Disqus - Latest Comments for kevlvn

Re: The Boston Statue that Reinforces the Need for Black History Month

Kevin Levin — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:14:27 -0000

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reference. I will definitely look into it. You said: "Alexander liberated himself, with Eliot's help." Doesn't that speak to the problem that even Douglass appeared to have acknowledged at the time?

Re: Why I Changed My Mind About Confederate Monuments

Kevin Levin — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 12:07:43 -0000

It played a central role in my teaching of Civil War memory not Civil War history. This is an important distinction and I apologize if it was not made clearly enough.

Re: Does a Confederate Memorial Belong in Boston Harbor?

Kevin Levin — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 07:12:56 -0000

What specific statement of mine in this piece do you take issue with? Thanks.

Re: The Remedy for the Spread of Fake News? History Teachers

Kevin Levin — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 16:19:59 -0000

Thanks to everyone who has read my piece and for leaving their thoughts here. I have added a few additional thoughts for history teachers on my blog: http://cwmemory.com/2016/12...

Re: The Remedy for the Spread of Fake News? History Teachers

Kevin Levin — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:29:09 -0000

Thanks for taking the time to read my piece. How do you propose being able to distinguish between legitimate and problematic websites if we can't visit the former? I suspect you are right that it does benefit the site in terms of SEO, but what's the alternative? Thanks again.

Re: Confederate Monuments Will Come Down in New Orleans

Kevin Levin — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 08:19:31 -0000

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my essay. Here is a link to my website/blog for those interested

http://cwmemory.com

Re: Real Confederates Never Knew Any Black Confederate Soldiers

Kevin Levin — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 15:06:05 -0000

This is not my blog. This is an independent website that chose to publish something of mine. You can't respond to the content. All you can do is reference back to my blog. You are pathetic.

Re: Real Confederates Never Knew Any Black Confederate Soldiers

Kevin Levin — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:35:26 -0000

Where in this essay do I tell anyone what to think? I offered an interpretation. You are free to provide reasons for agreeing or disagreeing. That you do not do so tells me everything I need to know.

Re: Real Confederates Never Knew Any Black Confederate Soldiers

Kevin Levin — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:52:32 -0000

Always amazed by how quickly these discussions get derailed. I would love to hear what people think of the account referenced in my essay. How do you interpret it in light of broader Confederate policies regarding the use of free and enslaved blacks and the eventual legislation authorizing their recruitment into the army. Here is the link to the newspaper article: http://dlxs.richmond.edu/cg...

Re: Real Confederates Never Knew Any Black Confederate Soldiers

Kevin Levin — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 12:13:59 -0000

We apparently have very different approaches to the historians craft.

Re: Real Confederates Never Knew Any Black Confederate Soldiers

Kevin Levin — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 11:56:11 -0000

Yes, this individual has been discussed on my blog. I highly recommend going through the comments, especially those of Eric Jacobson and Ken Noe. This is a typical move on the part of BR. Offer a piece of evidence, but provide no interpretation as if the document speaks for itself.

http://cwmemory.com/2013/09...

Re: Real Confederates Never Knew Any Black Confederate Soldiers

Kevin Levin — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 13:56:53 -0000

Fascinating analysis.

Re: Foreign Entanglements - Apr 18, 2015 - Robert Farley & Kevin Levin

Kevin Levin — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 07:20:25 -0000

That's what happens when you rush. Obviously I meant preservation of the Union. Thanks. :-)

Re: Foreign Entanglements - Apr 18, 2015 - Robert Farley & Kevin Levin

Kevin Levin — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 07:19:43 -0000

Thanks, but what I suggested was that the coverage of their service has sometimes gone beyond history and functioned more to right a wrong of historical memory. They may have constituted a small percentage of the Union army, but they entered the service at just the right time and it is impossible to underestimate the controversy surrounding the decision.

