The South Was Right!

Rating:
Summary: It gives a different perspective
Review: The Kennedy brothers set out to prove two theories: That the Confederacy HAD a legal right to succeed and that racism was(and still is) as prevelant in the North as in the South. They were successful in doing both!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: This book by the Kennedy brothers is probably one of the best books defending the South I have read. I must admit that the writing style is not exceptionally intellectual or polished, but they get their point across clearly, effectively, and logically. I reckon it's because they are common folk, not Yankee lawyers counting money from their vantage point 23509323246 feet high in a Chicago skyscraper. The writing is fine, however, and anyone can understand it. They use simple deduction and sensible logic to arrive at their points, and as everyone must admit, they make quite a strong case. I agree with 99.9999% of what they say, and for me, that's saying **a lot.** The ignorant reviews claiming the fine Kennedy brothers are Klansmen, etc., are pure nonesense, and should be regarded as such. Whether or not it came from 'Klan handbooks' or not (it didn't, by the way) that is not what people should worry about. What they need to worry about is whether the authors make a good argument, and whether they are right. Now, I'll say, the Klan is a bigoted and racist blight on the world. However, that doesn't mean the South is wrong. No, of course it doesn't. The Kennedy brothers make a fine defense of the South; the people who hate this book are the ones whose yankee-minded conciences are troubling them, and those who know inside them that the South was right, but they don't want to give up their ridiculous beliefs. Come on, folks, throw out the moronic PC ideas about the War, and study it yourself. Who cares what the liberals and yankees say? Study the War yourself, and you decide who's right. But, I recommend this book to everyone in the United States. (We folks in the Confederate States already know it.) The Kennedy brothers make a very good defense, and some of the information presented therein will, I declare with confidence, surprise you. Who was responsible for slavery? Was (and is) secession a right? Great book. God save the South!

Rating:
Summary: Bible of the New Klan
Review: As a 6th generation Mississippian, descendant of Confederate veterans, and grandson of a Klansman, I am embarassed but not surprised that this book purports to speak for the South. I have trouble deciding whether the authors of this book have produced a case study in shoddy historical research or an exercise in intellectual dishonesty. Given the fact that vast portions of this book are taken almost verbatim from the Klan pamphlets and Citizens' Council publications of my youth, I tend to believe that the authors have engaged in intellectual chicanery in a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize the tenets of the new Klan.

To a knowledgeable historian, the revisionism in this book is obvious, the errors are numerous, and the agenda of hatred is clear. If you burn crosses, ride around at night in white sheets, or simply plan to take out a federal building someday, then this book is for you. Otherwise, I suggest you look elsewhere for your secessionist history, notably "Men of Secession" and "Apostles of Disunion."

Rating:
Summary: Not a Lost Cause but a Lost Opportunity
Review: I was looking forward to reading this book as the common understanding of the Civil War has serious shortcomings when set against the factual record. This book, in theory, should have done valuable service in exposing such discrepancies as exist.

Regrettably the sections dealing with the Civil War are mixed. Many points made are legitimate or at least arguable. The documentation could have been more thorough. The part that aggravated me most was the attemps by the authors to draw parallels or examples from other elements of world history. The problem with this is apparently they've never studied any world history, at least not in the areas they invoke. Particularly when referencing Irish, Scottish, and English history they are grotesquely uninformed and hand out common mythology understood at the comic book level. The consequence of this, I fear, will be to discredit the effort for a more balanced and nuanced understanding of the Civil War as educated men and women will suspect the authors of substantial intellectual inadequacy.

This book should only be read by people with adequate background to put its statements in perspective. Please note that many of the points they try to make are valid, they just aren't as skilled as would be desirable.

Rating:
Summary: Good Political Opinion Book, Terrible History Book
Review: After reading several reviews that said that "The South was Right!" is a must read for all Southern Citizens, I purchased a copy, and could not have been more disappointed. Although many have raved that the book is well documented and researched, I found that the documented sources were of poor quality, and that opinion and outright falsehoods were presented as facts.

Throughout their book, the Kennedys speak as if the North and the South of the 19th Century were monolithic societies, with everyone South of the Mason Dixon line in agreement about an independent southern nation, and everyone north of it involved in a consipiracy to stifle that nation's independence. In point of fact, the very title "The South was Right!" is a ludicrous statement. There was no one southern opinion, any more than there was a single northern opinion. Outstanding Southerners such as Sam Houston, the Governor of Texas opposed seccesion, while there were Northerners of equal stature who supported it. The Kennedys defy common sense by simply dismissing southerners with a contrary opinion as "scalawags".

