New south and myth of the Lost Cause
The new south had emerged in the decade between Reconstruction and World War 1; it was indeed a reality if measured in terms of industrial output and railroad construction. New South was believed to linger racial obsession as its construction was done with a racial question but leaching, segregation, and institutionalization. The new south was built physically with new technologies, investments, and industry but was guided by social and political norms. Lost Cause glorified the confederacy and romanticized the old south, as the defendants of Lost Cause mythologized their past. However, the cult of the Lost Cause is believed to have its roots in Southern search for justification and substitute for the victory of the civil war need to be found (“New South and the problem of race,” n.d.). But as the southerners tried to deal with defeat, it led to creating war image as a great epic.
A single political entity of the United States was confirmed due to the civil war leading to the freedom of more than four million enslaved blacks and established a more robust and centralized federal government that laid a foundation for America’s emergence as a superpower. Another impact was the inspiration of the construction of numerous southern memorials and the shaping of religious attitudes. Lastly was the definition of gender roles in the white south in terms of preserving the family owner.
The Southern states enacted the black codes to prevent the African American slaves from being free and keep white supremacy in place. The principles gave rise to a new wave of radical republication in congress and deprive the slaves of the right to vote, the right to own or carry weapons, among other rights. Some of the decisions made to restrain the essence of slavery in the new south included acknowledging enslavement as an international crime. They were given full citizenship rights and were also granted rights as the whites who lived in America.
References
The New South and the problem of race. (n.d.). Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ushistory2ay/chapter/the-new-south-and-the-problem-of-race-2/