciting to read were the details on the statue itself: actual information about the fundraising efforts behind the monument. From a fund that “amounted to only $40” to a donation of several hundred dollars from the Hibernian Society of Houston, and even with details like the $250 donation of John H. Kirby, the book chronicles the birth of the statue. (pg. 18) Apparently, “entertainments were given by the Daughters of the Confederacy” as well, further implying some fund raising efforts beyond collecting money from members and other Camps.

In fact, another, more recent document in the archive goes into further description of the process. The “Houston Municipal Art Commissions Records” describes the fund raising as beginning in the late 1800s through the Camp and a committee “composed of Houston’s leading citizens”. (RGA33-b2f23-01) Even more historical Houston names show up in this document, with George Hermann, John T. Browne, and William P. Hobby each participating in the fund raising. (RGA33-b2f23-01) The document marks the price of the monument at $1909.25, and points out specifically that “most of the funds ($1,171) were raised at a St. Patrick’s Day entertainment,” in keeping with the history provided by the Souvenir Book. (RGA33-b2f23-01) Apparently, there was also a “Fourth of July party” to raise funds, beyond those collected by individuals and the Camp.

Learning about the fund raising process behind the monument has mostly answered my question from before, especially in coming to the realization that major Houstonians did lend a hand in the statue’s creation. However, the Historical Souvenir Book in particular has given me a few more things to think about; namely, just how radical were the people behind the Dowling statue, and other Confederate monuments? The Dick Dowling Camp makes it pretty clear that they do not think Lincoln deserves monuments of his own, and the book even goes so far as to disregard slavery as a minor issue before the war. This all seems like rather strange information to feature in an organization’s constitution, so I can’t help but wonder how much of the group was based solely on a need to keep a part of the Confederacy alive.

At the beginning of searching through these archives, my primary interest was in discovering the behind-the-scenes machinations of putting up the statue of Dick Dowling. Much like Jocelyn, my interest became drawn instead to the newspaper articles and their representations of Dowling’s statue. However, I would like to posit that perhaps the reason for the representation of the Irish as the primary caretakers of the statue was not because of a flagging interest of Confederate groups, but this representation is instead the result of a shift in acceptance of the Confederacy as a part of Houston’s past. The Houston press may have wished to distance itself from such connections, and as such the Irish focus of the statue became more pronounced than when the statue was first created.

In 1959, Neta V. Taylor felt the need to compile a scrapbook of records pertaining to Dick Dowling and the construction of the statue in his honor that strove to place the United Confederate Veterans in the forefront of care and creation of Dowling’s statue. Despite this care of someone connected to the UCV placing so much effort into constructing a history of the statue, the newspaper articles of just one year before in the scrapbook focus almost entirely on the Irish Hibernians and downplayed the importance of his role as a Confederate soldier. A 1940 article discussed a memorial service for Dowling held by the UCV and the Daughters of the Confederacy. The article, while mentioning his Irish connection, focuses on the Confederate groups as being instrumental in the memorial and care of the statue. Eighteen years later, a newspaper article discussing the possibility of yet again moving the statue discusses the importance of the Irish nature of the Davis Guards under the header “Defeated Yankees.” This 1958 articles and others show a shift in the constructed memory of Dowling by the Houston press, one more focused on his Irish heritage than his military prowess.

Perhaps a leading motivation for Mrs. Taylor, her scrapbook creates an opposing constructed history of Dick Dowling’s statue to the press’ Irish-focused one of 1958. On one article that states that the statue “was financed by the Ancient Order of the Hibernians” she affixed a note stating categorically that this was just not true at all, that it was instead the veterans, who just happened to be Irish, who funded the statue. It is unclear who she anticipated would read this scrapbook, but clearly she wished to redress representation that she felt was incorrect. Another 1958 article discussing the theft of Dowling’s sword place a humorous light on the statue, but once again, the title, “Horrors! St. Patrick’s Day ‘Bout Here– and No Sword for Dick,” places a prominent focus on his Irish heritage. A much smaller adjacent article discusses the UCV observing Dowling’s Civil War victory twenty-five years earlier. Whether or not the UCV continued this event is unclear, but the press was certainly not shy of Irish care for the statue in future years.

