W. Fitzhugh Brundage is William B. Umstead Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
[Brundage's] close analysis brilliantly reveals how Southerners
defined themselves--and who did the defining...In perhaps his most
rewarding section, Brundage shows how Southern whites built the
scaffolding upon which their memories rested. Of particular
importance was the creation of state-sponsored archives, the
establishment of privately funded museums, the professionalization
of the study of history, the growth of heritage tourism and the
creation of a variety of historic sites from roadside markers to
plantation complexes. Again, white Southerners--acting from
positions of power--saw the sites of their memories lovingly
restored; black Southerners saw theirs demolished. But with the end
of segregation, whites and blacks confronted one another on far
more equal ground in battles over the placement of the Confederate
battle flag and the singing of 'Dixie.'--Ira Berlin"Washington Post
Book World" (02/12/2006)
As "The Southern Past" painfully affirms, the definition of just
who and what a Southerner is remains cloudy even today...Brundage's
research attests to the enormous extent to which Southern whites
reshaped antebellum history to suit their own, reshaped memories of
the Old South. In the eyes of white hagiographers, blacks were
little more than bit players on the larger stage of Southern
history. Slavery became an incidental cause of the Civil
War.--Terry Shulman"Richmond Times-Dispatch" (10/23/2005)
Brundage compares the competing views on history and heritage of
southern blacks and whites as they struggled to tell the story of
the South. What developed was a kind of parallel perspective, with
whites controlling public space with commemoration of a proud
antebellum South and defeat in the Civil War and with blacks
maintaining more private recollections of the horror of slavery and
the redemption offered by freedom. Since the 1960s, these competing
views have been more public and contentious, resulting in a
profound change in the perspective on southern history in all its
complexities.--Vanessa Bush"Booklist" (09/01/2005)
Brundage has written a compelling and vital work of southern
history that both synthesizes and moves the discussion of memory
forward. All students of southern history will find it
valuable.--W. Scott Poole "Civil War Book Review "
Even in such a vital and increasingly crowded field, "The Southern
Past" stands out as a rare accomplishment...in his detailed account
of the various interrelated responses to the "relevance of history"
from the Civil War to the recent past, Brundage offers detailed
guidance for new negotiations over and with history. In the
process, he has told a story that represents scholarship at its
most rigorous and hopeful best.--John Ernest "CLIO "
Historians of the U.S. South have long debated why--and
whether--the region stands apart from the rest of the country.
Differing from scholars who identify poverty or the legacy of
Confederate defeat as the source of Southern distinctiveness, W.
Fitzhugh Brundage persuasively argues thatthe South's central theme
consists of the "enduring presence of white memory in the South's
public spaces and black resistance to it." By viewing Southern
history through the lens of memory, Brundage demonstrates how
Southern distinctiveness still matters...This important and lucidly
written book will be required reading for all serious students of
the U.S. South.--John W. Quist "The Historian "
In this fascinating book, W. Fitzhugh Brundage chronicles the
evolution of historical memories in the South between 1864 and the
present..."The Southern Past" enriches our understanding of
southern historical memory, shedding new light on how whites used
their interpretation of the past to perpetuate political, economic,
and social equalities. Using a wide array of primary documents,
Brundage has written a thought-provoking study that should prove
useful and accessible to public and academic historians.--Bruce E.
Stewart "North Carolina Historical Review "
ÝBrundage's¨ close analysis brilliantly reveals how Southerners
defined themselves--and who did the defining...In perhaps his most
rewarding section, Brundage shows how Southern whites built the
scaffolding upon which their memories rested. Of particular
importance was the creation of state-sponsored archives, the
establishment of privately funded museums, the professionalization
of the study of history, the growth of heritage tourism and the
creation of a variety of historic sites from roadside markers to
plantation complexes. Again, white Southerners--acting from
positions of power--saw the sites of their memories lovingly
restored; black Southerners saw theirs demolished. But with the end
of segregation, whites and blacks confronted one another on far
more equal ground in battles over the placement of the Confederate
battle flag and the singing of 'Dixie.' -- Ira Berlin "Washington
Post Book World" (02/12/2006)
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