Blowhard, Esq. writes:
Serious question: What does the average American know about the Civil War other than “The South was racist and in favor of slavery. The North and South went to war. The North defeated the South.”?
Is a random citizen’s understanding much deeper than that? If not, why should I care about their thoughts on the war, what it meant, Confederate statues, etc.?
Blowhard, Esq.
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Uncouth Reflections 
“The South was racist and in favor of slavery. The North and South went to war. The North defeated the South.”
That’s a good start, at least.
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If you’re in elementary school, perhaps.
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I believe most people have a narrative of events in their heads placed there very early in school or from exposure to popular media. If they like the narrative, no matter how simplistic, they stick with it through laziness or lack of curiosity. Peer pressure will also come to bear on them.
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A fair number of Americans have been to Civil War battlefields. For example, I went to Gettysburg in 2007 and have vivid memories.
Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary on PBS at the beginning of the 1990s was a sizable event that millions of people were moved by.
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White boomers interested in history do. Many military vets (the real, white and castizo, combat military, not the black loggies) do. Many white Southern men do.
Obviously, only such people should be allowed to vote on Civil War related issues. Or any issues at all.
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