Heath, Andrew D. (2014) “Let the Empire Come”: Monarchism and its Critics in the Reconstruction South. Civil War History, 60 (2). ISSN 0009-8078
Abstract
In 1869, a monarchist newspaper, The Imperialist, caused a “sensation” across the Union. In the South, where it circulated widely, most conservatives read it as a Radical blueprint to dismember the republic. These critics used the paper to rally the white electorate, and their response sheds light on the “phantasms of fear” Mark Summers has argued characterized Reconstruction politics. But the weekly also found adherents in the South. Whether out of admiration for the nation-building efforts of European monarchies, contempt for black suffrage, or hostility to Herrenvolk democracy, they saw a strong centralized government with a king at its head as a path to stabilization that would maintain their power and authority. The monarchist moment in the South was fleeting and never attracted widespread support, but proclamations of fidelity to the principles of The Imperialist illuminate a rarely-explored variant of southern conservatism.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Pre-print version. Accepted after minor revisions for publication by Civil War History for June 2014 issue. Produced here with permission from Kent State University Press. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > Department of History (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Dr. Andrew D. Heath |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2013 12:47 |
Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2014 09:57 |
Published Version: | http://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2014/june-... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Kent State University Press |
Refereed: | No |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:75783 |