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Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: September 16, 2020 at 1:40:17 PM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-SHGAPE]: Smith Cox on Domby, 'The False Cause: > Fraud, Fabrication, and White Supremacy in Confederate Memory' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Adam H. Domby. The False Cause: Fraud, Fabrication, and White > Supremacy in Confederate Memory. Charlottesville University of > Virginia Press, 2020. 272 pp. $29.95 (cloth), ISBN > 978-0-8139-4376-3. > > Reviewed by Shae Smith Cox (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) > Published on H-SHGAPE (September, 2020) > Commissioned by William S. Cossen > > Adam Domby's _The False Cause_ "details how white supremacy, fraud, > and fabricated memories have fundamentally shaped how Americans, > especially white southerners, recalled the past." In this narrative > Domby explains how white southerners generally, but, specifically in > this case, North Carolinians, used the "lies and falsehoods" they > were taught about the Lost Cause to "justify segregation, > disenfranchisement, and racial discrimination" (p. 3). A point worth > appreciating up front is the time Domby takes to convey the reasoning > behind his choice to use the words "lie," "falsehood," and > "fabrication": as he notes, "a less provocative term than _lie_ might > obscure the purposeful creation and use of these constructions, and > thereby render them innocuous" (p. 9). Throughout the work he argues > that the falsehoods and fabrications are lies created to serve a > contemporary purpose. > > Chapters 1 and 2 examine the rewriting and invention of an expansive > web of lies that white politicians and elites fabricated to serve > their purpose and further white supremacy. In chapter 1, Domby > engages with Jim Crow politics when discussing the motivations behind > constructing monuments, stating that "monuments frequently have > multiple overlapping meanings," but even the most innocuous concept > of creating Confederate monuments to honor soldiers served as a > method of celebrating the intentions and efforts of white supremacy > (pp. 20-21). Domby acknowledges that transitioning monuments from the > cemetery to a prominent public space such as a courthouse lawn > altered the purpose of the monuments "as they increasingly served as > celebratory markers instead of sober memorials," because doing so > allowed white southerners to proclaim a moral victory and uphold > systemic racism (p. 23). Chapter 2 deals specifically with the > creation of ideal Confederates, discussing everything from > exaggerating personal war records to conjuring "soldiers out of thin > air" as an attempt to justify white southern rule (p. 47). Domby > explains that during the height of monument creation, southerners > understood that monuments were excellent tools that assisted people > in remembering "historical figures as heroes, and heroes were part of > a process that ensured a specific memory of the war was passed on to > future generations" (p. 46). > > Chapters 3 and 4 are compelling and demonstrate the power of the > pension as a prop for the Lost Cause narrative. In chapter 3, Domby > reminds historians of the importance of money in crafting the Lost > Cause narrative because money talked and said the things necessary to > retroactively form a solid South. He explains that "pensions helped > buttress a southern racial hierarchy through both the erasure of > dissent and by presenting pensioners as white heroes to celebrate," > even if they had deserted the Confederacy when it counted (p. 77). > Additionally, Domby states that "widows' pensions could also help > erase the dissent from the historical record while providing women > with both monetary and social capital" (p. 87). While he provides a > few examples, the extent of the social capital in relation to women > is a fascinating point that deserves a deeper discussion in this > context. In his opening example of Eli Williamson, Domby demonstrates > the power of the pension even further when he explains North > Carolina's 1927 policy of accepting applications from African > Americans who served as body servants or laborers (not soldiers) > during the war for "Class B" pensions. He argues that "pensions for > people of color forced to work for the Confederacy have been used > since their issuance to buttress the Lost Cause and ideologies of > white supremacy" because applications for Class B pensions "for > former slaves and free people of color began to be cited as proof > that there were 'black Confederate' soldiers serving alongside their > masters" (p. 107). > > In chapter 5, Domby artfully demonstrates how the concept of the > loyal slave became the myth of the "black Confederate." By looking at > reunions attended by "black Confederates" and not closely examining > those who garnered pensions, people can and do misconstrue these > examples, as Domby shows, as false physical "proof" that Confederates > were not "racist," further providing hope for neo-Confederates that > their heritage was a much cleaner version of history than claimed. He > argues that "the racial hierarchy that Julian Carr and other former > Confederates desired was not undermined but rather reinforced by the > attendance and limited participation of a few former slaves" (pp. > 149-150). > > _The False Cause_ is full of thoroughly entertaining stories that > grab readers' attention and make them think about the lies of the > Lost Cause and how pervasive that narrative has been throughout US > history. Domby concludes this work by calling on his fellow > historians to carefully and thoughtfully engage with the public with > the hope of curtailing these dangerous fabrications, because we "have > the ability to call attention to how the past has been used and > manipulated" (p. 168). Judging by his Twitter feed, Domby is leading > by example. > > Citation: Shae Smith Cox. Review of Domby, Adam H., _The False Cause: > Fraud, Fabrication, and White Supremacy in Confederate Memory_. > H-SHGAPE, H-Net Reviews. September, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55345 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#1640): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/1640 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/76892966/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
