As We Waited for Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., to Arrive Late One Fall

John Tucker Interpreting Slavery and Civil Rights at Fort Sumter National Monument

s we waited for Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., to arrive late one fall day in 1997, we wondered aloud as to the real purpose of his visit. To my knowledge, never before had a twentieth-century African American congressman representing a Northern state set foot on Fort Sumter— Amuch less any congressman from Illinois. As with any good bureaucratic system, the park received calls from other Civil War battlefield superintendents as Jackson traveled through Georgia following the trail of General William Tecumseh Sherman traveled some 133 years past. As he moved about the South, we heard about his impression of the battlefields and the ongoing interpretive efforts. Was Jackson planning to lay waste to these park interpretive efforts and the park managers? What would be his impression of Fort Sumter and the interpretive efforts underway? Would he be impressed with Fort Sumter and the story surrounding its important role in American history? Would the congressman chastise the staff for not accomplishing his agenda items? As is the case for most VIP tours, the congressman was running late. Fort Sumter National Monument Grand Army of the Republic in the was authorized in April 1948 by a sim- post-Civil War period. Most efforts by ple act of Congress. The legislation these patriotic and civic organizations states that the monument “shall be a focused on healing the division public national memorial commemo- between North and South. Reuniting rating historical events at or near Fort the country was a top priority.Military Sumter.” Without further direction parks were authorized to commemo- from Congress, the National Park Ser- rate the heroic events and deeds that vice (NPS) relied upon its staff to clar- occurred on the hallowed grounds ify the interpretive purposes for Fort where blood was spilled by both Sumter National Monument. Interpre- Northern and Southern soldiers. Con- tation consisted of guides leading gress had abandoned efforts at Recon- small groups to interesting spots with- struction in the South and lacked the in the fort. resolve necessary to guarantee the During this period, the NPS inter- rights of citizenship to newly freed pretive focus for battlefields was on slaves. The country was not ready for the “slice of time commemorative the social revolution reflected in the experience.” In all likelihood, this 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to approach to interpretation came out of the Constitution. The role of slavery the battlefield commemorations con- and the rights promised to black ducted by veteran’s groups such as the Americans were forgotten in the rush Sons of Confederate Veterans and the to reunify the country and memorial-

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 15 ize a brothers’ war. The nation’s mili- after Fort Sumter was authorized, the tary parks reflected this atmosphere. nation was again struggling in a very Mid-twentieth century America public fashion with questions of race was fraught with civil unrest as the and equality.From the adoption of the freedoms promised 100 years ago Constitution in 1787 to the 1950s, began to emerge. It was during this era questions of citizenship and equality of emerging civil rights that Fort were enmeshed in the power of poli- Sumter’s interpretive program began tics. Although the Civil War had freed to take shape. When NPS published the slaves and for a short time visited the first master plan for Fort Sumter in certain rights on them, by the turn of the 1950s, the fort’s interpretive pro- the twentieth century freedom was still gram was based on the 1860 election very limited for African Americans. of President Abraham Lincoln, the As the nation entered the 1960s, secession of South Carolina, and the Fort Sumter was preparing for the subsequent movement of Major Civil War Centennial in 1961. Fort Robert Anderson from Fort Moultrie Sumter was sitting in Charleston to Fort Sumter. The major focus was Harbor, surrounded by one of the on the initial Confederate attack of most conservative communities in the 1861 and the Federal bombardments nation, as slave descendants began of 1863 and 1864, known as the Siege demonstrating for their rights across of Charleston. These components America. The seriousness of segrega- made up the interpretive programs tion was highlighted by events of the offered at the fort. Civil War Centennial Commission in During the following decade, once Charleston: the archeology was completed, perma- The manner in which those controver- nent exhibit facilities were needed to sies and disputes could generate an atmosphere bearing at least some enhance the visitor experience at Fort resemblance to a century earlier was Sumter. A new museum was con- illustrated at Charleston, South structed with Mission 66 funding in Carolina, in April of 1961, at the com- the disappearing gun position of Bat- memoration of the centennial of the tery Huger—an Endicott Battery com- beginning of hostilities at Fort Sumter. For that occasion, the Civil pleted in 1899. But the focus of inter- War Centennial Commission, an offi- pretation did not appreciably expand cial body established by act of with the museum exhibits. The events Congress, had arranged a “national of 1861 and the bombardments of assembly” of centennial organiza- 1863-64 remained the central inter- tions of the various States. When a Negro woman member of the New pretive themes. Throughout the Jersey Centennial Commission report- 1970s and 1980s, interpretation ed that she had been denied a room changed little at Fort Sumter. at the headquarters hotel in Clearly, two major influences were Charleston because of her race, the at work during the early years of Fort Commissions of several “Northern” States announced that they would not Sumter National Monument. First, as take part in the assembly at articulated by Thomas J. Pressly,was a Charleston. At the insistence of the “climate of opinion.” Immediately President of the United States, the

16 The George Wright FORUM Figure 1. Mission 66 exhibit at Fort Sumter. National Park Service photo. place of meeting was transferred to The second major influence origi- the nearby non-segregated United nated with the commemorative activi- States naval base. Thereupon, the ties of both North and South after the members of the South Carolina Centennial Commission, almost as if war. Efforts to honor family heroes they had read the stage directions and comrades-in-arms led the nation from a script written in 1860-1861, to view battles as important events seceded from the national representing gallant behavior. It would Commission. Ultimately, two com- have been far more difficult for memoration meetings were held, one under the auspices of the national America to discuss the causes of the Commission at the naval base, and a war and the still-unfulfilled guarantees second meeting at the original head- of citizenship. Similarly, the National quarters hotel sponsored by “The Park Service followed this course Confederate States Centennial throughout most of the 20th century. Conference.” It thus seemed possible to re-create in the United States of the Park rangers preferred to discuss bat- 1960’s a recognizable facsimile of tlefield strategy and gallant actions by the climate of opinion of the 1860’s, fallen heroes rather than discuss the even if the occasion itself was actions and events that truly led to the momentous only as a symbol.1 opening shot at Fort Sumter. To further confound the issue, in It was in this climate that Fort Sumter the 1970s NPS issued a new master began forming its interpretative pro- plan for Fort Sumter. In this plan gram. much of the emphasis was on Fort

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 17 Moultrie to ready it for the bicentenni- long before Congress or the NPS al of the nation. It is interesting that Washington office identified it as a Fort Moultrie was to be developed need. Interpretive efforts such as those much as an outdoor museum depict- begun at Fort Sumter in the early ing seacoast defenses from 1776 to 1990s were reflected in many Civil 1947. However, “Fort Sumter on the War sites around the country. other hand, will be maintained and Washington supported these individ- interpreted for public use and enjoy- ual park efforts. NPS regional offices ment as a ‘slice of time’— [a] singular- helped formalize the efforts with a ly significant period during the 200 multi-regional conference of battle- years of coastal fortifications that is field superintendents, held in found in the history of the Civil War at Nashville during the summer of 1997. Charleston.”2 Still the fundamental In this new environment, the inter- question of why the war started in pretation at Fort Sumter began to Charleston was not answered. change. At the beginning of the last Fort Sumter and Charleston’s re- decade, the park interpretive program evaluation of the Civil War could not consisted of Lincoln’s election and the wait any longer. With the election of Civil War era. Interpretive staffing was Mayor Joseph P. Riley in 1975, marginally sufficient to keep the visitor Charleston would soon recognize that use sites open on a day-to-day basis. its early economy was actually based The park did not have a historian on on rice, not “King Cotton.” From this staff. When the question “Why did the understanding, Charlestonians have nation separate?” was asked, it could begun to realize that highly skilled not be adequately answered. slaves were imported from the Gold Another of the driving forces in the Coast of Africa to cultivate the many Fort Sumter interpretive plan was a rice fields of the Lowcountry, making need to change the vintage Mission 66 large profits for the planter class. The exhibits that had served the park since revelation that African slaves were not 1961. The exhibit space did not meet imported just for their laboring ability the basic Life Safety Code, nor was it but for their intellect as well has made fully accessible. In addition, it was rec- a significant difference in presenting ognized that “the exhibits have a very the story of the Atlantic slave trade. narrow focus on Civil War events What has long been obvious in acade- 1861-65, with little information on the mia and confirmed by oral traditions is constitutional issues of the preceding finally making its way into the streets. decades that led to the conflict. In the Now we all can learn about the contri- same manner, the significance of ante- butions of our ancestors. bellum Charleston as a powerful and By the 1990s, NPS interpretive independent social, economic, and rangers were beginning to make a re- political force is not emphasized.”3 evaluation of the role of holistic inter- The objective outlined in the interpre- pretation in programming within the tive plan was to “enhance public national parks. Those responsible for understanding of the social, econom- interpretation began this re-evaluation ic, and political events leading up to