By the time around the 1990s, press focus on the statue had shifted almost entirely to focus on Dowling’s Irish heritage. One possible source for this shows up in an article discussing the attempts to restore the statue. A state representative, Garnet Coleman, referred to Confederate statues in general as a “part of history [that] serve as a reminder of where we don’t want to be.” The article cites his representing a “predominantly black” portion of Houston as his certification for being able to discuss this topic. The selection of Coleman for a quote on this article which otherwise focuses strongly on city history seems to demonstrate an acknowledgement of dismissal of these statues due to their connection to the institution of slavery. By discussing Dowling as an Irishman rather than a Confederate soldier, the press was able to make Dowling “acceptable” to the public. Are there other motivations for this shift? Did the UCV continue to commemorate Dowling’s statue, or did the Irish truly completely take over in care for this landmark?

When looking through the archives, I found myself most drawn to the newspaper articles. Most of the sources I examined carefully were stories about the statue or Dowling’s life and its significance, as well as other records and pamphlets from different members of historical societies and groups working out details for ceremonies.  While Cotham’s book provides a great deal of useful background regarding Dowling and the Battle of Sabine Pass, which is helpful in contextualizing the sources about the monument. I found, though, that most of the sources in the archive dealt less with the actual battle of Sabine Pass and details of Dowling’s life than they did with the creation, relocation, and preservation of the statue. Dowling’s story was always present as a backdrop and the raison d’être of these questions, but the documents I examined most closely shed more light on contemporary history than on the battle itself.

One thing I did find interesting was how the story of Dowling was manipulated and changed and frequently misinterpreted. There is even one article in RGA33-b2f27-54 with such egregious errors that a NB has been added at the end to clarify such major details as where Dowling and his parents had lived prior to Houston and who commanded Dowling. The number of men in the battle fluctuated between 42 and 47—one newspaper article in the Art Commission records even remarked that the number was continually contested—and Dowling’s identity was also changing. Sometimes he was a great confederate war hero, other times, “Houston’s favorite Irish man.” (RGA33-b2f27-01)  When talking about his personal life, some journalists and pamphlets emphasized his influential role as a businessman and in oil, while others began with his role as a charismatic and innovative saloon owner.

A recurring theme in the newspaper articles was Dowling’s importance to the Irish community of Houston. A 1939 article in the Houston Chronicle described the statue as being “held in reverence by all Irishmen.” (RGA33-b2f27-58) As can be seen in another Chronicle article in 1958, as well as several in the 1980s and 1990s, there appear to have been certain Irish men and women in Houston who would take a special interest in the statue and make sure it was preserved and taken care of. Needham was the “unofficial caretaker for the Dowling statue” and the Miggins family later makes a family tradition out of coming and caring for the statue annually by cleaning it and holding a small ceremony. (RGA33-b2f27-02, RGA33-b2f27-57) It certainly seems that, in later years, the Dowling statue took on the greatest degree of importance for the Irish community. While there was a confederate salute by Ike Turner Camp #1275, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, this was surrounded by all sorts of Irish-centric events, from a speech by an Irishman flown in from Ireland to such frivolous flourishes as a dancing leprechaun.

Looking forward, I would be very interested to see why it is that these Irish people and heritage groups took such a great interest in preserving Dowling’s memory. Houston never struck me as a city with a particularly large Irish population—although I am basing that on nothing more than personal experience—so why would such pains be taken to commemorate this particular hero? Dowling certainly has an impressive story and leaves a great legacy, but I would think that, particularly in modern times, the Irish heritage groups might want to pick a slightly less controversial Irish hero who could be completely theirs and not someone they had to share with the Sons of Confederate Veterans and proponents of the Lost Cause ideology. Was there some event that spurred this Irish interest in the statue? How did they get along with the Confederates? And why this Irish hero above any other?

The Dick Dowling statue in Hermann Park raises many questions over its origin and its inconspicuous location in the back of Hermann Park. One of the most frequently asked questions about the Dick Dowling statue is who was behind the statue and what were their objectives for commissioning the statue to be built? Looking through the sources, it becomes evident that delegates from the Dick Dowling Camp of Confederate Veterans, members from the Ancient Organization of Hibernians, and the Emmett Council, a Catholic organization, were involved in organizing the creation and dedication of the Dowling Monument (Transcript of Dowling Monument Ass. Records, 3). Many of the sources indicate that these organizations were involved because “each group represented an important facet of Dick Dowling’s life,” including his service to the Confederacy, his Irish nationality, and his Catholicism (SC1268-01-02, RGA33-b2f23-01). In fact, members of both Irish organizations and the Dick Dowling Camp were requested to send members to the dedication of the Dick Dowling Monument in 1905 (Transcript Ass. Records, 67). Furthermore, the Dick Dowling Memorial Association ordered that the statue be decorated with symbols of the Confederacy, the Irish Harp and Shamrock, and the Coat of Arms of Texas (Transcript Records, 179). Thus, each of the separate organizations within the committee desired that the statue reflect their own affiliation and relationship with Dowling. Furthermore, I believe each of these organizations attempted to “claim” Dowling as a representative of their organization and this is why they were involved in commissioning the statue to be built.

