Students Don’t Know Slavery Was a Central Cause of the Civil War, Report Shows

When it comes to the history of slavery in the U.S., the central role it played in shaping the country and its continued impact on race relations, students don’t know much.

In fact, only 8 percent of high school seniors can identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War, according to a report released Thursday by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But don’t blame the students. As the report shows, schools aren’t including it in curriculums, teachers aren’t prepared to teach it and textbooks don’t include enough material about it.

Continue reading:  Students Don’t Know Slavery Was a Central Cause of the Civil War, Report Shows

Commentary by The Secular Jurist:  I believe the issue here is twofold.  It’s not that school textbooks are factually incorrect or that educators are purposely avoiding the connection to slavery;  but, rather, it’s because that very connection to slavery is not explicitly addressed in the U.S. Constitution prior to the Civil War, and that its significance requires a level of critical understanding which neither can be expected of most primary school students nor from all primary school educators.  In other words, it’s a difficult subject better suited to secondary education.  This is why college is so vital to an informed and engaged citizenry.

Thoroughly examining two commonly given reasons for the Civil War, states’ rights and the different economic systems of the North and South, reveal the underlying cause of slavery.  The debate over states’ rights during the 1787 Constitutional Convention (which had begun earlier under the Articles of Confederation) ended with the Three-Fifths Compromise which was concerned with the institution of slavery as well as the legal status of indigenous peoples (it was superseded by the 13th and 14th amendments).  Furthermore, the Nullification Crisis of 1832 was concerned with trade tariffs (supported by the industrial North and opposed by the agricultural South) which would not have been discordant without the institution of slavery.