Jefferson Davis home rebuild (Biloxi) draws criticism

[Maddy McCall]

Civil rights groups, budget hawk decry congressional plans to appropriate money for restoration

By Ana Radelat
Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina, should be rebuilt as quickly as possible, say many Civil War buffs as well as officials at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

But civil rights groups and at least one congressional budget hawk decry congressional plans to provide money for rebuilding Beauvoir, the majestic house in Biloxi built in the 1850s that served as Davis' retirement home after the Civil War. Damage to the home amounts to at least an estimated $25 million.

"We adamantly oppose the restoration of Beauvoir," said Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson. "It is one of the most divisive symbols in this state and in this state's history."

The federal government has no responsibility to rebuild historic sites damaged by a natural disaster.

But at the behest of the National Trust and other historic preservation organizations, Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran has included $80 million to restore storm-battered historic property in a $27 billion emergency hurricane package the Senate plans to debate this week.

More at:

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060425/NEWS0110/604250371/1001/news

Before Katrina:


After Katrina:

[Coventina]

1. I'd be okay with it if they turn it into a museum for the civil rights

struggle or something like that.

After all, the house isn't evil....it's what's inside that counts.

And it does look like a lovely building.

on edit: I don't know what it was being used for before Katrina, but I would say I'd rather see it demolished than turn into a shrine to the "Glorious Confederacy".

[Jack from Charlotte]

19. The Repug Party should pay since this place is a repug shrine....

and as I say whenever I see a Confederate flag.... "Look. The Republican Party Flag."

This is just a Republican joint.

[Coventina]

28. Now, to be fair, Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president

Granted, it was all downhill from there, but at THAT time, the Republican party was fighting on the good side.

So yes, in a way, it IS a Republican shrine......for when the Republicans had their priorities straight.

[shain from kane]

2. Don't rebuild. Makes a nice slaves' cabin. n/t

[Sammy Pepys]

3. I think it should be restored

You8 can't run away from history. It's important to remember the people that changed the face of a nation....good or bad.

[MikeNearMcChord]

5. Agreed, like the saying goes

Those who don't remeber the past, are condemmned to repeat it, don't let those Neo-confederates grab hold of history and distort it their own ends.

[Maddy McCall]

8. To the tune of $25 Mil while people like merh are living in trailers?

Seems the priorities are reversed, to me.

If you've driven down Beach Boulevard--you just can't imagine the overwhelming damage.

Sure, restore it....AFTER Biloxi's citizens are in safe shelter, though.

[uppityperson]

43. Exactly, rebuild after people are back in their homes.

Focus on rebuilding for live people, then history.

[geomon666]

40. Remembering is free.

Rebuilding this traitorous bastards house isn't.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. I just finished reading a book on Hurricane Camille.

Beauvoir sustained a pretty hefty hit then too.

I'm with Coventina. The only way the government and the people should be hit with this pricetag is if something good comes out of it.

fsc

[Sequoia]

35. Same here...."Category 5, The Story of Hurricane Camille"

was the one I read. And in it was a story that blacks were not allowed on Missippi Beaches (at all!) and one man decided to protest by doing a "Wade in". When the good ole boys found out about it they showed up too and in the next few days there were drive by shootings, and two deaths. One of the black men that was killed had his nearly decapitated body thrown in front of Jefferson Davis' house. I was stationed at Keesler AFB for training and saw that house from the beach whose water we could not go in because it was polluted by an oil spill at that time.

[fudge stripe cookays]

41. Good book, huh?

I had no idea Virginia had gotten hit so hard!

We drove from Texas to Hampton, Virginia early in 1970.

I can remember being a little girl in the car (about 3 or so) and seeing these houses where it looked like a giant claw had just come up out of the Gulf, taken half the house, and left the rest standing.

The story about the wade-ins was very powerful. And typical.

[Sequoia]

47. Actually, I hadn't heard about Virginia either

22 people in one family were wiped out. The people had no chance or warning at all. The county this happened in was made famous because that's where Earl Hammer grew up and later turned his memories into the tv show, "The Waltons".

[Captain Hilts]

6. It should be restored.

We're supposed to forget about Jefferson Davis?

There are a lot of lessons to be learned in his history.

[noamnety]

9. which people are supposed to remain homeless

because the money for their reconstruction was diverted for this project?

what lesson will that teach them about history?

[Maddy McCall]

13. No one thinks that Jeff Davis should be forgotten. But priorities are....

out of whack, when you rebuild a mansion in which no one lives to the tune of $25 million, and there are still people sleeping in tents in Biloxi.

Hurricane season is on us again. People like merh are still in trailers--paying mortgages on houses that are no longer there.

There's much work to be done in Biloxi--Beauvoir should be on the list--but only after people like merh are in safe shelter.