18 The George Wright FORUM the Civil War.”4 From this exercise, ship. New exhibit text and graphics three basic questions arose: Why did includes an introductory section that the nation separate? What role did deals with the growth of sectionalism, Fort Sumter play in the Civil War? antebellum politics, and slavery as the What will the visitor see at Fort causes of secession and war. Most of Sumter today? the exhibit remains site-specific, deal- The 1960s-era museum at Fort ing with topics such as the fort’s con- Sumter was redone by park staff in the struction, people and events leading to early 1990s. Completed in 1995, the the firing of the first shot of the Civil new museum retained many of the War, and what happened to the fort treasured artifacts that were a part of during the ensuing war. A section was the old museum, exhibited in fresh added on the participation of African surroundings with a more sweeping Americans in the war, highlighting the story line. Blocking out damaging sun- role of the 54th Massachusetts on light and providing handicap accessi- nearby Morris Island. bility were important priorities An even more ambitious exhibit designed to safeguard artifacts and project began in the fall of 1999 with improve the visitor experience. exhibit planning for the new Fort Another high priority was bringing Sumter tour boat facility at Liberty the text in line with current scholar- Square. The new building was sched-

Figure 2. 1990s renovation of exhibits. National Park Service photo.

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 19 Figure 3. Liberty Square ferry terminal. National Park Service photo. uled to open in June 2001. Here was Prior to the planned opening of the the opportunity to prepare the visitor new tour boat facility, the flag would for the Fort Sumter experience on the be treated and placed in a permanent mainland before boarding the ferry. container for exhibit. Secondly, the Decades earlier, planning had begun new dock facility exhibit would to locate a new Fort Sumter departure emphasize the causes leading to the site in downtown Charleston. First outbreak of the Civil War. The conceived in 1961, it was not to be a exhibits at Fort Sumter would contin- reality until 40 years later. Two major ue to provide interpretation regarding objectives were included at the outset the events of the war in Charleston of the 1990s planning effort. One, the Harbor. original garrison flag would be dis- About the same time, NPS direc- played in the new facility.The garrison tors such as Roger Kennedy began to flag that flew over Fort Sumter from challenge the field ranger to do a better December 26, 1860, until April 11, job of relating sites to the changing 1861, had been on display at the fort demographics in America. Director from 1961 until 1980. It was removed Kennedy wanted the parks to better and sent to the NPS conservation cen- meet the needs of the American popu- ter in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. lation by the year 2000. We were

20 The George Wright FORUM encouraged to not repeat the mistakes 3. We will seek to make the story inter- of 1970s environmental education by esting to the visitor. preparing “stand-alone” programs but 4. We will seek to share with all visitors the exclusiveness and plurality that rather to fully integrate interpretive the park’s story represents. efforts with professional scholarship. 5. We will ensure that the story is factu- The parks were encouraged to step al and based upon the highest-quali- into the professional community to ty research available.5 discuss interpretive ideas and One of the first major efforts to approaches taken in the parks to pro- begin implementing a broader vide visitor understanding. approach to Civil War interpretation Parks were looking for ways to in parks began with a conference in ensure full implementation of a new Nashville originally intended to dis- interpretive effort centered around the cuss external land issues surrounding concept of holistic interpretation. parks. However, the managers repre- After the 1994 reorganization of the sented there chose to include propos- national park management system, als for interpreting Civil War battle- parks were aligned within geographic fields in the conference proceedings groups called “clusters.” Fort Sumter and recommendations. The published was a park of the Atlantic Coast findings captured the basis for most Cluster. During a meeting of park Civil War interpretation. “We have managers representing the twenty-four replaced the reminiscences of return- parks in the cluster, the managers real- ing veterans with the interpretation ized that, thematically, these parks stressing military tactics and strategy could not be easily linked because of they so loved. In so doing, we have for- the multitude and variety of interpre- gotten that the audience of the veter- tive themes arrayed among them— ans knew the context of the war. We themes that were themselves represen- often do not provide adequate context tative of a geographic diversity that for the site-related stories we tell.”6 As ranges from Cape Hatteras south to a result of this thoughtful observation, Cape Canaveral and inland to a guiding principle was developed to Tuskegee, Alabama. However, the help with interpreting the Civil War: parks could be linked through honest and forthright interpretation at each Battlefield interpretation must establish the site’s particular place in the site that included all people and all continuum of war, illuminate the themes appropriate to each park. So in social, economic, and cultural issues May of 1998 each superintendent in that caused or were affected by the the Atlantic Coast Cluster agreed to war, illustrate the breadth of human five principles: experience during the period, and establish the relevance of the war to 1. We will enlighten our visitors with a people today.... They [museum, his- holistic interpretive experience, well toric sites, and classrooms] should told and rooted in the park’s com- spark or encourage or provide a per- pelling story. sonal journey of historical inquiry.... 2. We will not be deterred by controver- Changing perceptions about the past, sy in presenting the park’s com- broadening our understanding of pelling story. what history is and how it is construct-

