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In a Wednesday night town hall event in New Hampshire, a key primary state for 2024 presidential candidates, Nikki Haley found herself in the midst of controversy after being asked a seemingly simple question: “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?”
Haley’s response, which failed to acknowledge the enslavement of 4 million people of African descent by White southerners, ignited criticism from Republicans, Democrats, and historians.
Nikki Haley Responds, Omitting Slavery as the Cause of the Civil War
Appearing caught off guard, Haley’s response: “Well, don’t come with an easy question.” The presidential candidate then pauses as if to ponder. Pacing back and forth, she answers. “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how the government was going to run, the freedoms, and what people could and couldn’t do.”
Appearing out-of-words, the presidential candidate pitches the question back to the voter. “What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?”
Escalating Tensions: A Frustrating Exchange
The voter replies, “I’m not running for president. I wanted to see about your view on the cause of the Civil War was.”
Haley then says, “I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” Haley continued. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life.”
The voter rebuts, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”
“What do you want me to say about slavery?” she repels in what many would consider a frustrating tone. “Next question,” she adds.
Politicians, Black leaders and scholars weighed in on Haley’s remarks, emphasizing that slavery was indeed the cause of the Civil War.
Reactions from Politicians, Scholars, and Leaders
“It was about slavery,” President Joe Biden simply states.
“It’s not even a hard question. It’s absurd that she felt she had to evade the question to avoid political liability,” Nikole Hannah Jones shares on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I am disgusted, but I’m not surprised – this is what Black South Carolinians have come to expect from Nikki Haley, and now the rest of the country is getting to see her for who she is. This isn’t hard: condemning slavery is the baseline for anyone who wants to be president of the United States, but Nikki Haley and the rest of the MAGA GOP are choking on their words, trying to rewrite history. Nikki Haley’s comments tonight were a slap in the face to Black voters, who she has turned her back on time and again – from championing the Confederate flag to trivializing Black History Month – and they’ll turn their backs on her at the polls.,” DNC Chair Jamie Harrison states.
Haley’s History of Civil War Comments
Haley had previously made similar comments about the Civil War during her campaign for governor of South Carolina in 2010, calling it a fight between “tradition” and change” and failing to mention slavery.
Despite the legacy of institutional slavery and the anti-Black laws that followed, Haley stated earlier this year while at a campaign event that “America is not a racist country.” She used her being a woman and person of Indian descent as a cloak to legitimize her declaration in the same breath.
The issue of race has been sensitive for Haley in the past. She is quoted saying that some see the Confederate flag as a symbol of “sacrifice” and “heritage.” Following the massacre of Black church members at Mother Emanuel Church by a White supremacist gunman, she faced pressure to sign legislation to remove the Confederate flag from her home state of South Carolina’s government buildings and public squares.
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