The Shaping of Southern Culture

by Wyatt-Brown, Bertram

• ISBN13: 9780807849125
• ISBN10: 080784912X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

Extending his investigation into the ethical life of the white American South beyond what he wrote in "Southern Honor (1982), Bertram Wyatt-Brown explores three major themes in southern history: the political aspects of the South's code of honor, the increasing prominence of Protestant faith in white southerners' lives, and the devastating impact of war, defeat, and an angry loss of confidence during the post-Civil War era. This eloquent and richly textured study first demonstrates the psychological complexity of race relations, drawing new and provocative comparisons between American slave oppression and the Nazi concentration camp experience. The author then reveals how the rhetoric and rituals of honor affected the Revolutionary generation and--through a study of Andrew Jackson, dueling, and other demonstrations of manhood--how early American politicians won or lost popularity. In perhaps the most subtle and intriguing section of the book, he discloses the interconnections of honor andreligious belief and practice. Finally, exploring the effects of war and defeat on former Confederates, Wyatt-Brown suggests that the rise of violent racism following the Civil War had significant links to the shame of military defeat and the spurious invocation of religious convictions.

Author Biography

Bertram Wyatt-Brown is Richard J. Milbauer Professor of History at the University of Florida

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Part I. Race and Politics
Dignity, Deception, and Identity in the Male Slave Experience	3	(28)
Honor, Dread of Enslavement, and Revolutionary Rhetoric	31	(25)
Andrew Jackson's Honor	56	(27)
Part II. Grace: Southern Religion in Transition
Religion and the Unchurched in the Old South	83	(23)
Paradox, Shame, and Grace in the Backcountry	106	(30)
Modernizing Slave-Owning Rhetoric	136	(18)
Church, Honor, and Disunionism	154	(23)
Part III. War and Aftermath
Shameful Submission and Honorable Secession	177	(26)
Innocence, War, and Horror	203	(27)
Death of a Nation	230	(25)
Honor Chastened	255	(15)
Honor Redeemed in Blood	270	(26)
Appendix Recent Historiography on Honor	296	(9)
Notes	305	(92)
Acknowledgments	397	(4)
Index	401