Date of Award

Spring 2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

Carolyn Lawes

Committee Member

Maura Hametz

Committee Member

Timothy Orr

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.H47 D45 2011

Abstract

Although there are numerous studies of Jefferson Davis and countless more of the Civil War and its consequences, little work has been done to study what the death of Jefferson Davis revealed in terms of the United States' reunification. A political nonperson in the nation's capital, Davis was never fully pardoned and did not receive full rights of citizenship in his lifetime, giving him a unique position in society. Moreover, as the former president of the Confederacy, he was a polarizing figure whose death elicited strong emotions.

The response to Davis's death, almost twenty-five years after the Civil War ended, shows a country not completely healed from the War. White southern mourning of Davis demonstrated the various degrees of healing, or lack thereof, that followed the Civil War and the policies of Reconstruction. In the South's rebranding of the War in its own terms, Davis transformed from a perceived political failure to an unrepentant, southern cultural icon; a martyr for the South. Conversely, in the North, many people were appalled that the South held grand memorials and widely praised Davis, while others were confused and disappointed that the South continued to dwell on the past.

By studying events in Davis's life, perceived offenses against the South, and the cultural rebuilding of southern states following their defeat in the Civil War, the responses to the death of Jefferson Davis can be seen to reveal the uneasy atmosphere of the era.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/mbdj-w841

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