Bøger udgivet af University Alabama Press

A fascinating account of the final, pivotal year of the Civil War in Alabama and its effects on Alabama politics today To understand Alabama today, it's necessary to understand what happened in 1865. In 1865 Alabama: From Civil War to Uncivil Peace Christopher McIlwain examines the end of the Civil War and the early days of Reconstruction, tracing how the action--and inaction--of leaders in the state during those twelve months shaped the decades that followed as well as state politics today. McIlwain focuses on four factors: the immediate and unconditional emancipation of enslaved people, the destruction of Alabama's industrial economy, significant broadening of northern support for suffrage rights for freedmen, and a long scarcity of investment capital. Each element proves important to understanding aspects of Alabama today. Relevant events outside Alabama are woven into the narrative, including McIlwain's controversial argument regarding the effect of Lincoln's assassination. Most historians assume that Lincoln favored black suffrage and that he would have led the fight to impose that on the South. But he made it clear to his cabinet members that granting suffrage rights was a matter to be decided by the southern states, not the federal government. Thus, according to McIlwain, if Lincoln had lived, black suffrage would not have been the issue it became in Alabama. In his fresh analysis of what really happened in Alabama in 1865 and why--McIlwain illuminates that Alabama's challenges were neither entirely the fault of northern or southern policies but rather the complex interaction between the two.

An engrossing account of the myth and legend of George S. Patton and what his reputation illuminates about American culture and hero worshipPatton's Shadow by Nathan C. Jones, a leading authority on George S. Patton, offers a definitive account of the creation of the Patton legend and what it illuminates about American culture and the worship of heroes. Jones traces how the persona of Patton, a brash and brilliant general in the European theater of World War II, transcended the individual man and became a cultural icon and byword for triumphal American might. Patton was a hero lionized and celebrated in his own time. Patton as well as the US Army cultivated his persona during and after the war. His image was used to promote patriotism, commercial goods, and military recruitment. The 1970 Academy Award-winning film starring George C. Scott cemented his iconic image for millions of Americans, further embellishing Patton's persona and introducing him to entirely new generations of young Americans. Patton's Shadow is an intellectually omnivorous tour de force that draws on ideas about heroes from sources as timeless as ancient mythology and as contemporary as Abraham Maslow, Max Weber, and Carl Jung. Jones artfully locates the honored altar that heroes occupy in the human heart and then answers insightful questions about what America's embrace of Patton in particular as a military hero illuminates about the United States, about Patton's generation, and about our own. Jones's engrossing work will fascinate readers interested in American history, military history, and the psychology of heroism.

Fresh perspectives on the implications of gender and race in US military history from a diverse group of scholars in the field of war and society

Offers a rich interpretation of the region's vexed history through a detailed study of the commemorative practices enacted--and withheld--at a landmark American museum

Celebrates more than fifty years of archaeological research from the University of South Alabama