The Confederacy: A Product of Marketing

It’s not that zealous Confederates were the most pro-slavery. For many, “states’ rights for all” sounded more convincing than “slavery (for anyone who can afford it).” Yes, the wealthier the citizen, the more slaves he owned. The middle class would’ve owned one or two slaves, and the poor wouldn’t have any at all.

So Jefferson Davis’ marketing team had some work to do. How could they rally the people, even the poorest of poor, against the growing anti-slavery voices in the north? They put their heads together, and each one echoed, “It’s a free country, isn’t it? We should be able to do whatever we want. Even own slaves!”

“Yeah, but...” said that one guy who’d been fidgeting with a paperclip the whole time, “what if you don’t own any slaves?”

So this “Yeah, but...” was the key to rallying the people because it gave both the lower class and anti-slavery Confederates something to fight for, something which sounded very American: the right to do whatever.

The “right to do whatever” concept (read: argument for secession) was the peanut butter, Southern ideas of chivalry the jelly, and rampant racism was the bread that held it all together. The pretty lunchbox hiding it all was the new catchphrase: states’ rights. Whoever owned slaves could fight for owning slaves, and whoever didn’t or wouldn’t could fight for the idea of doing whatever. Lost Cause? More like Clever Marketing Strategy.