An Old Creed for the New South: Proslavery Ideology and Historiography; 1865–1918 details the slavery debate from the Civil War through World War I. Award-winning historian John David Smith argues that African American slavery remained a salient metaphor for how Americans interpreted contemporary race relations decades after the Civil War.Smith draws extensively on postwar articles; books; diaries; manuscripts; newspapers; and speeches to counter the belief that debates over slavery ended with emancipation. After the Civil War; Americans in both the North and the South continued to debate slavery’s merits as a labor; legal; and educational system and as a mode of racial control. The study details how white Southerners continued to tout slavery as beneficial for both races long after Confederate defeat. During Reconstruction and after Redemption; Southerners continued to refine proslavery ideas while subjecting blacks to new legal; extralegal; and social controls.An Old Creed for the New South links pre– and post–Civil War racial thought; showing historical continuity; and treats the Black Codes and the Jim Crow laws in new ways; connecting these important racial and legal themes to intellectual and social history. Although many blacks and some whites denounced slavery as the source of the contemporary “Negro problem;†most whites; including late nineteenth-century historians; championed a “new†proslavery argument. The study also traces how historian Ulrich B. Phillips and Progressive Era scholars looked at slavery as a golden age of American race relations and shows how a broad range of African Americans; including Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois; responded to the proslavery argument. Such ideas; Smith posits; provided a powerful racial creed for the New South.This examination of black slavery in the American public mind—which includes the arguments of former slaves; slaveholders; Freedmen's Bureau agents; novelists; and essayists—demonstrates that proslavery ideology dominated racial thought among white southerners; and most white northerners; in the five decades following the Civil War.
#672784 in Books Thomas McGonigle 1996-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.96 x .94 x 5.95l; 1.00 #File Name: 0809136481304 pagesA History of the Christian Tradition From the Reformation to the Present
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Balanced and InterestingBy M. AkersI read this book as part of (Roman Catholic) Church history course. I found it to be quite balanced in its presentation. It does not represent the Church and her leadership as doing no wrong; nor does it go the other direction and present the Church as the whore of Babylon. Where the Church and/or its leaders were at fault the book freely admits it; but with equal candor point out where she was right -- and often wronged. The text divides history into manageable chunks; with graphic timelines highlighting the most important events. The authors look at history from the point of view of geography -- describing what was going on in a particular part of the world at a particular time. This certainly works but it leaves out a part of history that I particularly enjoy -- the interplay of personalities. Which brings me to my final point. I have discovered that no single history book; no matter how much effort the authors put to present things in an objective way; is sufficient. Authors can not prevent their own perspective from "seeping" into their books. So I recommend reading several. John Vidmar's "The Catholic Church Through the Ages" and Martha Rasmussen's "The Catholic Church: The First 2;000 Years" are favorites of mine. Just recently Diane Moczar has written "The Church Ascending" but as I haven't gotten around to reading it yet I can't comment on it.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Succinct and Easy to ReadBy P. HamiltonI purchased this text for an online religion class. It has proven to be well written; with lots of verifiable facts and just enough information on each topic to keep you interested. The language is easy to follow which is definately a plus as other texts used in various classes require having a dictionary on hand.It does a great job of covering the many various topics within the church as well a factors that affected the church throughout the time period. I was actually impressed with how the author brought in a lot of what I would have considered secular issues and showed quite convincingly how and why those issues affected and effected the Church.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the History of the Catholic Church; specifically as it relates to the Church's involvement and/or non-involvement with secular issues in society as a whole.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Good reference work on Roman Catholic Church History from 1500 to 1975.By S. PalmerUndergraduate level presentation of Roman Catholic church history from Reformation to present. Is very well done in reference to the 20th century through the Second Vatican Council.
