Neo-Confederate

Neo-Confederate or Southern nationalist or Pro-Southern is a term used by some academics and political activists to describe the views of various groups and individuals who have a positive belief system concerning the historical experience of the Confederate States of America, the Southern secession, and the Southern United States. Neo-Confederacy usually expresses veneration for Confederate leaders, soldiers, writers, and other supporters for the Confederacy and its symbols. It advocates alternative interpretations of the Civil War, the history of the South, and American history in general, particularly the American founding. It sees the South as victims of war crimes and Constitutional violations by Lincoln, the North, and the Union armies. Neo-Confederacy is not a monolithic movement and has its factions and internal differences.

Confederate beliefs

 * Honor of the Confederacy and its veterans — Much of the Neo-Confederate movement is concerned with giving the proper due honor to the Confederacy itself, to the veterans of the Confederacy and Confederate veterans' cemeteries, to the various flags of the Confederacy, and to cultural Southern identity.


 * Economics — neo-Confederates usually advocate a free market economy which engages in significantly less taxation than currently found in the United States, and which does not revolve around fiat currencies such as the United States Dollar.


 * History — many neo-Confederates are openly critical of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln to varied degrees, and of the history of Reconstruction. Various authors have written critiques of Lincoln and the Union. Slavery is almost never defended. Critics often accuse Neo-Confederates of "revisionism" and of acting as "apologists".


 * Culture — many neo-Confederates promote an unabashed Christian culture. They support, for example, public displays of Christianity, such as "Ten Commandments" monuments and displays of the Christian cross. Almost all Neo-Confederates strongly support the right to keep and bear arms, present in both the United States Constitution and the Confederate States Constitution. Generally they oppose unmitigated illegal immigration of foreign nationals into Southern states. Some Neo-Confederates view the Civil War as a conflict between a secular North and an orthodox Christian South. Certain Neo-Confederates believe in a Celtic identity theory for residents of the South, with residents of the North being mostly English.


 * Secession — many neo-Confederates openly advocate the resecession of the Southern states and territories which comprised the old Confederate States of America. The League of the South, for example, promotes the "independence of the Southern people" from the "American empire". Most neo-Confederate groups do not seek violent revolution, but rather an orderly separation, such as was done in the division of Czechoslovakia. Many Neo-Confederate groups have prepared for what they view as a possible collapse of the federal United States into its 50 separate states, much like the Soviet Union collapsed, and believe the Confederacy can be resurrected at that time.


 * The Civil Rights Movement — many neo-Confederates adopt a typical paleoconservative view of the Civil Rights Movement.

Organizations labeled as neo-Confederate
The following groups either support neo-Confederate ideals,as defined by those who do not share their viewpoint, as defined in this article, or have been accused of being "neo-Confederate" or "pro-Confederate" by critical organizations.


 * League of the South


 * Southern Party


 * United Daughters of the Confederacy
 * Museum of the Confederacy


 * Sons of Confederate Veterans


 * American Renaissance


 * Council of Conservative Citizens


 * Southern Legal Resource Center


 * Southern Military Institute


 * Southern Partisan


 * The Political Cesspool