Escott's Advertisement Analysis

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The secession of the southern states from the Union was not merely a culmination of certain events; it was also the beginning of the trial of Confederate nationalism. The slaveholding elite which had led the South out of the Union now had to solidify its support among the non-slaveholding small farmers, a class that constituted the bulk of the white population. Southern loyalties among the lower classes was with the union, and it was Jefferson Davis’ mission to help gain support. The idea of confederacy was proclaimed as the return the constitutional ideals. The advertisement of the Lincoln administration was that it was set to change the southern way of life, increase government involvement, raise taxes and end slavery. The support of the wealthy southerner was increased on these politics and were steadfast in refusal to bend from the southern way of life. To fully comprehend the significance of the Civil War, the most important event in the history of the United States, it is necessary to understand its outcome. Such an understanding will allow one to more fully appreciate the monumental changes that the war brought about: the remaking of the Southern social and economic structure, the strengthening of the Federal government, and the elimination of the major sectional distinctions in this country. Internal conflict was provoked by …show more content…

Escott concludes that this lack of nationalism can be traced in large degree to the inability of the Davis government to adequately address the economic and social disparity between the classes. The greatest failure of Jefferson Davis's leadership lay in the domestic arena, in his inability to create the internal unity and spirit essential for the growth of Confederate nationalism. The planter class played a role in the lack of Confederate