[Maddy McCall]

59. See post 14

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. Why not raise private funding to restore ? Isn't that the Republican way?

[Maddy McCall]

10. And that could be done.

Instead, private contributions are rebuilding people's homes, and government money will fund the restoration of Beauvoir.

Again, seems like priorities and responsibilities are reversed.

:hi:

[RedStateShame]

12. Is it just me

Or are the people that were the loudest in yelling, "Bush won, get over it," during either of the stolen elections often the same people who can't concede the Confederacy's defeat just yet?

[hlthe2b]

34. Yes, it is just you...

Wanting to preserve history does not equate to "people not being able to concede the COnferaccy's defeat just yet" and I'm sorry, but I'm damned tired of this! No, I'm no southerner, and I certainly am no supporter of those who would use confederate symbols in a way to demean or intimidate others.

Half the trouble we are facing is precisely BECAUSE history has been so poorly taught, along with the lessons it provides. We can not destroy history without reaping the consequences.

Having said that, I believe, given the circumstances, that the priority must be on helping the people and communities rebuild with Federal $$. This is a time for private donations.

[frankenforpres]

54. i agree with you NT

[Sinti]

16. Private funding would be most appropriate

Why spend government dollars that are needed by the living, some of whom are still homeless, to restore this dead cowards home instead. Even if it were turned into a civil rights museum, they could get private funding. Right now there are people who need help badly, and that money was appropriated to assist them, not build/rebuild cultural landmarks.

Ridiculous, but this is Bizarro world after all.

[hlthe2b]

31. I'm with you, Sinti

I'm not against using taxdollars to preserve history, but the priority now given the magnitude of the devastation for the populace--that has not begun to be dealt with--simply must be on the people. This is the time, the private sector and historical foundations need to step in. Just as zoos and aquariums across the country have had to do for their NOLA counterparts, I think it is time for some private fundraising. Nonetheless, I don't want to establish precedent here. In other circumstances, (disaster had been appropriately dealt with, Federal dollars had been well spent and communities were well on their way to rebuilding, not flushing away our tax dollars under record deficits to Iraq), I would not be opposed to Federal dollars being spent.

This was a museum and I remember visiting there years ago. I did not see an inaccurate portrayal there of Davis, nor have I seen history being grossly retold at other civil war memorials. Davis was portrayed, warts and all--as it should be. My Dad loved to go to these battlefields and museums and I've been to most of the bigger ones).

For those who are opposed because it was part of confederate heritage-- we really can't choose what part of history to remember. Otherwise, history provides NO lessons for the future. The best way to honor civil rights and the steps we have taken (and need to take in the future) to right the wrongs of the past, is to preserve that history--ALL of it.

[fasttense]

11. I love how they take these Southern Plantation homes and

restore only the parts they think are appropriate. Only recently have they started to add the slave quarters and outhouse the slaves lived and worked in. I've been to Monticello several times but only on my last visit was I able to see a slave's home, though MT Vernon had a fairly good display of slave labor housing and working conditions. I wonder if they will be restoring the whole house or just the parts that look good?

[Bridget Burke]

22. Jefferson Davis lived there after the War....

So he had to get by without slaves. Sam Houston said of JD: "He is as ambitious as Lucifer, cold as a snake, and what he touches will not prosper."

I do think the place should be restored. But the priorities are off here. Why spend government money while real live people needs homes? And when other National Parks & Historic Sites lack sufficient funding? They should consider private funding.

[shain from kane]

32. All the more reason just to knock it down, and forget it.

Why do we have to preserve every place these old-timers lived or visited? George Washington slept here. And here. And here. And here.
After renovating and repairing this structure, it will be less than original. Only a fraction of it remains. But it is not the same. Are we going to search through the piles of debris to find the original doorknobs? So forget about it.

[Bridget Burke]

42. Many restored sites are reconstructed pretty heavily.

But people enjoy visiting old places. I often like to check them out, even when I'm not enamored of the old owner. You may have some pastimes that would bore me to tears.

In this case, it's just a matter of priorities.

[shain from kane]

45. You probably would want to rebuild the "Old Man of the Mountains".

You need to call a halt to it sometime. Should the United States be one large tourist trap?

[Bridget Burke]

63. No, I wouldn't.

Define tourist trap.

[shain from kane]

70. New Orleans. n/t

[hlthe2b]

33. Davis didn't own the home. He was offered the house to live...

by its owner, and did so, for the latter part of his life.

I understand where you are coming from, but this is more a museum that any glorification of Davis, as one would perceive from a statue in a town square. It is a repository of history and as I recall, does so, in a way that does NOT retell history. It was a lovely old building and property. See my earlier post as to how I think it should be restored. But, I believe in preserving history. All of it.


That includes, as you say, the entirety (slave quarters and all) for places like Monticello.