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 21 ed, is at the core of our profession.7 er interpretation at Civil War battlefields. Some still believe that the war Soon following the Nashville con- was about glory and battle tactics and ference, several major events hap- should remain a “slice of time” com- pened in the National Park Service memorating the events and men who that would have a lasting impact on the played them out on the battlefield. way Civil War history is interpreted. Others “begged to differ” on the caus- With Congressman Jackson’s visit and es of the war, referring to “states’ subsequent legislation, the efforts of rights” versus “slavery” as the real many in the National Park System to cause. This is illustrated in a letter change interpretation came to the fore- from Dwight Pitcaithley, chief histori- front. In an NPS report to Congress, an of the National Park Service, to a Interpretation at Civil War Sites (pub- concerned citizen who had objected to lished in 2000), an overview of current NPS’s interpretation at Civil War bat- NPS Civil War site interpretation was tlefields and raised two points often included. debated in the public arena. “Your let- A review of the survey reveals that ter,” Pitcaithley wrote, “raises two there is room for improvement in all concerns.” categories including exhibits, way- sides, films, web sites, publications The first is that Civil War battlefields and personal service programs. Some were established so that future gener- Civil War sites clearly are covering the ations could learn about military causes of the Civil War better that oth- actions and remember and honor the ers. In general there is a desire on the men who fought in these special part of battlefield managers to places.... Your second concern is that improve all areas of interpretation. the National Park Service should not This desire is thwarted primarily by address causes of the war at these limited staff and resources in relation- places and that, in any event, slavery ship to the amount of media that was not the immediate cause of the needs to be made current both tech- war.9 nically and academically.8 Pitcaithley went on to point out that The next major step in battlefield NPS will continue to provide the his- interpretation was “Rally on the High tory of Civil War battles. This is a fun- Ground,” a conference held in Wash- damental part of the need for battle- ington, D.C., on May 8 and 9, 2000. field interpretation. In reference to the In the introduction, Congressman second concern, he went on to say: Jackson’s legislative language was National Park Service interpretive pro- noted. It directed the Secretary of the grams throughout the country are Interior “to encourage Civil War battle designed to explain what happened sites to recognize and include in all of at a particular park, discuss why it their public displays and multimedia happened, and assess its significance. We do this at parks as diverse educational presentations the unique as presidential birthplaces, the site of role that the institution of slavery the battle of the Little Bighorn and at played in causing the Civil War.” the U.S.S. ARIZONA in Pearl Harbor. Although simple in content, it has Understanding why an event hap- raised a public debate regarding prop- pened is essential to making mean- ingful an event as tragic as the

