What Civil War Are We Talking About? Southern Honor and the Myth of the Lost Cause

In the aftermath of a brutal Civil War, many southerners justified their sacrifice by creating a romanticized version of the War. Prominent people like South Carolina’s Wade Hampton and LaSalle Corbell Pickett, widow of the famed Confederate General, promoted a version of the War that justified the South’s secession, casting doubt on the real causes of the conflict. This presentation explores this 19th century manifestation of “fake news” and its lasting consequences on the national memory and understanding of the Civil War.