History is messy. It has many differing viewpoints, some of which infuriate. But one can’t do history properly without looking at differing viewpoints.
Contrary to popular opinion, good history is not unbiased. Every historian has a worldview from which they produce their craft. Good historians state that bias upfront in order for the listener or reader the opportunity to know what they’re consuming up front. The various interviews I’ve conducted on this podcast all show a fairly wide array of bias, and I’m ok with that. I think it reveals a more complete look at messy topics.
With that caveat in mind the historian I interviewed for this episode does not pull from the “3×5 Card of Acceptable Opinion” as Tom Woods calls it. Dr. Samuel Mitcham served in US Army, where he was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. He then graduated from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College. In addition, Dr. Mitcham studied journalism at Northeast Louisiana University, Science at North Carolina State, and earned his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Tennessee.
Dr. Mitcham embarked upon a 20 year teaching career serving on the faculties of Henderson State, Georgia Southern, and University of Louisiana at Monroe. He also taught as a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Mitcham has written many articles, more than 40 books, and has been consulted by many outlets including The History Channel, CBS, NPR, and The BBC. His earlier historical work centered mostly upon World War Two, with a special emphasis on the Nazis, which is best illustrated in his books Rommel’s Desert War, Why Hitler?, and The Genesis of the Third Reich among many others.
Dr. Mitcham then turned his attention to what is most widely known as the American Civil War, though that is not a term Dr. Mitcham personally uses. Arguably, his most well-known work from the genre is It Wasn’t About Slavery: Exposing the Great Lie of the Civil War, though he’s covered more Confederate history, notably his newest book – The Encyclopedia of Confederate Generals. This podcast episode focuses upon this newest volume, though we do touch upon a few thoughts from his previous work.
Perhaps the listener might not agree with Dr. Mitcham’s positions, but I encourage everyone to grapple with his ideas. Doing so will offer another viewpoint that might more fully illustrate how “The War” is discussed in contemporary America.
LINKS TO THE PODCAST:
SAMUEL MITCHAM LINKS:
All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is Dr. Mitcham’s newest book – The Encyclopedia of Confederate Generals from Regnery Publishing.
Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and Water Music, Suite No. 1 in F Major HWV 348: I. Overture: Largo-Allegro by George Frideric Handel, Academy of Ancient Music and Christopher Hogwood, also available on Apple Music.
Virginia History Podcast 