22 The George Wright FORUM American Civil War. It is also impor- within NPS had evolved since the tant to distinguish between the caus- park’s 1974 master plan was issued. es of the war and the reasons why By the early 1990s it became apparent individuals, North and South, fought. The first has to do with political inter- that development pressures surround- est and leadership while the second ing the park and a dramatic increase in stems from varied political, personal, visitation necessitated changing park and individual responses to the management. No longer could Fort unfolding secession crisis.10 Sumter sit on the sidelines with a lim- Last year, the National Park System ited presence in Charleston. Following Advisory Board’s report Rethinking a management objective workshop in the National Parks for the 21st November 1994, the park began real Century made these observations of planning that would lead to a new gen- the National Park Service: eral management plan (GMP) for Fort The public looks upon national parks Sumter. More than twenty-five organi- almost as a metaphor for America zations and individuals were invited to itself. But there is another image participate in this workshop and sub- emerging here, a picture of a National sequent public planning efforts. Park Service as a sleeping giant— The new GMP provides guidance beloved and respected, yes, but per- haps too cautious, too resistant to to establish and direct the overall man- change, too reluctant to engage the agement, development, and uses in challenges that must be addressed in ways that will best serve visitors while the 21st century.11 preserving the historic resources con- In other words, it is time for the Park tained within the park. In addition to Service to move out of the “box.” To planning elements, the document con- do this, the Advisory Board recom- tains a statement of the park’s mission mended two specific items very perti- and of its compelling story. The mis- nent to battlefield interpretation. NPS sion statement reads: should: Fort Sumter National Monument • Embrace its mission, as educator, to commemorates defining moments become a more significant part of in American history within a military America’s educational system by continuum spanning more than a providing formal and informal pro- century and a half. Two seacoast for- grams for students and learners of tifications preserve and interpret all ages inside and outside park these stories. At Fort Moultrie, the boundaries. first American naval victory over the • Encourage the study of the American British in 1776 galvanized the patri- past, developing programs based on ot’s cause for independence. Less current scholarship, linking specific than a century later, America’s most places to the narrative of our history, tragic conflict ignited with the first shots of the Civil War at Fort and encouraging a public explo- 13 ration and discussion of America’s Sumter. 12 experience. The GMP is not an action plan. It was in this context that Fort Action plans emanate from the GMP. Sumter National Monument was For interpretive actions, the compre- rethinking its overall management hensive interpretive plan is prepared efforts as well. Long-range planning and a long-range interpretive plan is Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 23 developed. During the GMP effort, History provides us with defining the park staff also prepared the park’s moments from which we judge where compelling story. The compelling we are with where we have been. The Civil War provides the United States story is used to succinctly tell the with one of its critical defining importance of the resources protected moments that continues to play a and is at the heart of the interpretive vital role in defining ourselves as a effort. It is used to train rangers Nation. Fort Sumter is the place regarding the importance of site-spe- where it began. America’s most tragic conflict cific resources and is a significant part ignited at Fort Sumter on April 12, of the foundation for defining the 1861, when a chain reaction of

Figure 4. Panorama of Liberty Square. National Park Service photo. park’s interpretive themes. It focuses social, economic, and political events the park’s message on the essential, exploded into civil war. At the heart of most relevant stories the site has to tell these events was the issue of states’ and how these stories fit into a larger rights versus federal authority. Fueled by decades of fire and con- scientific, historic, social, and eco- frontation, South Carolina seceded in nomic context. Every visitor should protest of Lincoln’s election and the receive the compelling story prior to social and economic changes sure to his or her departure from the park. follow. With Fort Sumter as an This is Fort Sumter’s compelling unyielding bastion of Federal authority, the war became inevitable. story: A powerful symbol to both the

24 The George Wright FORUM South and the North, Fort Sumter explore the advancements of this ideal remains a memorial to all who fought from our birth as a nation through the to hold it.14 Civil Rights movement in the twenti- With these documents underway or eth century. This idea was developed completed, the park embarked on a when Mayor Riley suggested the cen- mission to answer the burning ques- tral fountain in the Liberty Square tion, Why did the nation separate? complex be dedicated to Septima As work began on the exhibits, the Clark (1898-1987), a lifelong educator question of what to name the new and civil rights activist. Clark lived in facility arose. Since the site was devel- Charleston and worked closely with oped in partnership with the city of Dr. Martin Luther King to extend real Charleston, applying a name by either voting rights to the African American organization would likely have result- populations in the South. One of the ed in “Aquarium Park” or “Fort quotes to be used at the fountain is Sumter Park.” However, Mayor from Clark: “Hating people, bearing Joseph Riley and the author agreed at hate in your heart, even though you the outset to eliminate either of these may feel that you have been ill-treated, extremes and look for something in never accomplishes anything good.... the middle ground. Out of these joint Hate is only a canker that destroys.”15 efforts came the name “Liberty” as From this, a draft long-range inter- suggested by Robert Rosen, a pretive plan was completed for Liberty Charleston historian and lawyer. Square and work began to implement “Square” was added to the name to its recommendations. differentiate between terms used with- Liberty Square is also important as in NPS (such as “Park”) that might an appropriate location for the inter- confuse the general public as to the pretation of liberty, a broad, regional role the site plays in Fort Sumter theme in terms of Charleston’s peo- National Monument. Today the devel- ple, geography, and nearly four cen- opment site is known as “Liberty turies of European and African set- tlement. Here, visitors will learn Square.” about people and events associated As it turned out, this choice of with the liberty theme expressed at name was fortunate since the word any number of locations, including “Liberty” became a unifying concept Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Moultrie, and Charles Pinckney that finally brought into focus the 16 interpretive themes of Charles National Historic Site. Pinckney National Historic Site, Fort With this charge the staff chose to use Moultrie, and Fort Sumter National fixed media in the landscaped area to Monument under a single umbrella. A highlight contributions to America’s main objective for the new develop- liberties from the Constitution era to ment site was to provide a gateway for modern times. With the basic under- the NPS in Charleston as well as to standing that generally only white other NPS sites in the area. Liberty male property-owners over 21 years of Square was able to do just that. age had any real liberties in 1787, the The word “Liberty” also provided staff began to look at other moments in a platform that allowed the staff to history to identify those who made

