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THE PURPOSE OF THE Sons of Confederate Veterans AS STATED IN THE SCV CONSTITUTION What are the purposes of the SCV as defined in the Constitution of the organization? The mission of the SCV is found in the Preamble of the Constitution, which reads as follows: "In the name of a reunited country, the Sons of Confederate Veterans declare the following purposes: An unquestioned allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, largely written and expounded by Southern men, the very Magna Carta of our liberties; a strict construction of all sections conferring power upon the Federal Government and the implied and understood reservations to the States arising therefrom and a general attitude of opposition to further amendment thereof. We adhere to the principles of the Great Charter of England granted at Runnymede, 1215 A.D., and the Anglo-Saxon rights and personal liberties transmitted to us thereunder; to associate in one united, compact body all men of Confederate ancestry and to cultivate, perpetuate and sanctify the ties of fraternity and friendship entailed thereby; to aid and encourage the recording and teaching with impartiality of all Southern history and achievement from Jamestown to this present era, seeing to it especially that the events of the War Between the States are authentically and clearly written and that all documents, relics and mementos produced and handed down by the active participants therein are properly treasured and preserved for posterity; to comfort, succor and assist needy Sons of Confederate Veterans, their wives, widows and orphans; to urge, aid and assist in the erection of suitable and enduring monuments and memorials to all Southern valor, military and civil, wherever done and wherever found, particularly stressing that of our heroic Confederate ancestors who, by their sacrifice, perpetuated unto us and our descendants that glorious heritage of valor, chivalry and honor which we now hold and venerate; and to instill in our descendants a devotion to and reverence for the principles represented by the Confederate States of America, to the honor, glory and memory of our fathers who fought in that Cause. Therefore, we, the representatives of the Camps, in Convention, do adopt, ordain and establish this amended Constitution which was first adopted, ordained and established in Richmond, Virginia on the first day of July 1896." The nature of the organization is further defined in the Constitution in Article II, which reads as follows: "Section 1. The Sons of Confederate Veterans shall be strictly patriotic, historical, educational, benevolent, non-political, non-racial and non-sectarian. Each member shall perform his full duty as a citizen according to his own conscience and understanding." |
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What about General Stephen D. Lee’s Charge? General Stephen D. Lee was commander of the United Confederate Veterans in 1906 when he addressed the group at their reunion in New Orleans. Lee’s speech focused on three goals for the UCV – "... the erection of public monuments to our Confederate dead ..., passing the remainder of our days in such wise that nothing we shall do will bring shame and regret that we also were Confederate soldiers ..., and last of all, let us remember our less prosperous comrades." He then continued the tradition of his predecessors by concluding his speech with references to the ladies of the Memorial Association whom are "... given the service of commemorating the soldier’s virtues in the hearts of those who come after us ...", the United Daughters of the Confederacy whom are given "... the loving service of remembering the Confederate dead and of ministering to the living ...", and the Sons of Confederate Veterans whom "... we submit the vindication of the Cause for which we fought; to your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier’s good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish." Lee’s remarks to the Sons have become known as his Charge to the SCV. General M.C. Butler of Hampton’s Cavalry addressed the Chester Confederate Reunion in 1899 with these remarks: "I greet you, my old Confederate friends, with sincere affection of a devoted comrade who has shared with you the glories of successful battle under the Starry Cross and the sorrows and gloom of undeserved defeat. And to the Sons of Veterans, worthy sons of worthy sires, I congratulate you on the heritage you have in the prestige of your fathers, and commend their splendid records as soldiers and citizens to your jealous guardianship. A few years more and there will be nothing of them left except the sacred memories of their lives and the lofty example of their unselfish patriotism." |
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Save the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SSCV) is a movement within the Sons of Confederate Veterans that is comprised of SCV members. It is neither a competing nor an alternative organization. Our goal is to return the SCV to its honorable mission of promoting and defending the proud record of the Confederate soldier. Those SCV members among us, who are attempting to transform the SCV into a 21st century political action movement, dishonor the Confederate veterans who wrote the SCV constitution and defy the principles expressed by General S. D. Lee and other founders of our organization. The intent of our forefathers is as clear today as it was a century ago: to honor the Confederate soldier and to tell his story. Our founders never intended that the memory of the Confederate soldier should be redefined so as to fit into 21st century movements of racism and secessionism. The preamble of our constitution and our founders’ charge have been subjected to reinterpretation by modern-day extremists who wrap themselves in our flag and our history in an effort to gather support for their modern agenda of separatism and racism. To defeat this effort, the Sons of Confederate Veterans must develop a mission statement that will deliver our message to the world in clear and uncompromising terms. As a result of the damage already done to our image by the extremists, an SCV mission statement must declare both what we are and what we are not. We are history, heritage and honor; we are not modern-day political activists. Everything the SCV does should be evaluated in terms of our mission. There is no reason for the SCV to involve itself in the variety of political and social issues that face 21st century Americans. Our involvement in these issues only polarizes the public for or against the SCV along modern political lines. Thus, our mission of honoring the Confederate soldier is evaluated, not in terms of his worthiness but in terms of the perception of our political views. That perception is currently being shaped by individuals within the SCV who are more dedicated to racism, neo-secessionism and modern political change than they ever were to the memory of the Confederate soldier. Unsympathetic media often eagerly promote that perception. SSCV has developed a statement of our mission and a list of our core values. These are only the tools that will keep the SSCV directed toward restoring the SCV to its original purpose. Only then can the SCV pursue our ultimate goals of proudly representing the Confederate soldier in the modern world, restoring the symbols of the Confederacy to their rightful places of honor, and defending Confederate heritage from those who would usurp or demonize it for modern political gain. During the coming weeks and months, as we build support for Save the Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will seek your advice as to what elements the SCV mission statement to the world should contain. Think about what the SCV is and what it should be. Tell us what makes you proud to be the descendants of men who fought the good fight but lost; of men who went back to their homes and families and rebuilt their lives and their America; of men whose devotion and patriotism have been passed through the generations to us. |