The "Lost Cause" myth was a collective lie told by many in the south and promoted by some historians for over a century that claimed that Secession was a principled stand for States Rights and the value of the 10th Amendment.
One look at Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens "Cornerstone Speech" shines light on the lie. Secession was about Slavery. The foundational documents of the CSA referenced slavery and white supremacy again and again. Yet for 150 years, the romantic vision of the heroic "lost cause" warriors fighting for a Nobel way of life persisted. Just look at the 2003 film "Gods and Generals" to see this mythology in full display.
The south's "Lost Cause" did a tremendous amount of damage to America. In 1877, while the "Lost Cause" interpretation was taking root in the national zeitgeist, President Hayes came to power and with him came a total surrender on the good work of Lincoln and Grant's reconstruction. Communities of Color, who had briefly seen the possibility of a free and equal role in this nation with the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, saw that dream collapse, trampled by white "Rifle Clubs" and the Klan. Jim Crow would rule for another Century.
Today, the Trump administration and their Republican collaborators are now doing all they can to create a new "Lost Cause" Myth. According to the Washington Post, there is no basis for team Trump's accusations of fraud. However, the recounts and refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election are not intended to change the outcome. Everyone knows that there is no realistic path to overturn a 306 to 232 Electoral college victory. The whole "Stop the Steal" movement is intended to create a "Lost Cause" myth of the 2020 election. A Lie that will cover the bad behavior of Republicans for the next decade.
With a 2020 Lost cause myth, Republicans will be able to obstruct Biden initiatives for the next 4 years, or distract any policy discussion they do not favor. The Myth will fuel an angry base that they have spent the last few decades inoculating against truth by vilifying any media that does not tow the party line. The Myth will likely be one of the top issues mentioned in Republican fund raising appeals for the foreseeable future. The Myth is already pulling in millions of dollars from gullible Red-Caps all over the country.
In the 2020 Republican Convention, the GOP chose not to adopt a national platform, stating that their goal was to advance the will of Donald Trump. The GOP has ceased to be a political party. The GOP is now a cult of personality centered on Trumpism. There is no doubt that the GOP will adopt the 2020 "Lost Cause." The only reason not to would be a sense of decency or patriotism. Any Republicans who had a sense of decency or patriotism has either resigned, walked away or been primaried out by a Trumpist fanatic by now.
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