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 25 significant contributions to expanding Charleston in particular. the cause of liberty. Thirteen quota- The next planning meeting at the tions from authors such as Harriet park was in February 2000. Park staff Tubman, Benjamin Franklin, W.E.B. met with exhibit designer Krister Du Bois, Pearl S. Buck, and others are Olmon from California; Anita Smith, found on bronze markers scattered the contracting officer and exhibit throughout outdoor garden rooms of designer from the NPS Harpers Ferry Liberty Square. Each marker invites Interpretive Center; NPS staff from the visitor to reflect on the meanings of the Denver Service Center; and histo- liberty. An introductory marker by rian Marie Tyler-McGraw of the NPS NPS Chief Historian Pitcaithley History Office in Washington, D.C. reads: An outline and major themes came out In 1776 this nation embarked on a of this meeting. Tyler-McGraw com- great experiment, an experiment pleted the initial research and writing based on the self-evident truth that for content development. Park staff “all men are created equal.” It has not also submitted research materials and been a steady progression, there have been many bumps in the road, but potential graphics to Olmon that were along the way this country’s sense of incorporated in his concept package. equality and liberty and justice have Exactly two years later, in February been expanded to include a broad 2002, the exhibits were finally range of people, people not originally installed. The interim period was envisioned in that original Declaration of Independence. The past, like the filled with five major text revisions and present, was filled with choices. We numerous editorial changes, graphic are not accountable for decisions selection and acquisition, and peer made by those who came before. We review as park staff writing exhibit text do have a responsibility to study those grappled with sensitive topics in a decisions and learn from them, to understand them in context of those politically charged atmosphere. times, and to apply the lessons Assigning both a military historian learned to better nurture this experi- and a social historian to editing and ment in democracy we call the United writing the text meant that while it States. would be a cumbersome and at times The exhibit plan for the new Fort contentious process, the end product Sumter visitor education center and would satisfy diverse interests. And dock facility at Liberty Square evolved this has happened. The use of lan- out of a fall 1999 meeting between guage and graphics has been painfully park staff and NPS personnel from the examined. Terms such as “enslaved Denver Service Center and Harpers Africans,” “slaves,” “free persons of Ferry Design Center. The interior color,” and “African Americans” were exhibits would provide orientation used with the knowledge that the and enticement to visit the fort, exhib- exhibits will date themselves to 2001. it and interpret the Garrison flag, and The staff has used images of scarred interpret the causes of the Civil War, backs as well as an enslaved body ser- with a special emphasis on the role of vant armed to fight for the slavery in America and the role of Confederacy; they have incorporated

26 The George Wright FORUM women’s voices and used first-person and Pitcaithley were also instrumental quotes to flesh out the narrative. The in refining the text. Everyone on the voices calling for secession were very park staff had an opportunity to cri- open about what institution they felt tique the drafts. The problem with was threatened. getting park historians to write exhibit The final product closely resem- text is that they tend to be wordy and bled the original outline. Entitled nitpicky. Further, writing by commit- “The First Shot: What Brought the tee can end up destroying any flow in Nation to Civil War at Fort Sumter?”, the material. After all the agonizing the exhibit contains six sections, pro- and creative work, a product has been gressing from the wide Atlantic world produced that will engage the visiting of colonial times to the specific site of public. Fort Sumter in 1861. The sections are As the draft progressed, the project titled “Colonial Roots of the Conflict,” attracted the interest of local politi- “Ambiguities of the Constitution,” cians who wanted to review the park’s “Antebellum United States,” federal viewpoint of the “Recent “Charleston in 1860,” “South Caroli- Unpleasantness.” So far, the percep- na Declares its Independence,” and tion has passed muster. But there are “Fort Sumter: Countdown to Con- rumblings. A week after the opening of flict.” The introductory text reads: the exhibits in mid-August 2001, a When the Civil War finally exploded in young woman darted into the exhibit Charleston Harbor, it was the result of hall and took a photograph of the large a half-century of growing sectionalism. Escalating crises over property 20x36 replica of Major Anderson’s rights, human rights, states rights and 33-star garrison flag. The large flag constitutional rights divided the coun- hangs above the fragile original lying try as it expanded westward. Underly- in a protective case to illustrate the size ing all the economic, social and politi- of the flag as it flew over Fort Sumter in cal rhetoric was the volatile question of slavery. Because its economic life 1861. The woman told the ranger on had long depended on enslaved duty: “We will be back to protest the labor, South Carolina was the first size of that flag.” Since the September state to secede when this way of life 11th attacks, no one has complained was threatened. Confederate forces about the size of that U.S. flag. fired the first shot in South Carolina. The federal government responded Interpretation at Liberty Square with force. Decades of compromise has taken on a “shakedown” mode as were over. The very nature of the 17 operations begin to approach 100%. Union was at stake. Ferries began departing the site on The input of Walter Edgar of the August 15, 2001. Permanent exhibit University of South Carolina and installation was completed on Febru- Bernard Powers of the College of ary 22, 2002. During the intervening Charleston was invaluable. They both months, between the time the facility reviewed the text over their semester opened and the permanent exhibits breaks during Christmas 2000 and were installed, full-scale vinyl color offered insightful suggestions to prints of each permanent exhibit were improve the content. Tyler-McGraw hung on temporary plywood frames.