In regard to my own question about Dowling’s present location at the southeastern edge of Hermann Park, the sources shed little light on why the statue is in its current obscure location. The sources do, on the other hand, indicate why the statue was moved from its original location in front of City Hall in 1905. After City Hall burned down in 1940, the statue was first moved to Sam Houston Park, and then in 1958 the statue was moved again to its present location in Hermann Park (RGA33-b2f23-11). However, the sources are unclear on why the statue was moved from Sam Houston Park to storage and then taken from storage again. Some of the sources emphasize that George Hermann participated in the original fund raising for the Dowling Monument and perhaps this is why the statue was moved to Hermann Park (RGA33-b2f23-01). Another source mentions that the “statue must be moved to accommodate the renovation and master plan for Hermann Park” (RGA33-b2f25-09). An article from the Houston Chronicle, dated April 27, 1958, comments that the director of City Parks and Recreation, Gus Haycock, chose the statue to be situated in front of Hermann Hospital. However, trustees of the Hermann estate informed Haycock that this location was reserved for George Hermann. Thus, a different location was designated for the Dowling statue. However, Tod Needham, an Irishman, complained that he did not want the statue to be “shoved in some obscure corner of the park.” In response, Haycock stated that he believed the alternate site was not obscure and would suite the Dowling statue well (RGA33-b2f25-84).

This newspaper article leads me to believe that Dowling’s current location is a product of Hermann’s estate demanding that a statue of George Hermann be placed in the more appealing location. Yet, this does not answer why the Dowling statue was moved from Sam Houston Park or why it was placed in storage for so many years. The articles from this archive allow us to answer many questions posed about the Dowling statue. However, the articles do not delve into the motives and reasons behind many of the events like why the statue is in its current resting place. Instead, these articles simply record the events as they transpired. After browsing through the archive, my question is as follows: did the burning of City Hall serve as an excuse to move the Dowling statue from a place of prominence or was it simply a coincidence? Also, I would like to know why in the Houston Chronicle article from 1997 (SC1268-f1-14), they refer to Dowling as an Irish hero and not a Civil War hero? Does this reflect growing sentiment about the unpopularity of Texas’s role in the Civil War and Houston’s attitude towards its Civil War “heroes”?

Through the use of emerging technology help them build their point, William Thomas III and Edward Ayers combine the desire to shift focus on the mindset of Antebellum America away from a stark, fundamental difference with the desire to create a new form within scholarship itself. The discussion is often problematic, with focus on how to insert hyperlinks taking precedent over the fusion of ideas, but the concept is an interesting one. Thomas and Ayers discuss two towns- Augusta, Virginia and Franklin, Pennsylvania- in the center of the argument in order to both decentralize the importance of slavery in the Civil War and to show that the use of slavery was not necessarily simply a stepping stone to modernity.

In regards to their use of technology, it does provide for an interesting idea and makes me question what form the future of scholarship will take. Instead of simply using footnotes as a traditional essay would, Thomas and Ayers created hyperlinks to summaries of other essays, tables and other sources in order to make their use of sources fully transparent. With this form, the boldness of primary sources does not necessarily have to be lost with a simple summary or reference. This becomes problematic in the summary of argument prior to the case study itself. Four of nine sections become focused on the ideas of other historians, and while it is not necessarily a bad idea to define one’s terms, there is no integration of ideas with their argument, instead it is a simple summary of points rather than a use of them.

Once they begin their argument itself, Thomas and Ayers focus on different social and economic aspects to prove that the South and the North were not always as clearly distinct as Charleston and Boston. Both towns were wealthy, and through the planting of many crops, not just cotton, Augusta utilized both slavery and modern technology. Of course, their economic system was not necessarily as advanced, technically speaking, as a factory-based town, but the use of railroads shows that they were not cut off from the non-agricultural world. Franklin, by contrast, was a more profitable farming town even without the use of slaves. The social structures and culture were more or less the same in both towns, and the technology they chose was quite similar. Through all of this, both towns retained the essential fundamentalist ideas of the main differences between North and South while still being remarkably similar in other aspects.

