In this investigation of Confederate political culture, George Rable focuses on the assumptions, values, and beliefs that formed the foundation of Confederate political ideology. He shows how southerners attempted to purify the political process and avoid what they saw as the evils of parties and partisanship. According to Rable, secession marked the beginning of a revolution against politics, in which the Confederacy's founding fathers saw themselves as the true heirs of the American Revolution. Nevertheless, factionalism developed within the Confederacy as the war dragged on, and the conflict carried over from the strictly political sphere to matters of military strategy, civil religion, and education. Rable concludes that despite the war's outcome, the Confederacy's antipolitical legacy had a profound impact on southern politics.
About the AuthorGeorge C. Rable is the Charles G. Summersell Professor of Southern History at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. His previous books include The Confederate Republic: A Revolution against Politics and Civil Wars: Women and the Crisis of Southern Nationalism.
Reviews"A valuable contribution to the literature of the wartime South." - Reviews in American History"
Book InformationISBN 9780807858189
Author George C. RableFormat Paperback
Page Count 440
Imprint The University of North Carolina PressPublisher The University of North Carolina Press
Weight(grams) 625g