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 27 Figure 5. The 33-Star Garrison Flag. National Park Service photo. This gave visitors a chance to see and copy of the text dealing with the Con- comment on the exhibit program prior stitution’s treatment of slavery,and of a to its production. Several comments Library of Congress photograph of an were received, ranging from glowing enslaved family. He wanted to take the to condemning. Most were positive, documents home and show his grand- appreciative, and constructive. But children. then there was the indignant professor Historian Gaines Foster is quoted from an unnamed university “from in Interpretation at Civil War Sites, off” who also resides in the fair city of the 2000 NPS report to Congress: Charleston. He wrote a blistering cri- The rapid healing of national divisions tique in a letter to the editor of the and damaged southern self-image ... local newspaper, referring to the “ten- came at the cost of deriving little dentious text,” “single-visioned inter- insight or wisdom from the past. pretation,” and “biased political agen- Rather than looking at the war as a 18 tragic failure and trying to understand da.” The lack of Confederate flags it or even condemn it, Americans, on exhibit caused him to urge readers North and South, chose to view it as a to send letters of protest to Interior glorious time to be celebrated. Most Secretary Gale Norton. On the other ignored the fact that the nation failed to resolve the debate over the nature hand, an elderly black man asked for a of the Union and to eliminate the con-

28 The George Wright FORUM tradictions between its egalitarian time and time again. It was obvious: ideals and the institution of slavery Jackson had done his homework. without resort to a bloody civil war. Instead, they celebrated the War’s tri- The Civil War still molds and umphant nationalism and martial shapes opinions about people and sec- glory.19 tions of the country. Its influence reigns over the country as an unseen Change is difficult. Even for the spirit. The war was not an isolated dedicated staff assembled at Fort event that occurred 140 years ago and Sumter, changing Civil War interpre- is now forgotten. The politics of the tation was difficult. Each of us brings war and its repercussions remain with to the table a particular set of experi- us and influence us every day,from the ences, differing education, and varied president to the homeless drug addict cultural backgrounds depending on to sleeping on a park bench. It is time for whom we were born, where we lived, us to understand and place in perspec- and how we were educated. Much has tive the American Civil War. been done over the past ten years to implement an expanded interpretive National Park Service interpreta- program. It has involved increasing tion began at Fort Sumter during a staff understanding and perception period of major civil strife and demon- and broadening our community part- stration. Fifty years hence, that inter- nerships. The staff has participated in pretation is clearly articulating the conferences, training programs, dedi- causes of the war in an open forum cations, special resource studies, sen- never before seen in the NPS. Times sitivity sessions, and diverse cultural have changed, staff have changed, and events to help with the transition. understanding and appreciation have Today the staff sits on the “point of the changed as well. Maybe 50 years from sword” for the National Park Service now we will finally grasp the impor- doing its job. They are prepared to tell tance of the Civil War in American life. the story faithfully, completely, and Today, the park has made many accurately. changes to expand its interpretive pro- In 1997, as Congressman Jackson gramming. Revisions have occurred walked through the Fort Sumter muse- with the introductory program for the um exhibit, he noted the introductory visitor to Fort Sumter, exhibits in the panel outlining slavery and the war. Fort Sumter Museum, the NPS hand- He smiled and said, “Good.” Then book for Fort Sumter, the Fort Sumter followed three hours of debate and brochure, as well as the production of discussion as we stood on the Fort many site bulletins. Minority visitation Sumter parade ground. Our thoughts, has increased from two to seven per- beliefs, and opinions were challenged cent. But much remains to be done.