Re: Foreign Entanglements - Apr 18, 2015 - Robert Farley & Kevin Levin

Kevin Levin — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 21:17:57 -0000

Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

We draw much too sharp a distinction between identification with one's state as opposed to the nation. For many their allegiance to state and nation overlapped. While Lee eventually chose to resign his commission, others like Virginian George Thomas and Winfield Scott remained loyal to their oath and the nation. West Point graduates from the South were more likely to stay with the Union if they were older. The generation reared on the sectional debates of the 1850s tended to side with their state and the Confederacy. I highly recommend Paul Quigley's Shifting Grounds: Nationalism & the American South.

Lincoln's primary goal from beginning to end was the preservation of slavery. By the end of 1862 the emancipation of some slaves and the recruitment of blacks into the army was believed necessary to advance that cause. The service of these men and the gradual erosion of slavery forced Lincoln and others to consider wider questions surrounding slavery by the end of the war.

Re: Foreign Entanglements - Apr 18, 2015 - Robert Farley & Kevin Levin

Kevin Levin — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 07:21:45 -0000

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you take issue with re: my comments? Thanks.

Re: Will Civil War Reenactors Surrender at Appomattox in 2015?

Kevin Levin — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 21:13:47 -0000

They can reenact the bloated corpses on battlefields, but run at the first sight of surrender. :-)

Re: What if the Civil War Had a Birthday and Nobody Came?

Kevin Levin — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 11:23:44 -0000

I was interviewed for the WSJ article that is referenced in this piece. Here is my response: http://cwmemory.com/2014/04...

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 12:28:04 -0000

I think it can be very helpful to see wartime service as part of a long civil rights movement. I teach the protest among black soldiers over unequal pay as part of a long civil rights movement. So, there clear benefits to doing so, but there are also risks as I suggest in the essay.

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:58:55 -0000

The movie Glory set the terms for this recent shift in popular memory of USCTs. It's a heroic picture of black soldiers and their contributions to the war, which is fine. I don't think there is a movement to prevent the discussion of anything. The war tends to be popularly interpreted as leading directly to the "unfinished work" of the Civil Rights Era. USCTs have become our moral compass pointing forward after 1865. This progressive story simply leaves little room for stories that detract from this larger picture.

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:42:29 -0000

Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Each of us is free to assess the actions of black Union soldiers in any way we see fit. My essay is meant to focus us on how those choices impact our historical understanding of these men and their experiences in the war. Again, my point is that the narrative of USCTs that has arisen over the past few years leaves little room to make sense of the evidence of blacks massacring Confederates.

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 16:13:40 -0000

Nice try, Josephine.

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 18:40:25 -0000

I've heard some good things about the book from others that I highly respect. That's something that both Savas and Hood should be pleased with. That they feel a need to attack the integrity of a reviewer is unfortunate to say the least.

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 18:22:16 -0000

The byline says the following: "Carole Emberton is Associate Professor of History at the University of Buffalo (SUNY)."

I am not sure what "conduct" you are referring to. Like I said, you have every right to take issue with the content of a review, but you run the risk of looking foolish when you accuse someone of not having read your book simply because you disapprove of the content. That you claim to provide evidence for such a claim undercuts your hope that people will take you seriously as a historian.

My own book has not received universal praise and I've questioned the content of specific assessments, but I would never blindly accuse someone of not reading the book. Do yourself and your fans a favor and find another way to voice your disagreement.

Re: Civil War Monitor

Kevin Levin — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:38:26 -0000

"I don't know whether or not she is an assistant professor of history at SUNY-Buffalo, but if you say so, I believe it."

Professor Emberton's affiliation is clearly identified at the end of the review.

"If she wrote the review without reading the entire book..."

You and Ted Savas are now on record as having accused Professor Emberton of not reading your book: http://cwmemory.com/2013/12...

Whatever you think of her review, these accusations are highly unprofessional. Both you and Ted Savas owe Professor Emberton a public apology.