Why did many Irish Americans; who did not have a direct connection to slavery; choose to fight for the Confederacy? This perplexing question is at the heart of David T. Gleeson's sweeping analysis of the Irish in the Confederate States of America. Taking a broad view of the subject; Gleeson considers the role of Irish southerners in the debates over secession and the formation of the Confederacy; their experiences as soldiers; the effects of Confederate defeat for them and their emerging ethnic identity; and their role in the rise of Lost Cause ideology. Focusing on the experience of Irish southerners in the years leading up to and following the Civil War; as well as on the Irish in the Confederate army and on the southern home front; Gleeson argues that the conflict and its aftermath were crucial to the integration of Irish Americans into the South. Throughout the book; Gleeson draws comparisons to the Irish on the Union side and to southern natives; expanding his analysis to engage the growing literature on Irish and American identity in the nineteenth-century United States.
#924906 in Books Jennifer Thigpen 2014-03-24Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.58 x .68 x 6.46l; .0 #File Name: 1469614294184 pagesIsland Queens and Mission Wives How Gender and Empire Remade Hawai i s Pacific World Gender and American Culture
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Island Queens and Mission Wives is a MUST read for anyone interested in Hawaiian HistoryBy KamohomohoThere is a tremendous amount of scholarship encapsulated in this thin book. Jennifer Thigpen has gone far beyond the common understanding of what the arrival of the missionaries entailed; and their route to influence in Hawaii. I've read extensively on the pre and post European contact Hawaii; and I regard this as a very significant contribution to the historical knowledge base. This is not a simple minded; emotional; and politically correct account of missionaries ruining the Rousseauian world of the 'noble Hawaiian savage'; Rather is presents the Hawaiians; particularly the Island women of rank; as intelligent; worldly individuals who find the presence of christian missionaries; particularly the women; advantageous to their own political and personal goals. It was the Island women of rank; through their complex gift exchanges with missionary wives; that allowed the missionaries to survive on Hawaiian shores. That they were at all successful in their mission was less due to missionary efforts than to the judgement of the female Ali'i that some of the christian philosophies; customs; and accompanying technologies would be beneficial to them and their people. The missionary achievements; when shorn of their own testaments of success; become almost incidental to the overall flow of historical events in Hawaii.If you are looking for a book to give some foundation to the popular lament voiced by Brother Iz and Sistah Robie you best move on. Sorry; but the missionaries didn't come and 'take it all away'. In fact after ten years they had made little progress and were still very much dependent on the good graces of the Island Ali'i.This is a well researched; enjoyable read; by a scholar who is deeply in search of a 'better truth' to the events of the past. I; personally; am hopeful Jennifer Thigpen will continue to contribute more well researched works to the understanding of Hawaiian hIstory.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. More to the storiesBy James O. McElmurryThigpen's account and comments adds another dimension to the story of the effect of the New England Missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands.Her discourse of the state of governance prior to the missionary arrival; the inclusion of the state of what women were expected to do and not do in society and their role as mission wives adds credence to the diary entries and personal recollections of events and relationships that helped shape Christianity in Hawaii.
