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Dixie Betrayed: How the South Really Lost the Civil War by David J. Eicher The War Between the States was fought, not over slavery, but over states’ rights. Dixie Betrayed: How the South Really Lost the Civil War by David J. Eicher, explains how states’ rights actually helped the South go down to defeat. The Confederacy felt that the states were to be sovereign, ruling themselves, while the Union had a strong central government. President Jefferson Davis knew the South’s view on government would not win their independence and that a central government would be more powerful in that it could control its military and the states whenever there was a state of emergency. Southern governors and states’ rights supporters opposed him and some even threatened to secede from the Confederacy because they did not support his views. This is why the author sets forth the idea that strong support of states’ rights was the actual betrayal and downfall of the Confederacy. The author delves into the constant battle between President Davis and the Confederate Congress over appointments of military officers, cabinet members and officials and over his efforts to introduce new ideas, such as a Supreme Court, which they vehemently opposed, as he attempted to establish a more centralized government in the South. Fighting among politicians and military leaders is discussed and their backstabbing is explored. Groups of officers formed either in support of or opposed to President Davis and his policies, which is strictly human nature, but aided in the Union’s victory. There was little solidarity among the Southern political leaders of the day. The South desperately considered conscripting slaves toward the end of the war, not to fight, but to support those who were fighting. The Confederates had no reserves and the states hesitated to send their state militias to help fight, as they felt they were needed to defend their home states where the war was happening right in their own back yards. As a result, if soldiers assigned to the state militia did serve, they had to remain in their home state which caused shortages and problems for the Army when they moved. Jefferson knew and understood the opposition he had faced within the Confederacy and its state governments during the war and, because of his knowledge and leadership, he gained the respect of the majority of Southerners following the war. Many southern military leaders; however, wrote memoirs of the war, histories, and autobiographies of the wartime experiences to which the author credits referring to the war as the “lost cause”. He states that many attempted to cover their shortfalls and ultimate loss of the war by accusing others. Many of them continued fighting with each other for the rest of their lives through articles and books, thus they continued to betray the Confederacy. The book includes illustrations and photographs of important people of the Confederacy. It also tells what happened to some of the most notable Confederate leaders following the War. The book is well written and informative and places the cause of the War Between the States exactly where it belongs with the battle over states’ rights. It is, however, disheartening to a Southerner to read an author’s work in which he states that their own leaders betrayed Dixie’s Land. Reviewed by Celeste T. Young, MS Division Historian 14 May 2009