HONOR TO THE DEAD OF DIXIE? EXAMINING THE IMPETUS AND ENDURING DEVOTION TO THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA AND THE EMBLEMS THAT COMMEMORATE THE FAILED EXPERIMENT OF GOVERNANCE IN NORTH AMERICA _________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Morehead State University _______________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _______________________________ by Bruce Ray Greer December 13, 2020 ProQuest Number:27738929 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 27738929 Published by ProQuest LLC (2020). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All Rights Reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 Accepted by the faculty of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Morehead State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts. ________________________________ Dr. James R. Masterson Director of Thesis Master’s Committee: __________________________________, Chair Dr. James R. Masterson __________________________________ Dr. David H. Little ___________________________________ Dr. Douglas S. Mock ________________ Date HONOR TO THE DEAD OF DIXIE? EXAMINING THE IMPETUS AND ENDURING DEVOTION TO THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA AND THE EMBLEMS THAT COMMEMORATE THE FAILED EXPERIMENT OF GOVERNANCE IN NORTH AMERICA. Bruce Ray Greer Morehead State University, 2020 Director of Thesis: _____________________________________________________ Dr. James R. Masterson During the period of determining the topic of this thesis, a resurgence of sympathetic remembrances to the Confederate States of America was being experienced in the United States. A significant influence on the revival of devotion to the Confederacy had been inspired by determining the appropriateness of displaying or retaining memorials dedicated to the failed government. This activity has stimulated passionate sentiments concerning these commemorations located on public and private properties. Considering this situation, the thesis will research the impetus of southern secession and the ongoing dedication to the Confederacy. This will be accomplished by investigating the social and political impacts that instigated the Confederacy and the subsequent development of the Lost Cause movement that shaped a sympathetic significance of the South from antebellum to the present. The argument will be constructed by investigating three chief topics. Firstly, a presentation of the events that influenced the founding generation of the United States in determining the social contract and the creation of American Federalism, which attempted to settle what the founders believed should be the proper placement of sovereignty between the state and national governments. Next, an investigation into selected events concerning sovereignty from 1789 through 1860, as well as considering the thoughts of two chief officials of the governments of the United States and the Confederate States. Representing the United States is William H. Seward. The future United States Secretary of State predicted in 1858 that southern secession was inevitable due to an “irrepressible conflict” between the North and South on the issue of free and slave labor. For the Confederate States, the opinions of Alexander H. Stephens will be considered. The former vice president of the Confederacy determined that it was “opposing principles” that inspired secession due to the federal government’s violation of American Federalism. Finally, an examination of the origins and emergence of the Lost Cause movement and its influence on past and present generations will be attempted. The thesis will argue that the secession of the southern states was divided into two distinct descriptions. The cause of secession was the idea of protecting state sovereignty perpetuated by the leaders of the slave states. The reason for secession was the slave states overwhelming dependence on the social and economic traditions of the South, which was the institution of slavery. Only after the defeat of the Confederacy did the southern leaders overwhelmingly claim that sovereignty violations were the singular issue of secession. From its inception the Lost Cause movement promoted a romantic reminiscence of the southern antebellum era with the construction of southern “honor” placed upon the officials and soldiers of the Confederacy. Although presented as monuments dedicated to the honorable and heroic generation of Confederates, the true purpose of the memorials was devoted to commemorating white supremacy and the intimidation of African Americans by the members and descendants of the defeated South. Regarding the present and future fate of the memorials dedicated to the Confederacy, the improper removal of the reminiscences retains the risk of violating the United States Constitution. The constitutional protections of speech and expression cannot be sacrificed due to a particular message being uncomfortable or disagreeable. There must be, however, considerations and compromises achieved when certain personal liberties encroach upon another’s constitutional guarantees. This thesis determines that the memorials located on an individual’s personal property are to be considered forms of free speech and expression and are constitutionally protected, as long as municipal ordinances are not violated. On the issue of public property, the memorials must be retained until democratically accepted or removed by municipal voter referendum. Accepted by: _____________________________, Chair Dr. James R. Masterson _____________________________ Dr. David H. Little _____________________________ Dr. Douglas S. Mock To Sheree, My wife, best friend, and biggest cheerleader. Conquered, we are not degraded, Southern laurels have not faded; Mourn, but not in shame, for Dixie! Deck your Heroes' graves with garlands, Till the echo comes from far lands, Honor to the dead of Dixie! ---Albert Pike 1900 PREFACE The motivation for the topic of this thesis was initially conceived in a high school government class at East Alton-Wood River High School in the fall semester of 1981. The instructor, Darrell D. Franklin, had opened a discussion by asking the class what they believed were the origins of the American Civil War. The class overwhelmingly responded that the issue of slavery was the cause of the conflict. Following the student’s determinations, Mr. Franklin informed the class that it was not the issue of slavery that prompted the southern states to secede from the Union and subsequently bring about the war. The issue that split the United States was the struggle to determine the issue of American Federalism through the question of placing the proper placement of sovereignty between the state and federal governments embodied in the U.S. Constitution. All other subjects, such as abolition, tariffs, free/slave labor and internal improvements were simply by-products of the violation of the social compact and American Federalism upon the states that created the Confederate States of America. This revelation into the origins of the Confederacy was quite a shock to all of us high school seniors. It had been cemented into our minds from elementary school that Abraham Lincoln, the adopted son of Illinois, had won the Civil War by being the Great Emancipator. Lincoln refused to let the Union be torn apart over the issue of slavery and had fought the rebellious states to free their human chattel property. Thus, Lincoln was triumphant in not only emancipating the slaves, but also in bringing the rebellious former slave holding states back into the nation that was founded on the idea of liberty and freedom. For a high school teacher to tell his class that slavery was not the cause of the Civil War was tantamount to blasphemy against the man who was revered in the state as being one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. Mr. Franklin’s explanation concerning the origins of the Civil War forced me to reexamine my previous opinions on the causes of the Civil War and to investigate the motivation of the persons and events that initiated the Confederacy. For the next twenty-nine years, unfortunately, this reexamination did not take the form of scholarly study. My amateur research was limited to non-academic sources and the motion picture industry, until three events occurred that completely changed my direction. The first was being gifted James M. McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom in 1990 by my parents. This work by McPherson was crucial in not only bringing to my attention the events that led to the secession of the future Confederate states, but the author additionally researched the activities in both governments during the war, and not simply reported the actions on the battlefield that nearly all of the non-scholarly works had covered on my previous study. The second motivation was my re-initiation into my collegiate work in 2010. Through the direction of Dr. Aaron N. Coleman at Kentucky Christian University,1 Dr. Alana C. Scott,