Confederate Nationalism In Why The South Lost The Civil War

The large volume also provides important historiographical survey. Beringer and the other authors develop a thesis that defective nationalism caused the Confederate failure, and criticize existing historical literature. Building on scholarly concepts of nationalism of Benedict Anderson, Terence Ranger, Edward Said, and Eric Hobsbwan, the authors suggest that the Confederacy failed due to its “fragile and insecure nationalism.” The authors suggest that religion substituted the superficiality of Confederate nationalism, providing morale and motivation for the ongoing conflict. However, the South suffered a theological crisis, “religion ceased to sustain Confederate morale and confidence in victory.” Confederates believed God had failed them;

Religion originally a beacon of strength, became a weakness, exposing the Confederacy to the fragility of its national identity. The immense monograph detailing the underlying factors of the South defeat aided in shattering the perpetuation of the Lost Cause myth. However, it also introduced distortions which subsequent historians contend. If Confederate nationalism was so fragile, why then did the Confederacy hold out as long as it did? What factors bound the Southern People to the Cause? Despite its lengthy argument that the South lost the war due to a lack of nationalism, the authors of Why the South Lost the Civil War require further multi-disciplinary angles that encompass additional dimensions of the Confederate Nationalism. In his book, The Confederate War Gary Gallagher joins in the discussion of Confederate Nationalism, confronting historians like

Campbell argues that elite white women there, rather suffer loss of morale emerged resolved even more in support of the war. Campbell reiterates Gallagher’s point, stating women of “South Carolina renewed their faith by focusing on the Army of Northern Virginia, more specifically, it leader General Robert E. Lee.” Campbell suggest that women saw a direct link between the survival of their family and survival of their young nation. When Sherman Marched North from the Sea is a worthy addition to the burgeoning literature of the social aspects of the Civil War. Campbell contributes to the existing scholarship of Confederate Nationalism by analyzing women’s roles in Confederate Nationalism. Like many other historians, Campbell study ends at the conclusion of the war. In her book, A Shattered Nation, Anne Rubin examines the persistence of Confederate Nationalism even when the Confederacy ceased to