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

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. Contents......Page 8 Introduction: Friends Unseen: The Ballad of Political Dependency......Page 14 1 Hungry for Protection: The Confederate Roots of Dependence......Page 28 2 Slaves and the Great Deliverer: Freedom and Friendship behind Union Lines......Page 56 3 Vulnerable at the Circumference: Demobilization and the Limitations of the Freedmen’s Bureau......Page 88 4 The Great Day of Acounter: Democracy and the Problem of Power in Republican Reconstruction......Page 114 5 The Persistence of Prayer: Dependency after Redemption......Page 144 6 Crazes, Fetishes, and Enthusiasms: The Silver Mania and the Making of a New Politics......Page 176 7 A Compressive Age: White Supremacy and the Growth of the Modern State......Page 198 Coda: Desperate Times Call for Distant Friends: Franklin Roosevelt as the Last Good King?......Page 226 Acknowledgments......Page 234 Notes......Page 240 Bibliography......Page 290 B......Page 350 C......Page 351 E......Page 352 H......Page 353 L......Page 354 P......Page 355 R......Page 356 S......Page 357 V......Page 358 Y......Page 359 Introduction: Friends Unseen : The Ballad Of Political Dependency -- Hungry For Protection : The Confederate Roots Of Dependence -- Slaves And The Great Deliverer : Freedom And Friendship Behind Union Lines -- Vulnerable At The Circumference : Demobilization And The Limitations Of The Freedmen's Bureau -- The Great Day Of Acounter : Democracy And The Problem Of Power In Republican Reconstruction -- The Persistence Of Prayer : Dependency After Redemption -- Crazes, Fetishes, And Enthusiasms : The Silver Mania And The Making Of A New Politics -- A Compressive Age : White Supremacy And The Growth Of The Modern State -- Coda: Desperate Times Call For Distant Friends : Franklin Roosevelt As The Last Good King? Gregory P. Downs. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Through an examination of the pleas and petitions of ordinary North Carolinians, Downs 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