[Maddy McCall]

60. Beauvoir was also a home for widows of Confederate veterans.

They were removed from Beavoir and put in a rest home in the 1950s, supposedly because it would cost less for the state to care for them there.

As soon as those widows were gone, in the 1950s, Beauvoir was handed over to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, at which time it became the mecca for these guys.

Note that all of this happened in the 1950s--remember when Brown v. Board of Ed came down? Remember when the civil rights push began? That's right...in the 1950s.

[hlthe2b]

76. 50's was a prime time for racist exploitation.... that's about the time

so many states decided to incorporate the "stars and bars" into their state flags and the rise of the Lester Maddox's and George Wallaces, who were portrayed as "folk heros" by many in that part of the South.

Protecting history also means we have to fight against those who would "rewrite" or appropriate history--to their own ends...

[Maddy McCall]

14. Let me add one thing. The Fork in the Road Slave Market site in Natchez

has been considered for historical preservation and civil rights activists want to situate a museum there.

But there never is enough federal money--and the conservatives in this state have raised holy hell about commemorating the site in the US that was second only to the Carolinas in slave auctions. They consider it a waste of money, and they paternalistically tell black Mississippians that they should want to forget that moment in their history instead of memorialize it.

See--there's much more to this debate than most of you know.

I think that Beauvoir should be restored--and I think that the Fork in the Road should receive the attention that was due it LONG ago.

The people fighting to restore Beauvoir are likely the ones who oppose commemorating the Fork in the Road.

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. That may not be a good picture or something, but I don't see that

place as coming close to a 25 million price tag. I was expecting a picture of a 2 story antebellum plantation house with greek columns and a 20'wide wraparound porch.

Maybe I'm missing something there.

I would think the structure could be restored for a couple million, tops. If, as others have said, it is opened as a civil rights museum instead of a shrine to the Confederacy, it should be preserved. (Of course, the nutcases who think the civil war ended last week will still see it as a shrine, regardless, but if it is a civil rights museum it will piss them off, which makes me smile).

[acmavm]

17. Why the hell is it going to cost 25 million dollars to

restore this house? Is Halliburton doing the work?

[thecrow]

48. I would assume for $25M it coulde rebuilt a few times over.

[DUHandle]

75. If the local Klansmen

would do the painting and use their robes as drop cloths, there would be even bigger savings.

Hell, I'd pay money just to see that.

[RedStateShame]

18. But more importantly,

please, PLEASE tell me they've fixed poor Trent Lott's house!!!! :cry:

[Sequoia]

37. At least he's alive.

And Chimpy wants to rock on his porch. Heh, heh...he said the same thing about Scotty---When we're old we'll be rocking on his porch laughing about these days.

Sorry Chimp, you're the old one and Scotty will leave you in the dust.

[aquart]

20. It's part of our history. Rebuild.

But not before the homeless have homes.

Not till the people of New Orleans are home. Then, yes.

But we have more pressing matters just now.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Yes, there are a lot of decisions to be made about priorities.

But this should not be left to fall apart or be vandalized.

[aquart]

24. I agree.

It needs to be protected against the next hurricane season.

[Maddy McCall]

61. Do you know the history of Beauvoir?

It was a home for confederate widows until the 1950s. The widows were removed from Beavoir and put in a rest home in the 1950s, supposedly because it would cost less to care for them there.

As soon as those widows were gone, in the 1950s, Beauvoir was handed over to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, at which time it became the mecca for these guys.

Note that all of this happened in the 1950s--remember when Brown v. Board of Ed came down? Remember when the civil rights push began? That's right...in the 1950s.

Also, see post 14, for a discussion of the Fork in the Road, the second largest slave market in American history, which is yet to be recognized in a formal commemorative manner.

[shain from kane]

73. Ahhh, yes. Famous for all night canasta and euchre games.

Worth preserving.

[noonwitch]

30. Agreed, take care of the homeless first

We should never cover up the ugly parts of our nation's history, whether it's slavery or the holocaust perpetrated on native americans. It's important to show the beautiful houses and stuff in them that were owned by people who also owned slaves. It's an important lesson that no luxuries are worth some prices.

[dad]

23. p

I remember when I lived down in Biloxi, I used to pass Jeff Davis' house and was disgusted every time. They should knock that place down and freaking burn it.

[bluestateguy]

25. Jeff Davis should have been hung as a traitor

And every Southerner who fought for the Confederacy should have been stripped of their citizenship and voting rights.

[swimboy]

26. They were.

Each had to swear an oath of allegiance to the Union to have his citizenship restored. The southern states were an occupied territory until they met the requirements for readmission to the Union.

[Sequoia]

38. Now, now...the Civil War is OVER.

Lincoln did not want to do that or we would've had another war.

