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9781621906346

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In 1861, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens proclaimed with pride that white supremacy was the cornerstone of his new nation. That candid admission haunted Stephens to his grave, and even today echoes discordantly from crowded streets and empty pedestals. In this pioneering study, Keith Hebert locates Stephens and his speech in deep context, and follows their torturous path though American culture from the Fort Sumter to the digital age. Nuanced and often courageous, this will be a central text for readers who hope to better understand the Civil War and comprehend its knotty legacy. --Kenneth W. Noe, author of The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate, and the American Civil War.

In 1861, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens proclaimed with pride that white supremacy was the cornerstone of his new nation. That candid admission haunted Stephens to his grave, and even today echoes discordantly from crowded streets and empty pedestals. In this pioneering study, Keith Hebert locates Stephens and his speech in deep context, and follows their torturous path through American culture from the Fort Sumter to the digital age. Nuanced and often courageous, this will be a central text for readers who hope to better understand the Civil War and comprehend its knotty legacy. --Kenneth W. Noe, author of The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate, and the American Civil War This exploration of one major speech, within its time frame and much beyond, shows the myriad ways in which we think about, talk about, and write about historical ideas. Hebert refutes any cultural amnesia about the intellectual tradition of Stephens and the Confederacy, and he demolishes the aggressive articulations of white supremacy that are distorted as honoring 'heritage.' --Orville Vernon Burton, author of The Age of Lincoln Keith Hebert's astute new study comes as a welcome addition to the burgeoning scholarship on Civil War memory and meaning. Focusing on Stephens's pronouncement of slavery as the Confederacy's cornerstone, this book is a fresh, full-bodied treatment of white supremacy and its legacy, and of the remarkable staying power of the Lost Cause's most 'inconvenient truth.' --John C. Inscoe, University of Georgia

In 1861, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens proclaimed with pride that white supremacy was the cornerstone of his new nation. That candid admission haunted Stephens to his grave, and even today echoes discordantly from crowded streets and empty pedestals. In this pioneering study, Keith Hebert locates Stephens and his speech in deep context, and follows their torturous path though American culture from the Fort Sumter to the digital age. Nuanced and often courageous, this will be a central text for readers who hope to better understand the Civil War and comprehend its knotty legacy. - Kenneth W. Noe, author of The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate, and the American Civil War.

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KEITH S. HÉBERT is an associate professor and public history officer at Auburn University. He is the author of The Long Civil War in the North Georgia Mountains: Confederate Nationalism, Sectionalism, and White Supremacy in Bartow County, Georgia, which won a Choice Outstanding Academic Title award.

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