Try searching on jstor for other items related to this. Reviews of new books this study merits reading not only because it explores the delicate fusion of religious and cultural forces, but also because of the. In particular, he dismisses the role of slavery in starting the war and understates. The term swiftly came into common use as a reference not only to military defeat, but defeat of the southern way of lifea phrase that generally referred to the south of the. Although i was born and grew up in the south, i nevertheless was a foreigner there. Critical to the lost cause religion is the conviction that.
Charles reagan wilson, author of baptized in blood. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 paperback at. Religion of the lost cause, 18651920 wilson, charles reagan on. Baptized in blood dirtys back official video youtube. In the decades after the civil war, according to charles reagan wilson, south ern ministers consciously created a religious myth for their defeated region. It is heartening to see new directions for the study of southern religion and continued engagement with the lost cause civil religion as an important issue in southern history. The end of the souths religion of the lost cause the. Charles reagan wilson documents that for over half a century there existed not one, but two civil religions in the united states, the second not dedicated to.
He is coeditor of the encyclopedia of southern culture and author of baptized in blood georgia. Download pdf southern religion southern culture free. Wilsons baptized in blood is a brilliant book, one of which i was required to read for a graduate history course on religion in the american south. From that base the cultural dream replaced the political dream. As historian charles reagan wilson writes in his book baptized in blood. And every time, ive used charles reagan wilsons old standard baptized in blood. As charles reagan wilson writes in his new preface, the. Extensively researched in primary sources, baptized in blood is a significant and wellwritten study of the souths civil religion, one of two public faiths in america. As charles reagan wilson writes in his new preface, the lost cause version of the regional civil. The lost cause was celebrated and perpetuated with its own rituals, mythology, and theology. As a tribute to its continued importance in the fields of history and southern studies, university of mississippi professor charles wilsons book baptized in blood.
Description marking the fortieth anniversary of charles reagan wilsons classic baptized in blood. This forum has been an unusually well crafted one, as the essays have kept the focus on southern religion, the lost cause, and the civil religion. Wilson has a solid reputation as a scholar of southern religion, but his desire to meld his field with his interest in the mythology of the lost cause has produced a book that is chock full of fascinating research but rather lacking in bringing that research into a coherent thesis. Said the lost cause was the civil religion of the south. Lost cause the term lost cause emerged at the end of the civil war when edward pollard, editor of the richmond examiner, popularized it with his book the lost cause, which chronicled the confederacys demise. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 paperback oct. A list of recommended reading on the lost cause is courtesy of the atlanta history center. According to the presss website, this book commemorates the fortieth anniversary of charles reagan wilsons classic baptized in blood. Charles reagan wilson documents that for over half a century ther. Published in 1980 by the university of georgia press, i first read it twenty.
The ideology endorses the supposed virtues of the antebellum south, viewing the war as a struggle primarily to save the southern way of life, or to defend states rights, in. Charles reagan wilson documents that for over half a century there existed not one, but two civil religions in the united states, the second not dedicated to honoring the american nation. Bapitized in blood, classic book on southern culture. College of liberal arts bapitized in blood, classic book. While related to the myths of the old south and reconstruction, the myth of the lost cause was a distinct one, having to do primarily with the civil war itself. Wilsons magnificent book on the religion of the lost cause drives that point home. Time has not diminished the value of baptized in blood universityread the story. Enduring lost cause by crowther hardcover book free. The religion of the lost cause,18651920 the ministers saw little difference between their religious and cultural values, and they promoted the link by creating lost cause ritualistic forms that celebrated their regional mythological and theological beliefs. There was much in the psychology of southerners which made no sense to me. Jun 23, 2015 as the unholy creation of white christian ministers, it is tragically appropriate that the religion of the lost cause should come to an end with a devotee murdering black christians in a church in. In examining the role of civil religion in the cult of the military, in the new south ideology, and in the. The klan represented the mystical wing of the lost cause, as the most passionate organization associated with this highly ritualized civil religion.
Out of defeat emerged a civil religion that embodied the lost cause. Baptized in blood persuasively details the power of the lost cause message as well as suggests the need to speak about the civil religions plural of america. An exciting, revisionist study that is clear in argument. Jun 25, 2015 as historian charles reagan wilson writes in his book baptized in blood. Wilson shows how in the wake of the civil war, southerners adopted the lost cause as a way to preserve their cultural identity by blending christian rhetoric and symbols with the rhetoric. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 by charles reagan wilson. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920, by charles reagan wilson. Alamosa news crowther published book commemorates wilsons. A new southern history of the war of the confederates. The term lost cause first appeared in the title of an 1866 book by the virginian author and journalist edward a. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 posted on february 10, 2019 by plt staff. Assessing the lost cause and southern civil religion.
