As charles reagan wilson writes in his new preface, the lost cause version of the regional civil. Time has not diminished the value of baptized in blood university of georgia press. 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. See all 5 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The lost cause reading list history detectives pbs. The lost cause and the civil religion in recent historiography introduction. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 by charles reagan wilson. Jun 23, 2015 the end of the souths religion of the lost cause.
Published in 1980 by the university of georgia press, i first read it twenty. Criitical response to baptized in blood 3723 words 123. 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. While most southerners paid homage to the lost cause, they saw different meanings in it. 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, 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. 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.
The lost cause was celebrated and perpetuated with its own rituals, mythology, and theology. A new southern history of the war of the confederates. In examining the role of civil religion in the cult of the military, in the new south ideology, and in the. The religion of the lost cause to be the propaganda of a backwoods racist asserting that the south will rise again. 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.
The klan represented the mystical wing of the lost cause, as the most passionate organization associated with this highly ritualized civil religion. 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. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 9780820334257. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 posted on february 10, 2019 by plt staff. 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. 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. Critical to the lost cause religion is the conviction that. Charles reagan wilson, author of baptized in blood. On the contrary, charles reagan wilsons baptized in blood is not a book by an. Published in 1980 by the university of georgia press, i first read it twenty years later as an undergraduate at louisiana state university. Anyone wanting to understand how a variety of people in the south have understood its spiritual and moral meanings will like this book.
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 term lost cause first appeared in the title of an 1866 book by the virginian author and journalist edward a. And every time, ive used charles reagan wilsons old standard baptized in blood. 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. As historian charles reagan wilson writes in his book baptized in blood. Ive taught courses on religion in the american south several times. The end of the souths religion of the lost cause the. 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. 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. May 04, 2020 according to the presss website, this book commemorates the fortieth anniversary of charles reagan wilsons classic baptized in blood. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 has been reissued 30 years after its original publication. 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. 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.
Charles reagan wilson documents that for over half a century ther. 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. As charles reagan wilson writes in his new preface, the. Wilsons magnificent book on the religion of the lost cause drives that point home. In the decades after the civil war, according to charles reagan wilson, south ern ministers consciously created a religious myth for their defeated region. 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. 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. 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. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 paperback oct. Alamosa news crowther published book commemorates wilson. 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. 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.
There was much in the psychology of southerners which made no sense to me. 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. Crowther published book commemorates wilsons classic. A list of recommended reading on the lost cause is courtesy of the atlanta history center. Although i was born and grew up in the south, i nevertheless was a foreigner there. He is coeditor of the encyclopedia of southern culture and author of baptized in blood georgia. 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. 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. Time has not diminished the value of baptized in blood universityread the story. Assessing the lost cause and southern civil religion. Download pdf southern religion southern culture free. Out of defeat emerged a civil religion that embodied the lost cause. Alamosa news crowther published book commemorates wilsons.
The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 2nd second edition by wilson, charles reagan published by university of georgia press 2009. What the historical accounts in this book teach us is that nationmaking is a complicated, multi facetedthough extremely practicalprocess. Baptized in blood dirtys back official video youtube. The end of the souths religion of the lost cause sojourners. 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, this volume collects essays by such scholars and wilson himself to show how various aspects of the lost cause ideology persist into the present. According to the presss website, this book commemorates the fortieth anniversary of charles reagan wilsons classic baptized in blood. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920 paperback at. College of liberal arts bapitized in blood, classic book. 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. Bapitized in blood, classic book on southern culture.
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. Like all religious rituals, that of the lost cause had its mythology. Baptized in blood by charles reagan wilson, 9780820334257, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Said the lost cause was the civil religion of the south. 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.
Try searching on jstor for other items related to this. 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. Enduring lost cause by crowther hardcover book free. 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. 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. 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. Wilson clearly wants to indicate a connection between the lost cause mythology and southern religion.
An exciting, revisionist study that is clear in argument. The religion of the lost cause, 18651920, by charles reagan wilson. Jun 25, 2015 as historian charles reagan wilson writes in his book baptized in blood. From that base the cultural dream replaced the political dream. The religion of the lost cause and the formation of a southern national. Religion of the lost cause, 18651920 wilson, charles reagan on.
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. Description marking the fortieth anniversary of charles reagan wilsons classic baptized in blood. 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. Pollard promotes many of the aforementioned themes of the lost cause. Export a ris file for endnote, procite, reference manager, zotero, mendeley export a text file for bibtex note. 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. 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. In his comparison, wilson finds the lost cause offered defeated southerners a sense of meaning and purpose and special identity as a. 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.