[Ed. note: this paper was originally presented at the Organization of American Historians / National Council on Public History annual meeting, April 2002, Washington, D.C.]

Volume 19 • Number 4 2002 29 Endnotes 1. Pressly, Americans Interpret, p. 8. 2 National Park Service, Master Plan, Fort Sumter National Monument, 1974, p. 2. 3. National Park Service, Interpretive Prospectus, 1990: Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Moultrie and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, p. 5. 4. Ibid., p. 9. 5. National Park Service, Atlantic Coast Cluster agreement, July 15, 1998. 6. National Park Service, draft Nashville Cconference summary, “Holding the High Ground,” August 1998, p. 8. 7. Ibid., p. 8. Draft Nashville conference summary, “Holding the High Ground,” August 1998, p. 8 8. National Park Service, Interpretation at Civil War Sites: A Report to Congress, March 2000, p. 5. 9. Official correspondence from Dwight Pitcaithley to Ms. Lee, October 24, 2000. 10. Ibid. 11. National Park System Advisory Board, Rethinking the National Parks for the 21st Century (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society), p. 8. 12. Ibid., p. 65. 13. National Park Service, General Management Plan, 1998, p. 17. 14. Ibid., p. 40. 15. Fort Sumter National Monument park files. 16. National Park Service, “Draft Long-Range Interpretive Plan,” p. 3. 17. Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center Exhibit text, Liberty Square, 2001. 18. Letter to the editor, Charleston Post & Courier, Charleston, S.C., September 7, 2001. 19. Interpretation at Civil War Sites, p. 44.

References Beck, Larry, and Ted Cable. Interpretation for the 21st Century. Champaign, Ill.: Sagamore Publishing, 1998. Causey,M. Lander, and Beth G. Causey. Fort Sumter—Fort Moultrie. Mt. Pleasant: Holt Publishing, 1966. Comstock, Rock L., Jr. “Short History, Fort Sumter.” Unpublished paper, 1956. Fort Sumter National Monument library. Catton, Bruce. America Goes to War: The Civil War and its Meaning in American Culture. Hanover, N.H.: Wesleyan University Press, 1958. ———. The American Heritage Short History of the Civil War. New York: Dell, 1967. Donald, David. Divided We Fought. New York: Macmillan, 1952. Edgar, Walter B. South Carolina: A History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. Everhart, William C. The National Park Service. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1983. Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. Fort Sumter National Monument. Interpretive Tour, Master Plan. NM-SMM 2007C. Charleston, S.C.: Fort Sumter National Monument, 1959. ———. The Master Plan, Revised. NM-SUM 3001A. Charleston, S.C.: Fort Sumter National Monument, 1965. ———. Master Plan. Charleston, S.C.: Fort Sumter National Monument, 1974. ———. Interpretive Prospectus, 1990: Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Moultrie and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. Charleston, S.C.: Fort Sumter National Monument, 1990. ———. Fort Sumter Museum exhibit text, 1995. ———. General Management Plan. Charleston, S.C.: Fort Sumter National Monument, 1998. ———. Long Range Interpretive Plan, Liberty Square. Charleston, S.C.: Fort Sumter National Monument, 1999. ———. Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center exhibit text, 2001. National Park Service. Atlantic Coast Cluster agreement, July 15, 1998. ———. Draft Nashville Conference, “Holding the High Ground,” August 1998. ———. Interpretation at Civil War Sites: A Report to Congress. Washington, D.C.: NPS, March 2000. ———. Washington History Office correspondence, various dates. National Park System Advisory Board. Rethinking the National Parks for the 21st Century. Washington, D.C. National Geographic Society, 2001. Pressly, Thomas J. Americans Interpret Their Civil War. New York: Free Press, 1962. Pollard, Edward A. Southern History of the War. 1977 facsimile of 1866 edition, Fort Sumter National

30 The George Wright FORUM Monument library. Robertson, James I., Jr. The Concise History: Illustrated History of the Civil War. Harrisburg, Pa.: Telegraph Press, 1972. Tilden, Freeman. Interpreting Our Heritage. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967.

John Tucker, Fort Sumter National Monument, 1214 Middle Street, Sullivans Island, South Carolina 29482-9748; [email protected] 1

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