Ive taught courses on religion in the american south several times. Wilson shows how in the wake of the civil war, southerners adopted the lost cause as a way to preserve their cultural identity by blending. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 has been reissued 30 years after its original publication. Wilson clearly wants to indicate a connection between the lost cause mythology and southern religion. As the unholy creation of white christian ministers, it is tragically appropriate that the religion of the lost cause should come to an end with a devotee murdering black christians in. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 9780820334257. The end of the souths religion of the lost cause sojourners.
An interpretation and critical response if one were to take a quick glance at the cover, with its bold rebel cross and equally bold title, one might mistakenly think baptized in blood. Anyone wanting to understand how a variety of people in the south have understood its spiritual and moral meanings will like this book. In his comparison, wilson finds the lost cause offered defeated southerners a sense of meaning and purpose and special identity as a. Baptized in blood by charles reagan wilson, 9780820334257, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Southerners may have abandoned their dream of a political nation after appomattox, but they preserved their cultural identity by blending christian rhetoric and symbols with the rhetoric and imagery of confederate tradition. Lost causethe term lost cause emerged at the end of the civil war when edward pollard, editor of the richmond examiner, popularized it with his book the lost cause, which chronicled the confederacys demise. Like raboteau, wilson established an entire field of study with his first book, which finds in the rise of the lost cause after the civil war a civil religion that defined white southern culture in ways equal to the influence of evangelical churches. Pollard promotes many of the aforementioned themes of the lost cause. The lost cause of the confederacy, or simply the lost cause, is an american pseudohistorical, negationist ideology that holds that the cause of the confederacy during the american civil war was a just and heroic one. Criitical response to baptized in blood 3723 words 123.
The religion of the lost cause, 18651920, the enduring lost cause collects essays by such scholars as carolyn renee dupont, sandy dwayne martin, keith harper, and wilson himself to show how various. Jun 23, 2015 the end of the souths religion of the lost cause. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920, this volume collects essays by such scholars and wilson himself to show how various aspects of the lost cause ideology persist into the present. Early he outlines the scope, saying it is not a study of southern protestantism, but of the religion of the lost cause, a defeated, humiliated, and distressed heritage. The lost cause reading list history detectives pbs. Like all religious rituals, that of the lost cause had its mythology. In baptized in blood, charles reagan wilson has created a significant and wellwritten study of the souths civil religion, one of two public faiths in america. If one were to take a quick glance at the cover, with its bold rebel cross and equally bold title, one might mistakenly think baptized in blood. Charles reagan wilson documents, for the first time, that for over half a century there existed not one, but two civil religions in the united states, the second not dedicated to honoring the american nation. Its mysticism was attained not through a disciplined meditation, but through the cultivation of a mysterious ambience, which fused confederate and christian symbols and created unique rituals. The religion of the lost cause to be the propaganda of a backwoods racist asserting that the south will rise again. While most southerners paid homage to the lost cause, they saw different meanings in it. Time has not diminished the value of baptized in blood university of georgia press.
The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 2nd second edition by wilson, charles reagan published by university of georgia press 2009. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920,the enduring lost cause collects essays by such scholars as carolyn renee dupont, sandy dwayne martin, keith harper, and wilson himself to show how various. Wilson has written a fascinating book in which he has demonstrated more forcefully than other historians have that religion played a significant role in perpetuating the lost cause. As charles reagan wilson writes in his new preface, the lost cause version of the regional civil religion was a powerful expression, and recent scholarship affirms its continuing power in the minds of many white southerners. Export a ris file for endnote, procite, reference manager, zotero, mendeley export a text file for bibtex note. The term swiftly came into common use as a reference not only to military defeat, but defeat of the southern way of lifea a phrase that generally referred to the south of the. See all 5 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The end of the souths religion of the lost cause commentary. What the historical accounts in this book teach us is that nationmaking is a complicated, multi facetedthough extremely practicalprocess. As charles reagan wilson writes in his new preface, the lost cause version of the regional civil religion was a powerful expression, and recent scholarship. On the contrary, charles reagan wilsons baptized in blood is not a book by an.
Rns as the unholy creation of white christian ministers, it is tragically appropriate that the religion of the lost cause should come to an end with a devotee murdering black christians in a. The lost cause and the civil religion in recent historiography introduction. Published in 1980 by the university of georgia press, i first read it twenty years later as an undergraduate at louisiana state university. The religion of the lost cause and the formation of a southern national. In his comparison, wilson finds the lost cause offered defeated southerners a sense of meaning and purpose and special identity as a precarious but distinct culture. Alamosa news crowther published book commemorates wilson.