First Lady Of The South: The Life Of Mrs. Jefferson Davis

First Lady Of The South: The Life Of Mrs. Jefferson Davis PDF Author: Ishbel Ross
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786258536
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 840

Get Book Here

Book Description
This brilliant and engaging biography of Varina Davis tells of the early days of her marriage to Jefferson Davis, the controversial figure who would become president of the Confederacy. The story gives a detailed account of their life in Washington and Richmond, the years of war, and follows their journey during the weeks and months of escape and then—following Jefferson Davis’ release from prison—exile. “EVERY move the made was noticed and commented on. She was accused of being friendly to the North, of harboring spies in her home, of feasting when others starred, of pretentious ways, of nepotism, of not reading the books which she quoted so freely, of extravagant entertaining in hours of crisis, and of meddling in politics and military affairs. Some of the stories were true; many were not, but it is self-evident that she instinctively generated heat lightning around her.”—First Lady of the South. Includes numerous illustrations.

First Lady Of The South: The Life Of Mrs. Jefferson Davis

First Lady Of The South: The Life Of Mrs. Jefferson Davis PDF Author: Ishbel Ross
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786258536
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 840

Get Book Here

Book Description
This brilliant and engaging biography of Varina Davis tells of the early days of her marriage to Jefferson Davis, the controversial figure who would become president of the Confederacy. The story gives a detailed account of their life in Washington and Richmond, the years of war, and follows their journey during the weeks and months of escape and then—following Jefferson Davis’ release from prison—exile. “EVERY move the made was noticed and commented on. She was accused of being friendly to the North, of harboring spies in her home, of feasting when others starred, of pretentious ways, of nepotism, of not reading the books which she quoted so freely, of extravagant entertaining in hours of crisis, and of meddling in politics and military affairs. Some of the stories were true; many were not, but it is self-evident that she instinctively generated heat lightning around her.”—First Lady of the South. Includes numerous illustrations.

First Lady of the South

First Lady of the South PDF Author: Ishbel Ross
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alabama
Languages : en
Pages : 512

Get Book Here

Book Description


Portraits of American Women

Portraits of American Women PDF Author: G. J. Barker-Benfield
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195120486
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 626

Get Book Here

Book Description
Until recently a "womanless" American history was the norm. But without a history of women we neglect gender dynamics, sex roles, and family relations--the very fundamentals of human interaction. Here 24 short essays locate the histories of women--from Pocahontas to Betty Friedan--and men together by period and provide a sense of their continuities through the whole gallery of the American past. 26 photos.

Forgotten Firebrand

Forgotten Firebrand PDF Author: John R. McKivigan
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501732269
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book Here

Book Description
The reformer James Redpath (1833–1891) was a focal figure in many of the key developments in nineteenth-century American political and cultural life. He befriended John Brown, Samuel Clemens, and Henry George and, toward the end of his life, was a ghostwriter for Jefferson Davis. He advocated for abolition, civil rights, Irish nationalism, women's suffrage, and labor unions. In Forgotten Firebrand, the first full-length biography of this fascinating American, John R. McKivigan portrays the many facets of Redpath's life, including his stint as a reporter for the New York Tribune, his involvement with the Haitian emigration movement, and his time as a Civil War correspondent. Examining Redpath's varied career enables McKivigan to cast light on the history of journalism, public speaking, and mass entertainment in the United States. Redpath's newspaper writing is credited with popularizing the stenographic interview in the American press, and he can be studied as a prototype for later generations of newspaper writers who blended reportage with participation in reform movements. His influential biography of John Brown justified the use of violent actions in the service of abolitionism. Redpath was an important figure in the emerging professional entertainment industry in this country. Along with his friend P. T. Barnum, Redpath popularized the figure of the "impresario" in American culture. Redpath's unique combination of interests and talents—for politics, for journalism, for public relations—brought an entrepreneurial spirit to reform that blurred traditional lines between business and social activism and helped forge modern concepts of celebrity.

Honoring the Civil War Dead

Honoring the Civil War Dead PDF Author: John R. Neff
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700622594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

Get Book Here

Book Description
By the end of the Civil War, fatalities from that conflict had far exceeded previous American experience, devastating families and communities alike. As John Neff shows, commemorating the 620,000 lives lost proved to be a persistent obstacle to the hard work of reuniting the nation, as every memorial observation compelled painful recollections of the war. Neff contends that the significance of the Civil War dead has been largely overlooked and that the literature on the war has so far failed to note how commemorations of the dead provide a means for both expressing lingering animosities and discouraging reconciliation. Commemoration--from private mourning to the often extravagant public remembrances exemplified in cemeteries, monuments, and Memorial Day observances--provided Americans the quintessential forum for engaging the war’s meaning. Additionally, Neff suggests a special significance for the ways in which the commemoration of the dead shaped Northern memory. In his estimation, Northerners were just as active in myth-making after the war. Crafting a “Cause Victorious” myth that was every bit as resonant and powerful as the much better-known “Lost Cause” myth cherished by Southerners, the North asserted through commemorations the existence of a loyal and reunified nation long before it was actually a fact. Neff reveals that as Northerners and Southerners honored their separate dead, they did so in ways that underscore the limits of reconciliation between Union and Confederate veterans, whose mutual animosities lingered for many decades after the end of the war. Ultimately, Neff argues that the process of reunion and reconciliation that has been so much the focus of recent literature either neglects or dismisses the persistent reluctance of both Northerners and Southerners to “forgive and forget,” especially where their war dead were concerned. Despite reunification, the continuing imperative of commemoration reflects a more complex resolution to the war than is even now apparent. His book provides a compelling account of this conflict that marks a major contribution to our understanding of the war and its many meanings.