If you are looking for a book which is the justification of the political stance of the League of the South then this is your book, indeed your Bible. If you are looking for well researched, reasoned and documented history, save your money and look elsewhere.

The problem with "The South was Right!" as a history book, is that the Kennedy's start out to prove that point, and include only material that supports their premise, and either exclude material that shows otherwise or properly spin the interpretation to make it fit.

Rating:
Summary: The South WAS right
Review: As a civil war buff and a proud australian I find this book very disturbing,distrubing because this has been the way for many countries who has won or conquered their "foé".It seems that once two parties goto war the loser seems to endure a lifetime of getting their nose rubbed in it and trying to kill the culture of that people.This book shows that North America is no acception but proves to what lengths they had to go through to lie and decieve future generations.Just think if the south had won would there be less poverty,more morals and a better christian society and maybe even less racist I am looking forward to reading any other books the Kennedys write

Rating:
Summary: When it is good it's very good but when it's bad....
Review: This book at some points is brilliant and at others is off the wall. A brilliant point is it's review of the history of slavery. The authors do a magnificent job of tracing slave trading to other black Africans and to Arab slave traders. They also do s great job of showing how the North was involved in slavery. However, although the north was significantly involved, the issue was sectionally divisive as early as 1787. If it had not been, there would have been no need for the three fifths compromise. The authors imply that the north was heavily involved in slavery well into the 19th century which is belied by the 3/5s compromise.

The book also brilliantly states the many cultural and economic differences between the North and South. For example, Northern manufacturing interests were protected by tariffs which were harmful to Southern agraian society. However, these economic interests could divide east and west too as the manufactring was done in the northeast and west was also agrarian. To some extent, we have to admit that the war was about slavery because, despite the authors' protestations, seccession was about slavery. The Southern states secceded when Lincoln, a Republican, was elected president and many states left the union before he was even inaugerated. The reason; Republicans were viewed to be abolitionists. There is an interesting article in Noirth & South magazine on this issue.

As a political conservative, I heartily agree with the authors' attack on big government. I too hate the effete liberal leaders who believe they know what is best for the individual and for the family. I too believe that our constitutional system has been subverted. Where the authors fall short, however, is that in well documenting the excesses of big government, they completely ignore Jim Crow laws in the South which were effective until the mid 1960s. In order to justify their argument that the destructive effects of big government falls most heavily on the South, rather than on all of us who value individual liberty, they must fully dicuss Jim Crow and argue why the government's response to it was wrong. They don't do this. At it's best, this book is fantastic. However, all too often, the book strays from this high level of excellence. Nonetheless, because of its many good points and because it boldly provokes thought and discussion, I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous and absurd
Review: The now-infamous Kennedy brothers produced a work that no self-respecting historian, whether they be Northerners or Southerners, would ever take seriously. They have no idea how to do historical research, their arguments are full to the brim with meaningless statements, their sources are flimsy to say the least, their references lack any authority whatsoever, and their approach is so dripping with partisanship and anger that I find it difficult to believe how any reasonably intelligent and objective person can take this stuff seriously. As a Southerner whose ancestors fought in the Civil War as members of the 35th North Carolina Infantry, I believe in honoring Southern history. What I object to is twisting Southern history into a falsehood designed merely to promote one's personal political and racial views.

Rating:
Summary: This needs to be taught to every Southerner
Review: After reading this book I have to say that I am not surprised. I like the way that the Kennedys cite their sources of information and I'm quite sure that most Yankees would try to say that it can't be true even being from their own authors and newspapers! We as Southerners need to educate our children with the truth that has been exposed and OUR schools need to teach OUR history about the War of Southern Independence. I love the way the Yankees are starting to cower. THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN!!

Rating:
Summary: Dixie Forever!
Review: This is an amazing book, and I cannot thank the authors more for writing it and having it published. "The truth hurts" definitely applies to some of the reviews I have been reading for this book. At last, there is a book telling the truth about the decimation of the South by northern troops, and the facts on slavery. Thank you, Kennedy brothers!