STATEMENT OF PAUL HOFFMAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, FISH AND WILDLIFE
AND PARKS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON
NATIONAL PARKS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, UNITED
STATES SENATE, CONCERNING S. 1064, A BILL TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION TO
COMMEMORATE THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES.

# April 27, 2004

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today
to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 1064, a
bill that would establish a commission to commemorate the
sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. The Department supports the
enactment of this legislation with some amendments outlined in our
testimony and believes that establishment of the commission would help
ensure that the lasting legacy of the Civil War is understood and
appreciated by all Americans.

S. 1064 would establish a Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration
Commission to cooperate with and assist States and national
organizations with programs and activities to ensure a suitable national
observance of the 150^th^ anniversary of the Civil War and to ensure
that the anniversary will have lasting educational value. It also
authorizes a grant program to specific institutions listed in the bill.

The Civil War was, in the words of Robert Penn Warren, "the great single
event of our history." It was a wrenching conflict that resulted in the
loss of 620,000 lives, the liberation of four million African American
slaves, and the ratification of three Constitutional amendments that
forever changed the face of American democracy. The Civil War ultimately
decided the supremacy of the Federal government over state sovereignty,
even though the issue of "states' rights" continues to be the subject of
both constitutional debate and arguments before the courts. The United
States by 1870 was a very different place from what it had been in 1861.
In 1865 Congress abolished slavery, in 1868 Congress declared the newly
freed men and women citizens of the United States, and in 1870 Congress
guaranteed their right to vote. The importance of the Civil War can be
fully understood only when one takes the long view and understands that
the political revolution wrought by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution was not fully realized for a century
after the events of April 1865 at Appomattox. S. 1064 is mindful of this
reality as it directs the Commission to recognize "the experiences and
points of view of all people affected by the Civil War," and provides
for the development of "programs, projects, and activities on the Civil
War that have lasting educational value."

As S.1064 acknowledges, the military aspects of the Civil War are
important events to commemorate. It is equally important, however, as we
prepare to reflect on the war from the vantage point of a century and a
half later, that we explore the causes of the conflict to understand
better how the democratic framework of the country failed to resolve the
sectional issues short of war. Likewise, we would be doing a disservice
to those who fought and fell, if the sesquicentennial did not fully
examine and reflect upon the consequences of the Civil War including not
only the Reconstruction era and its failure, but also the subsequent
constriction of equal rights for African American citizens, and the
ultimate achievement of those civil rights for the descendents of
enslaved peoples almost a century later. To that end, it would be
instructive to consider the efforts of the Centennial Commission of the
Civil War and its efforts to commemorate the war.

Most ignored the fact that the nation had failed to resolve the debate
over the nature of the Union and to eliminate the contradictions between
its equalitarian ideals and the institution of slavery without resort to
a bloody civil war. Instead, they celebrated the war's triumphant
nationalism and martial glory." This celebration of the war and its
memory was at the forefront of the events marking the centennial of the
war during the 1960s. Throughout all of the reenactments, parades, gala
balls, cake sales, and speeches, very little attention was paid to the
causes of the war or its lasting legacies, legacies that were vividly
playing out during the early 1960s in the form of freedom rides,
sit-ins, marches, and boycotts. The war was remembered primarily as a
symbol of military honor, reunification and reconciliation. In so doing,
according to Harvard University historian Oscar Handlin, the
commemoration "grotesquely distorted the actuality of the war as it had
been. And the continued preservation of that symbol also obscures the
surviving problems left by the war."

As the country approaches the 150th anniversary of the war, we are
mindful that it is a different country than it was fifty years ago. The
sesquicentennial of the war will be commemorated within a different
political and social environment from that of the centennial. The
meaning of the Civil War can be explored more fully. Its causes and
consequences, subjects Congress directed the National Park Service to
address beginning in 1989 and 1990, can and must be a major part of the
sesquicentennial.

The sesquicentennial should assume the broadest possible approach to
remembering and commemorating the war. However, this must be
accomplished with less funds for both the planning and implementation.
With that in mind, I respectfully urge this committee to consider the
following suggestions for strengthening S.1064 and making its
implementation more efficient and effective.

First, the bill emphasizes military history over other aspects of the
Civil War era. We recommend that additional states be considered to
provide the broadest possible presentation of the war and that other
scholarly centers and programs be added so that the social, political,
and economic aspects of the war receive equal emphasis. For example, the
Virginia Center for Digital History (University of Virginia) with its
*The Valley of the Shadow* project could contribute much to this effort.
Other entities that might logically be considered would include the
Center for Study of the American South and the Center for the Study of
Southern Culture. The Civil War was a national experience; its
sesquicentennial commemoration should likewise represent a broad
spectrum of the nation. In addition, we believe that section 7 of the
bill should be amended. We can get the best return for the taxpayer
money by establishing a discretionary program that awards grants through
a competitive process and does not specify in advance who should receive
funds. As these organizations are leaders in Civil War history, they
would likely compete well for grants without a statutory earmark.

Second, respecting the importance of the appointments to this nationally
important commission, we recommend that the bill allow for 180 days
instead of sixty days for the selection of the commission members, and
that those selections be made by the Secretary of the Interior instead
of by the President.

Third, the bill envisions a commission that would include twenty-seven
members. We believe a commission of this size would significantly impede
the timely selection of its members, diminish its ability to work
efficiently and effectively, and would be too costly. We recommend a
smaller commission, with perhaps fifteen or seventeen members.

Fourth, S. 1064 does not designate a lead department or agency. We
recommend a lead agency be designated.

Fifth, the bill authorizes \$500,000 for each fiscal year to carry out
the purposes of this Act. We recommend only \$250,000 a year be
authorized for this effort given other competing priorities and the need
to focus federal funds on our parks and other essential programs.

Finally, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Government
Ethics have raised a number of structural issues with S. 1064 which we
will provide to the Committee at a later date.

Establishing a commission to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the
Civil War as envisioned in S. 1064 would provide the nation an
opportunity to reflect upon this momentous event within an environment
that would be inclusive and contemplative. It would enable all Americans
to reflect anew upon the war, its consequences, and its lasting
legacies. It would result, we can hope, in greater public insight into
the war and promote increased awareness of its shadow in our society
today.

This concludes my prepared testimony, Mr. Chairman. I would be pleased
to answer any questions you or the committee might have.