[shain from kane]

46. We should have preserved the gallows that was used to hang him.

What!?
Are you telling me that we didn't hang him?

[swimboy]

27. Private funds should be raised to mothball the property

that is, to protect it from further deterioration from the weather. It should be preserved, but not ahead of making whole the current citizens who suffered from the hurricanes.

[Maddy McCall]

62. Especially since a private organization (SCV) owns it.

It is owned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

[colorado_ufo]

29. It's history.

Many times in the past, governments and individuals have attempted to erase history by burning books and scrolls, destroying culture and architecture, surpressing thought. Future generations, without fail, look back on these attempts as a great wrong. If what was being erased was for the betterment of civilization, then good was lost; if what was being erased was to the detriment of humankind, then we would be more liable to repeat the mistake. What is good and evil is most often defined by the culture of the moment: the Nazis thought the Jews were evil. Therefore, it is imperative that as much as is practical be preserved, as a matter of record of the human race and as a tool for education, toward a better future.

[SaveElmer]

36. It should be restored...it is part of our history...

Because some use its symbolism inappropriately does not mean it should be destroyed

[Book Lover]

39. Pay qualified locals to fix it, and I have no problem with this

For history's sake, it should be rebuilt, no question. All I demand is that the organization running the site hire, train, and employ at a real wage local folks to do the work.

[DUHandle]

44. The good people in Mississippi can pay for it

with a statewide sales tax or with an increase in gasoline tax or with a bit of payroll tax.

Radical idea, huh, people actually living in the State paying for something to to be done?

Betcha the cost will drop well below $25,000,000.00 when the good people of Mississippi have to actually pay.

[mitchtv]

50. Good Idea, after all he was a proponent of

States Rights. The state has the right to pay for it. Oh that's right the South doesn't pay, it collects

[Bridget Burke]

64. Many of the Good People of Mississippi are not White.

Are you shocked?

I believe that fine old buildings are worth preserving, but using Federal Funds for this project is inappropriate. Especially when so many living people on the Gulf Coast are still homeless.

The house is privately owned. How about some private funding?

[cobalt1999]

49. Too much of our history is already gone

Gone to developers, just torn down, neglected and fallen apart, forgotten, etc. We shouldn't be saving only our pleasant history. Too much has been destroyed because at the time none cared. Restore it, keep it. I want my children to be able to see these things, it might make them think more than the Walmart that would replace it.

[Maddy McCall]

51. See post 14.

[cobalt1999]

52. Yes, I agree.

Unfortunately, ever changing political agendas are determining what history is saved or destroyed. Fork in the road should also be preserved. I don't want to think of a Walmart on top of either location.

[JCMach1]

53. History should not be destroyed (EVER) even if it is something

many of us would rather forget...

[Maddy McCall]

58. See post 14

[fujiyama]

55. It should be preserved

for historical purposes. They should also make it a museum, with input from various different historical preservation and civil rights groups.

But considering resources are stretched thin, I would rather have living peoples' homes be rebuilt first and be given a much higher priority.

[salin]

56. federal $s should go to citizens still in crises

if this preservation project is so important - let those who want it pony up their money privately for the job.

[Dulcinea]

57. Take care of the survivors first, then rebuild.

I have no problem with restoring a historical place, but only after the residents of the Gulf Coast rebuild their homes & livelihoods.

[superconnected]

65. Why 25 million?

5 million is too much.

why not 500 thousand, who's doing the work. Someone gets a pay off?

[Maddy McCall]

66. A friend of mine does dirt work. He said that...

if he keeps getting contracts like he's getting on the coast, he can retire in four months.

He's 24 years old.

[Taverner]

67. Let the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy restore it themselves

Shouldn't be on the state dime...

[shain from kane]

68. Take some of that KKK money that was confiscated. Make it a

combination Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest Memorial. Now, does anyone want their tax money to re-build it?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

69. I say treat like the Nazi concentration camps.

Just let it rot on its foundation.

[Charlie Brown]

72. Auschwitz is actually quite a tourist attraction

The old Administration Building is now the Visitor's Center, and tours are conducted on the grounds every day. Fortunately, Holocaust survivors and the Polish government recognize the importance of preserving history so that new generations can learn from it.

Here's the Museum's official history:

http://www.auschwitz.org.pl/html/eng/muzeum/powstanie_muzeum.html

Beauvoir should be preserved for the same reasons.

[Melsky]

71. It should be restored

on the public purse only if it is turned over to the public to be used as a school or civil rights library or something.

[rocktivity]

74. I wouldn't care if it was Mother Theresa's home.

Spending that much of taxpayer's money for restoration when thousands of Gulf Coast taxpayers are still suffering is the height of governmental incompetence and irresponsbility. Cue the Rebuttal Katrina Kids!

:mad:
rocknation