Southerners' commitment to certain values and constitutional ideals
The southern region of the United States is unique for a higher commitment to the federal Constitution, militarism, and Christian ideals. Thurmond uses his observations of northern war resisters to prove his point.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Strom Thurmond, July 20, 1978. Interview A-0334. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
Are you conscious of being a southerner?
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Conscious of being a southerner;yes I am. Although I'm
interested in the people of the whole nation and I've taken a great
interest in national and world affairs in the Senate. Especially
national defense and foreign policy and things like that. Because I
think we're all one nation and we've got to work together to try to
preserve it. But the southerners seem to understand the constitution
better. They seem to realize that we do have a constitution and to
realize what it means and that it should be adhered to.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
Do you think that goes back to Jefferson and Virginia and that whole
aristocracy.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
I think probably it does. You see South Carolina was settled by
Virginians more than any other group. The Thurmonds came from
Virginia.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
New Kent County, wasn't it, Albemarle, New Kent?
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Yeah, that's right. My ancestor John Thurmond before the Revolutionary
War. Then King went to Georgia and crossed over to South Carolina. So
Virginia people have had a big part settling out of state. It's
different from North Carolina. The people of South Carolina, I wouldn't
say they're South, but their culture is very much;a lot of
'em are very cultured people like Virginians, you know. Virginians were
considered the cream of the crop back in the early formation of the
country. And South Carolina was settled by Virginians more than North
Carolina.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
You're also; well, you just said it. You are conscious of being
a South Carolinian because there are some distinct relationships between
the Virginian and the South Carolinian.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
There's an old saying that North Carolina is a valley of humility between
two mountains of conceit.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
(chuckle)
That's very good. I guess you're also conscious of being from
Edgefield too.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Yes, I guess so. You couldn't get away from it. But I want to say this.
Although I'm proud of being from Edgefield and I'm proud of being from
South Carolina. I'm proud to be a southerner because I think those
people;I guess it's what I believe in; I think
they're military minded and I think that's essential if you're going to
maintain your freedom. You've got to be willing to fight for it. And
then I'm proud too because
[END OF TAPE 1, SIDE B]
[TAPE 2, SIDE A]
[START OF TAPE 2, SIDE A]
- STROM THURMOND:
-
For instance, people down there seem to think more alike. Well now,
during the Vietnam War, you didn't see people down there causing
trouble. I remember when I spoke up at Massachusettes, University of
Massachusettes, one night, I was lucky to get out of there alive.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
Oh really?
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Yeah. Had to rush to the car and they almost turned the car over. That
never would've happened in South Carolina.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
They may disagree but I don't think they would do that.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
Yeah, that's what I say. You can disagree, but the point is, they're not
willing to fight, a lot of 'em. And they did desert, and went to Canada
and went to Sweden, a lot of other places. I don't think many
southerners were in that group that did that. I think most of them
fought. And although they may have disagreed with the situation I think
once their country called 'em they felt an obligation; that
patriotism is just kind of instilled in 'em.
- JAMES G. BANKS:
-
It's born out by polls. John Reed, at University of North Carolina, did a
book you might like to see. Maybe I'll send it to you. It's called
"The Enduring South." He went around and asked people
about religion, politics, and attitudes and it bears out exactly what
you said.
- STROM THURMOND:
-
And that's more or less the Bible Belt of the nation too, you might say.