“This valuable work finally puts to rest the notion that the Confederacy was an intellectual wasteland and that Confederates had nothing to say aside from their rebel yell.” — Journal of American History
“Provides meaningful insight into an understudied aspect of the Confederate experience. . . . An excellent book that deserves wide readership.” — Civil War Book Review
“A remarkable array of evidence.” — Journal of Southern History
“Highly recommended.” — CHOICE
“[Confederate Minds] is well written, amply researched and tightly argued. For those interested in the attempted development of a distinct Confederate culture, this book is a welcome contribution.” — Civil War News
“A solid first book. . . . His discussion of how the Confederacy’s intellectual class lamented their lack of original contributions is superb.” — Virginia Magazine
“Thanks to Bernath’s study, the soil now is rich for future research into the Civil War’s complex intellectual history. Scholars of the Civil War, southern history, and American intellectual history should be grateful for this fine contribution to the field.” — West Virginia History
“Deeply researched and gracefully written. . . . [An] excellent study.” — Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
“It is stimulating and opening an area of the war that we do not often see. . . . A detailed look at the home front in an essential industry and the development of a nation.” ― TOCWOC
“Make[s] provocative arguments about the nature of Confederate nationalism, life with the Confederacy, and the perception of cultural distinctiveness.” — The Courier
Book Description
Liberating the South from northern books, periodicals, and teachers
From the Inside Flap
During the Civil War, some Confederates sought to prove the distinctiveness of the s outhern people and to legitimate their desire for a separate national existence through the creation of a uniquely southern literature and culture. Michael Bernath follows the activities of a group of southern writers, thinkers, editors, publishers, educators, and ministers–whom he labels Confederate cultural nationalists–in order to trace the rise and fall of a cultural movement dedicated to liberating the South from its longtime dependence on Northern books, periodicals, and teachers. Bernath makes provocative arguments about the nature of Confederate nationalism, life within the Confederacy, and the perception of southern cultural distinctiveness.
From the Back Cover
During the Civil War, some Confederates sought to prove the distinctiveness of the s outhern people and to legitimate their desire for a separate national existence through the creation of a uniquely southern literature and culture. Michael Bernath follows the activities of a group of southern writers, thinkers, editors, publishers, educators, and ministers–whom he labels Confederate cultural nationalists–in order to trace the rise and fall of a cultural movement dedicated to liberating the South from its longtime dependence on Northern books, periodicals, and teachers. Bernath makes provocative arguments about the nature of Confederate nationalism, life within the Confederacy, and the perception of southern cultural distinctiveness.
About the Author
Michael T. Bernath is Charlton W. Tebeau Associate Professor in American History at the University of Miami.
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