"Everybody is Centennializing": White Southerners and the 1876 Centennial. Issue 3 (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Noe, Jack
• Is Part Of: American nineteenth century history. Volume 17:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 325
• Page End: 343
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: Centennial -- 1876 -- South -- identity -- nationalism -- sectionalism; United States -- History -- 19th century -- Periodicals; 973.5
• DOI: 10.1080/14664658.2016.1270025
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1466-4658

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The one hundredth anniversary of American independence was celebrated with a huge world's fair or "International Exhibition" in Philadelphia, commonly referred to as "The Centennial, " a central theme of which was post-bellum reconciliation. This article argues that the Centennial served as a catalyst for reflection about sectional distinctiveness. It examines the highly politicized discourse around the commemoration, the ways in which white southerners' self-definition was bound up in perceived differences from their Northern counterparts and the extent to which exaggerated or re-affirmed southerness in reaction to the Centennial detracted from post-war affirmations of renewed American nationalism.