Declarations of Dependence

The Long Reconstruction of Popular Politics in the South, 1861-1908

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Legal History, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Declarations of Dependence by Gregory P. Downs, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gregory P. Downs ISBN: 9780807877760
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: February 14, 2011
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Gregory P. Downs
ISBN: 9780807877760
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: February 14, 2011
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

In this highly original study, Gregory Downs argues that the most American of wars, the Civil War, created a seemingly un-American popular politics, rooted not in independence but in voluntary claims of dependence. Through an examination of the pleas and petitions of ordinary North Carolinians, Declarations of Dependence contends that the Civil War redirected, not destroyed, claims of dependence by exposing North Carolinians to the expansive but unsystematic power of Union and Confederate governments, and by loosening the legal ties that bound them to husbands, fathers, and masters.

Faced with anarchy during the long reconstruction of government authority, people turned fervently to the government for protection and sustenance, pleading in fantastic, intimate ways for attention. This personalistic, or what Downs calls patronal, politics allowed for appeals from subordinate groups like freed blacks and poor whites, and also bound people emotionally to newly expanding postwar states. Downs's argument rewrites the history of the relationship between Americans and their governments, showing the deep roots of dependence, the complex impact of the Civil War upon popular politics, and the powerful role of Progressivism and segregation in submerging a politics of dependence that--in new form--rose again in the New Deal and persists today.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this highly original study, Gregory Downs argues that the most American of wars, the Civil War, created a seemingly un-American popular politics, rooted not in independence but in voluntary claims of dependence. Through an examination of the pleas and petitions of ordinary North Carolinians, Declarations of Dependence contends that the Civil War redirected, not destroyed, claims of dependence by exposing North Carolinians to the expansive but unsystematic power of Union and Confederate governments, and by loosening the legal ties that bound them to husbands, fathers, and masters.

Faced with anarchy during the long reconstruction of government authority, people turned fervently to the government for protection and sustenance, pleading in fantastic, intimate ways for attention. This personalistic, or what Downs calls patronal, politics allowed for appeals from subordinate groups like freed blacks and poor whites, and also bound people emotionally to newly expanding postwar states. Downs's argument rewrites the history of the relationship between Americans and their governments, showing the deep roots of dependence, the complex impact of the Civil War upon popular politics, and the powerful role of Progressivism and segregation in submerging a politics of dependence that--in new form--rose again in the New Deal and persists today.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book A Southern Garden by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book In Pursuit of the Almighty's Dollar by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book Prairie Patrimony by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book The German Influence in France after 1870 by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book National Insecurities by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book The Death and Life of Main Street by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book Pullman Porters and the Rise of Protest Politics in Black America, 1925-1945 by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book The Economics and Politics of Health by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book A Government by the People by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book Choosing Craft by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book Too Much to Ask by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book Before Jim Crow by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book White Captives by Gregory P. Downs
Cover of the book The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad by Gregory P. Downs
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy