RICHMOND Va. – Under pressure from critics, Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday called it a “major omission” not noting slavery in declaring April Confederate History Month in Virginia.
As part of his mea culpa, McDonnell inserted into the proclamation a paragraph condemning slavery and blaming it as the cause of the Civil War.
“The abomination of slavery divided our nation, deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and led to the Civil War. Slavery was an evil, vicious and inhumane practice which degraded human beings to property, and it has left a stain on the soul of this state and nation,” he said in a 400-word statement.
The Republican governor’s revisions came after a day of scalding denunciations as the story became grist for cable news shows and caught fire on political blogs and in social media.
On Tuesday, McDonnell said in a telephone news conference that he wasn’t focused on slavery in drafting the decree but on Civil War history.
“The failure to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed,” McDonnell’s statement said.
The lack of any mention of human bondage originally and his fumbling reply in the news conference when a reporter asked him why left critics and even former supporters outraged.