This argument and its structure is simultaneously fascinating and a cause for concern. I am very much against the idea that such large portions of the nation were so sharply divided in all aspects as fundamentalists seem to believe. Thus, I find this essay, with all its faults, quite a compelling argument, but one which could have been fleshed out a bit more in order to integrate the ideas of other historians with their own rather than trying to stand alone against the fundamentalists.

Kornblith’s “thought experiment” is certainly interesting and imaginative, but speculative. Even though much care is clearly taken to consider only reasonable historical possibilities, Kornblith’s argument – that “a victory by Henry Clay in the 1844 presidential election” would have prevented the Mexican-American War and, therefore, the Civil War – seems like a bit of a stretch sometimes.

Kornblith begins by analyzing the election itself, as a way to legitimize his speculation by pointing out how “highly plausible” it was. Although Polk and Clay had very different political opinions, Clay’s unwillingness to fight for the annexation of Texas, a motive “pregnant with… fatal consequences” mostly affected Polk’s standing in the south, where Kornblith claims “the Democratic issue of Texas had driven Whig economic issues from the center ring of the southern political arena,” particularly because it was closely tied to the issue of slavery. Kornblith points out, however, that the North was more important to the election in the end, and that “the distribution and magnitude of the immigrant vote” ultimately doomed Clay. Kornblith believes, therefore, that his alternate history has merit, since it was by such a slim margin that it did not occur in the first place.

Kornblith goes on to describe Clay’s policies in office, specifically regarding westward expansion. Clay “did not consider the annexation of Texas essential to the national interest,” and certainly opposed going to war over it. He believed in a “free and autonomous Texas” being the best choice for the nation, and according to Kornblith this position would extend to “collaboration between the United States and Great Britain.” This cooperation, in turn, would affect further expansion like that into the Oregon territory and California, where Clay would have continued to reflect his pacifist view and focus on other issues instead, thus avoiding conflict with Mexico.

Kornblith also posits that Clay’s presidency would have strengthened the second party system, not only by promoting different policies from Polk such as a national bank and federal aid, but by avoiding the polarizing question of slavery. “Without the Mexican-American war,“ Kornblith suggests, “there would have been no Wilmot Proviso… no debate in the late 1840s over the status of slavery.” Clay’s America was one where the issue of slavery was in “the background of national politics,” thus avoiding the sectional conflict that lead to the Civil War.

Kornblith goes on to discuss the future of slavery and antislavery under Clay, one where slavery could go without being a major national issue until well into, or even past, the 19th century, and perhaps where a peaceful end to slavery could be achieved, as it was in Brazil. However, his main point remains that, under Clay and without the Mexican-American War, America might have avoided the Civil War entirely.

I am somewhat unsure of whether or not I am persuaded by Kornblith’s arguments. On the one hand, it certainly bothers me how speculative his case is, and how many specific events in the history of a nation as complex as the United States he claims would have gone a certain way with only the election of Clay as a major catalyst. For example, Kornblith assumes that, “absent other evidence of southern aggression, most northern whites would probably have accepted a moderately strengthened fugitive slave law as a reasonable concession to southern interests.” However, I find it hard to believe that, given the obvious differences between the North and the South – Clay or no Clay – and the tender nature of arguments regarding slavery, the nation wouldn’t have been torn by any federal choices involving slavery. Kornblith stays as true to history as he can while making his argument, but some of the assumptions still seem weak.

However, I tend to disagree with fundamentalist ideas, as described by Kornblith and our discussions in class, and Kornblith has actually done a relatively good job of further convincing me to reject those ideas. Regardless of whether or not his argument is totally plausible, Kornblith does make one thing very clear: there were many factors involved in the start of the Civil War; so, it seems unrealistic to believe that the war was inevitable. If even one of those factors had changed, be it Clay’s election to office or something like the United States failing to secure Texas and other western territories, there is still a chance that the Civil War could have been avoided, or perhaps delayed. The North and South were certainly different social systems, but that alone was not the cause of the war. Else, as we asked in class, how did the United States avoid secession for so long? Fundamentalists’ approach to the causes behind the Civil War Is too black and white for my tastes, and so I can’t help but agree with Kornblith to some extent.