Ghosts of the Confederacy

Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South, 1865-1913

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), 19th Century, 20th Century
Cover of the book Ghosts of the Confederacy by Gaines M. Foster, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gaines M. Foster ISBN: 9780199878703
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: April 23, 1987
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Gaines M. Foster
ISBN: 9780199878703
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: April 23, 1987
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

After Lee and Grant met at Appomatox Court House in 1865 to sign the document ending the long and bloody Civil War, the South at last had to face defeat as the dream of a Confederate nation melted into the Lost Cause. Through an examination of memoirs, personal papers, and postwar Confederate rituals such as memorial day observances, monument unveilings, and veterans' reunions, Ghosts of the Confederacy probes into how white southerners adjusted to and interpreted their defeat and explores the cultural implications of a central event in American history. Foster argues that, contrary to southern folklore, southerners actually accepted their loss, rapidly embraced both reunion and a New South, and helped to foster sectional reconciliation and an emerging social order. He traces southerners' fascination with the Lost Cause--showing that it was rooted as much in social tensions resulting from rapid change as it was in the legacy of defeat--and demonstrates that the public celebration of the war helped to make the South a deferential and conservative society. Although the ghosts of the Confederacy still haunted the New South, Foster concludes that they did little to shape behavior in it--white southerners, in celebrating the war, ultimately trivialized its memory, reduced its cultural power, and failed to derive any special wisdom from defeat.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

After Lee and Grant met at Appomatox Court House in 1865 to sign the document ending the long and bloody Civil War, the South at last had to face defeat as the dream of a Confederate nation melted into the Lost Cause. Through an examination of memoirs, personal papers, and postwar Confederate rituals such as memorial day observances, monument unveilings, and veterans' reunions, Ghosts of the Confederacy probes into how white southerners adjusted to and interpreted their defeat and explores the cultural implications of a central event in American history. Foster argues that, contrary to southern folklore, southerners actually accepted their loss, rapidly embraced both reunion and a New South, and helped to foster sectional reconciliation and an emerging social order. He traces southerners' fascination with the Lost Cause--showing that it was rooted as much in social tensions resulting from rapid change as it was in the legacy of defeat--and demonstrates that the public celebration of the war helped to make the South a deferential and conservative society. Although the ghosts of the Confederacy still haunted the New South, Foster concludes that they did little to shape behavior in it--white southerners, in celebrating the war, ultimately trivialized its memory, reduced its cultural power, and failed to derive any special wisdom from defeat.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Theorizing Race in the Americas by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Changing Worlds by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Conversations on Consciousness by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Rainbow's End : The Crash of 1929 by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Understanding the Emotional Disorders by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Kant on Evil, Self-Deception, and Moral Reform by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Political Science Research in the Middle East and North Africa by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book The Philosophy of Psychiatry by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Phenomenal Concepts and Phenomenal Knowledge by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Catullus: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Muslims beyond the Arab World by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book The Year of Our Lord 1943 by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Temptations of Power by Gaines M. Foster
Cover of the book Scientific Ontology by Gaines M. Foster
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy