Still fighting the Civil War the American South and Southern history

396 Pages·2013·7.157 MB·English

by  Goldfield, David R

“ A solid introduction to the history of the Confederacy and to the ways in which
southerners have used and misused that history.”
—Washington Post Book World
“ A startling but delightful analysis of the post–Civil War South.”
—James I. Robertson, Jr., Richmond Times-Dispatch
“ [Goldfield] writes with considerable authority and grace, and he is most ar-
resting when dealing with skirmishes in the contemporary South such as those
found in fundamentalist churches, country music, and arguments over the
Confederate flag.”
—Journal of American History
“ Changing perceptions of the South is an important theme to historian David
Goldfield, who is rapidly getting a reputation as the heir-apparent to deceased
southern analysts Wilbur J. Cash and C. Vann Woodward. Still Fighting the
Civil War has stirred controversies among conservatives and diehard region-
alists while earning accolades from others for insights, corrective facts, and
engaging prose. . . . Goldfield has obviously discovered that there is much
spiritually nourishing and intellectually delectable to be devoured by south-
erners uncomfortable in living on southern barbecue alone.”
—Southern Seen
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WINNEROFTHEJULESANDFRANCESLANDRYAWARDFOR2002
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updated edition
Still Fighting the Civil War
The American South and Southern History
DAVID GOLDFIELD
Louisiana State University Press baton rouge
Louisiana State University Press
Copyright © 2002 by David Goldfield
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Louisiana Paperback Edition, 2004
Designer: Barbara Neely Bourgoyne
Typeface: Janson Text
Typesetter: Coghill Composition, Inc.
“The Mill Mother’s Song” by Ella May Wiggins is from American Folksongs of Protest, ed. John
Greenway. Copyright © 1953 University of Pennsylvania Press. Reprinted by permission. “The
Tall Men” by Donald Davidson is from his Poems 1922–1961 (University of Minnesota Press,
1966). Reprinted by permission.
Excerpt from John Brown’s Body by Stephen Vincent Benet. Copyright © 1927, 1928 by Stephen
Vincent Benet. Copyright renewed © 1955 by Rosemary Carr Benet. Reprinted by permission of
Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goldfield, David R., 1944–
Still fighting the Civil War : the American South and Southern history / David Goldfield. —
Updated edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-5215-7 (paper : alkaline paper) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5216-4 (pdf) —
ISBN 978-0-8071-5217-1 (epub) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5218-8 (mobi) 1. Southern States—
Civilization. 2. Southern States—Social conditions. 3. Southern States—History—Philosophy.
4. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Influence. I. Title.
F209.G65 2013
975—dc23
2012048188
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ∞
for Erik and Eleanor
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Contents
Preface to the Updated Edition xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1 The Past Is 15
New Traditions 20
The Orthodox Church 28
Counterculture 37
2 God-Haunted 43
Blessed Defeat 50
Rituals of Faith 54
Making Good Christians 57
Black Branches 63
Dissenters 64
Civil Religion and Civil Rights 69
3 Culture Protestants 76
4 Pretty Women 89
The Woman’s War 93
Support and Sacrifice 96
Masks 103
Beneath the Pedestal 108
Keepers of the Past with an Eye to the Future 111
Suffering Suffrage 116