The “Lost Cause” were a set of beliefs that were common for white southerners to have. The influence of the Lost Cause was to take the memories of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction and try to infuse them with pro-southern interpretations, but experienced limitations and challenges. “Lost Cause” advocates stated that their work was not political, but that is not true; their work was very political.
First of all, the idea of the Lost Cause was to portray the Confederates in the best way and to downplay the act of slavery. The United Daughters of the Confederacy Constitutions, 1894 proclaimed that they wanted “...to perpetuate the memory of our Confederate heroes and the glorious cause for which they fought…” They would go as far to deny the allegation of fighting to preserve slavery, but claim that the Confederacy was defending states’ rights. Slavery was depicted as a benevolent act towards slaves. Matthew Page Andrews, The Women of the South in War Times, 1923 was a textbook used for decades in school in the South that says, “When these negroes were landed on American shores, almost all were savages taken from the lowest form of jungle life.” The South affirmed that slaves were savages as a way validate their dominance over their slaves. The textbook goes on to say, “It was largely …show more content…
The United Daughters of Confederacy Constitution, 1894 says that their job is to “collect and preserve material for a truthful history of the war…” The material that they preserved were those that only glorified the Confederate soldiers that would shape how people viewed the Confederacy. Its plan was “...to have used in all Southern schools only such histories as are just and true”(502). They raised generations of children on the Lost Cause ideology. Advocates and organizations involved themselves in politics when they interfered themselves in public affairs such as
First of all, the idea of the Lost Cause was to portray the Confederates in the best way and to downplay the act of slavery. The United Daughters of the Confederacy Constitutions, 1894 proclaimed that they wanted “...to perpetuate the memory of our Confederate heroes and the glorious cause for which they fought…” They would go as far to deny the allegation of fighting to preserve slavery, but claim that the Confederacy was defending states’ rights. Slavery was depicted as a benevolent act towards slaves. Matthew Page Andrews, The Women of the South in War Times, 1923 was a textbook used for decades in school in the South that says, “When these negroes were landed on American shores, almost all were savages taken from the lowest form of jungle life.” The South affirmed that slaves were savages as a way validate their dominance over their slaves. The textbook goes on to say, “It was largely …show more content…
The United Daughters of Confederacy Constitution, 1894 says that their job is to “collect and preserve material for a truthful history of the war…” The material that they preserved were those that only glorified the Confederate soldiers that would shape how people viewed the Confederacy. Its plan was “...to have used in all Southern schools only such histories as are just and true”(502). They raised generations of children on the Lost Cause ideology. Advocates and organizations involved themselves in politics when they interfered themselves in public affairs such as