Talk:James L. Kemper

Racial bias?
"... Kemper urged acceptance of one of the most drastic proposals ever heard in the Confederacy--the emancipation of all slaves and issuance of a proclamation stating that the Confederacy was fighting only for the right of self-government and independence and not for the preservation of slavery." Pg 112, The Confederacy's Forgotten Son. Harold R. Woodward, Jr. [This remark also cites "Younger, pg 199."]

Also, "Kemper saw the Conservative Prty as one to "inaugurate a new era ... when men of both races combining for the good of all, would restore peace, and a common prosperity." Pg. 139 same book.

Also, in pages 166-168, it documents how a local election tried to change the rules after all african-americans got elected and all whites got ousted. The change that would have nullified the election of african americans -- Kemper vetoed it. And protests were immediate and violent. He was burned in effigy as well.

Also, "[Kemper] won wide-spread reputation for his defense of civil rights for blacks. Kemper was justifiably proud of his part in improving race relations in the state; white Virginians came to accept, under Kemper's leadership, black sufferage, education, and office holding."

IF he were ever massively racist, then writing his early days like that would be to still call the apostle Paul, Saul. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:204:D200:7000:ECF5:41F1:2E9B:20AC (talk) 19:14, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

should this man's massively racist bias be emphasised here? he campaigned for the gov. of virg. with the slogan "we must make the issue white and black, race against race, and the canvas red hot" whilst endorsing policies of intimidation, terror and violence. ````unknown contributor

The Jones article referred to here that paints the more moderate interpretation of Kemper dates to 1972 when Virginia was just beginning to integrate schools in earnest. No examples are given from the article so it is difficult to draw conclusions but I am suspicious of material that comes from a time period where racial tensions were so high. Policies are also described as "less anti-Negro," a term which is not widely used today; must be a quote from the Jones article and should probably be edited. Also, I'm having problems with the sentence, "The Virginia Redeemers attempted to shape race relations to conform to what C. Vann Woodward has defined as the Conservative philosophy." Redeemers did not attempt to shape "race relations;" there were no race relations. White society was reeling under the greatest social revolution in our history (emancipation) and they were working to roll back the changes wrought by the Civil War, Reconstruction and 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. Also, they referred to themselves as Conservatives, later Democrats; that C Vann Woodward reported on this 100 years later is immaterial. To the broader charges, Virginia could afford to be less reactionary than the rest of the South because her Confederate veterans did not lose the franchise, ergo less drastic measures were required. Also, Kemper got away with what he could. The Redeemer governments were careful to enact as much racial suppression as the constitution would allow. They did not want to invite Federal intervention. It was not until cases like Plessy v. Ferguson that they could really roll back the progress achieved in the war. It is a fact in our history that the great advancement made in American society through the abolition of slavery, was a shock to both North and South and would take 100 more years before we could begin to realize them. The arch of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. MLK, Theodore Parker. ````baechter 25 Oct 2015


 * While Kemper most assuredly harbored racial prejudices, there is reason to believe that he was more progressive than his Conservative Pary contemporaries. Edgar E Noel's 1959 definitive work on the 1873 Virginia elections--one that paints Kemper as stridently racist--has been called into question by at least one scholar (James L. Kemper and the Virginia Redeemers Face the Race Question: A Reconsideration.  Robert R. Jones,  The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Aug., 1972), pp. 393-414).  Jones' portrait of Kemper is more complex, showing Kemper to most assuredly prejudiced against blacks, but also (privately) amenable to the idea of more thorough integration of blacks into white politics (the quote referenced above, was actually not my Kemper but by Conservative Party chairman, Nathanael B. Meade).--RabidMortal 00:29, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree with RabidMortal. There is no reason to be "suspicious" of the Jones article -- I have read it and it is good scholarship. Jones uses "black" except when referencing quotes by historical characters and Vann Woodward (who used "Negro").  Jones starts with the famous Woodward model and uses dozens of cites to both modern scholarship and to old primary sources. baechter seems to have his own POV agenda but he does not tell us his sources on Virginia politics. Rjensen (talk) 19:59, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

Stylistic Question
The section summarizing Kemper's Civil War career contains this phrase, "Kemper rose on his spurs to urge his men forward." How does one rise on one's spurs? The mental image of this feat eludes me. Perhaps this should be rephrased as "Kemper rose in his stirrups." 65.6.138.68 18:17, 10 October 2007 (UTC)


 * It was not a matter of style, it was an error in equestrian nomenclature. Thank you for catching it. Hal Jespersen 22:03, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

MILHIST Assessment
I have assessed this as start class because it fails both reference and completeness criteria. first, the page needs more in-text citations. Secondly, it also lacks sufficient information about his early life, which may very well be hard to find, his career as a politician before the war, and as governor after the war, which shouldn't be that hard to find. It would be nice if some more information could be added about his command and actions during the war, probably creating individual sub-sections for the major skirmishes.  Sniperz 11 C @ S 10:15, 21 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I noticed the assessment of grammar problems via a category. I have reviewed this again and there are no significant grammar issues. If you find any, either fix them or describe them on this page. Thanks. Hal Jespersen (talk) 00:48, 14 February 2009 (UTC)