The Shaping of Southern Culture

Extending his investigation into the ethical life of the white American south beyond ""Southern Honour"" (1982), Bertram Wyatt-Brown explores three major themes: the political aspects of the South's code of honour, 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 study first demonstrates the psychological complexity of race relations, drawing provocative comparisons between American slave oppression and the Nazi concentration camp experience. The author then reveals how the rhetoric and rituals of honour affected the revolutionary generation, and through a study of Andrew Jackson duelling and other demonstrations of manhood, how American politicians won or lost popularity. In perhaps the most subtle and intriguing section of the book, he discloses the interconnections of honour and religious belief and practice. Finally exploring the effects of war and defeat on former confederates, Wyatt-Brown proposes that the rise in violent racism following the Civil War had significant links to the shame of military defeat and the spurious invocation of religious convictions.