The Enigmatic South

<p>The Enigmatic South brings together leading scholars of the Civil War period to challenge existing perceptions of the advance to secession the Civil War and its aftermath. The pioneering research and innovative arguments of these historians bring crucial insights to the study of this era in American history. <p/>Christopher Childers Sarah L. Hyde and Julia Huston Nguyen consider the ways politics religion and education contributed to southern attitudes toward secession in the antebellum period. George C. Rable Paul F. Paskoff and John M. Sacher delve into the challenges the Confederate South faced as it sought legitimacy for its cause and military strength for the coming war with the North. Richard Follett Samuel C. Hyde Jr. and Eric H. Walther offer new perspectives on the changes the Civil War wrought on the economic and ideological landscape of the South. <p/>The essays in The Enigmatic South speak eloquently to previously unconsidered aspects and legacies of the Civil War and make a major contribution to our understanding of the rich history of a conflict whose aftereffects still linger in American culture and memory.</p>