We’re coming up on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War — or, as they call it around these parts, the War of Northern Aggression or the War for Southern Independence.
Battlefields, reenactments, and other historical landmarks will be big tourist attractions over the next few years. But as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Radio & TV blog reports, The History Channel isn’t warming up to the perspective offered by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in this promotional video.
The History Channel has rejected proposed ad buys from the group.
The state division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has been running ads in various radio and TV outlets in Georgia including local stations in Atlanta and plans to do so for the next year, said Jack Bridwell, commander for the group, in an interview today.
“We were very careful in constructing the ads,” Bridwell continued. “The one thing they seem to be kicking on was the verbiage when we said the South was invaded. That seemed to bother them. We were invaded. We had legally separated from the union. We were a separate country. If they take offense to the truth, they are losing their reliability. It offends me they aren’t going to use it. I had been a big fan of the History Channel. I’ve quit watching it.”
I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this. It’ll be interesting to see if any of the southern states’ official tourism departments court Civil War buffs with similar overtures.