Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Volumes have been written about the economics, the politics, the military strategy of the Confederate States of America. But here is something new: an examination of the rhetoric and symbolism of the Confederacy, the process by which the new nation gave itself identity and purpose and galvanized the support of its citizens. Faust naturally considers political rhetoric, but she also examines—with fascinating results—painting, popular literature, and sermons in search of the central themes of the Confederate ideology. And she takes that ideology seriously, treating it not as mere propaganda but as a genuine reflection of the values of the nation and as a social force of considerable power. 'The moment when southerners explained themselves to themselves,' Faust says, 'was the moment they came closest to explaining themselves to us.' We are lucky to have so gifted an historian to transmit the message." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
For decades, historians have debated the meaning and significance of Confederate nationalism and the role it played in the outcome of the Civil War. Yet they have paid little attention to the actual development and content of this Confederate ideology. In The Creation of Confederate Nationalism, Drew Gilpin Faust argues that coming to a fuller understanding of southern thought during the Civil War period offers a valuable refraction of the essential assumptions on which the Old South and the Confederacy were built. She shows the benefits of exploring Confederate nationalism "as the South's commentary upon itself, as its effort to represent southern culture to the world at large, to history, and perhaps most revealingly, to its own people."