First Lady of the Confederacy

First Lady of the Confederacy PDF Author: Joan E. Cashin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674029267
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 416

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Jefferson Davis became president of the Confederacy, his wife, Varina Howell Davis, reluctantly became the First Lady. For this highly intelligent, acutely observant woman, loyalty did not come easily: she spent long years struggling to reconcile her societal duties to her personal beliefs. Raised in Mississippi but educated in Philadelphia, and a long-time resident of Washington, D.C., Mrs. Davis never felt at ease in Richmond. During the war she nursed Union prisoners and secretly corresponded with friends in the North. Though she publicly supported the South, her term as First Lady was plagued by rumors of her disaffection. After the war, Varina Davis endured financial woes and the loss of several children, but following her husband's death in 1889, she moved to New York and began a career in journalism. Here she advocated reconciliation between the North and South and became friends with Julia Grant, the widow of Ulysses S. Grant. She shocked many by declaring in a newspaper that it was God's will that the North won the war. A century after Varina Davis's death in 1906, Joan E. Cashin has written a masterly work, the first definitive biography of this truly modern, but deeply conflicted, woman. Pro-slavery but also pro-Union, Varina Davis was inhibited by her role as Confederate First Lady and unable to reveal her true convictions. In this pathbreaking book, Cashin offers a splendid portrait of a fascinating woman who struggled with the constraints of her time and place.

Jefferson Davis, American

Jefferson Davis, American PDF Author: William J. Cooper
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375725423
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 850

Get Book Here

Book Description
From a distinguished historian of the American South comes this thoroughly human portrait of the complex man at the center of our nation's most epic struggle. Jefferson Davis initially did not wish to leave the Union—as the son of a veteran of the American Revolution and as a soldier and senator, he considered himself a patriot. William J. Cooper shows us how Davis' initial reluctance turned into absolute commitment to the Confederacy. He provides a thorough account of Davis' life, both as the Confederate President and in the years before and after the war. Elegantly written and impeccably researched, Jefferson Davis, American is the definitive examination of one of the most enigmatic figures in our nation's history.

The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis

The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis PDF Author: Donald E. Collins
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742543041
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
When the Civil War ended, Jefferson Davis had fallen from the heights of popularity to the depths of despair. In this fascinating new book, Donald E. Collins explores the resurrection of Davis to heroic status in the hearts of white Southerners culminating in one of the grandest funeral processions the nation had ever seen. As schools closed and bells tolled along the thousand mile route, Southerners appeared en masse to bid a final farewell to the man who championed Southern secession and ardently defended the Confederacy.

Exploring Lincoln

Exploring Lincoln PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Fordham University Press
ISBN: 082326565X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ubiquitous and enigmatic, the historical Lincoln, the literary Lincoln, even the cinematic Lincoln have all proved both fascinating and irresistible. Though some 16,000 books have been written about him, there is always more to say, new aspects of his life to consider, new facets of his persona to explore. Enlightening and entertaining, Exploring Lincoln offers a selection of sixteen papers presented at the Lincoln Forum symposia over the past three years. Shining new light on particular aspects of Lincoln and his tragically abbreviated presidency, Exploring Lincoln presents a compelling snapshot of current Lincoln scholarship and a fascinating window into understanding America’s greatest president.

Intimate Strategies of the Civil War

Intimate Strategies of the Civil War PDF Author: Carol K. Bleser
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198027494
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Get Book Here

Book Description
From Robert E. and Mary Lee to Ulysses S. and Julia Grant, Intimate Strategies of the Civil War examines the marriages of twelve prominent military commanders, highlighting the impact wives had on their famous husbands' careers. Carol K. Bleser and Lesley J. Gordon assemble an impressive array of leading scholars to explore the marriages of six Confederate and six Union commanders. Contributors reveal that, for many of these men, the matrimonial bond was the most important relationship in their lives, one that shaped (and was shaped by) their military experience. In some cases, the commanders' spouses proved relentless and skillful promoters of their husbands' careers. Jessie Frémont drew on all of her connections as the daughter of former Senator Thomas Hart Benton to aid her modestly talented husband John. Others bolstered their military spouses in less direct ways. For example, Ulysses S. Grant's relationship with Julia (a Southerner and former slave owner herself) kept him anchored in stormy times. Here, too, are tense and tempestuous pairings, such William Tecumseh Sherman and his wife Ellen--his foster sister before becoming his wife--and Jefferson Davis's fascinatingly complex bond with Varina, further complicated by the hostile rumors about the two in Richmond society. Throughout, these historians paint remarkably intimate portraits of their subjects. Readers will see these famed men in a way that they perhaps never considered: not merely as famous leaders, but as lovers, husbands and fathers.