The Civil War as a symbol of pride

Many of the southern people interviewed by Horwitz who maintained a connection to the Civil War saw the struggle as a symbol of personal pride that connected them to others in their society. Mike Hawkins, for example, who was a blue-collar worker with family and financial problems was proud to belong to the Sons of Civil War Veterans, where he socialized with professionals and people of other backgrounds. His family connection to the Civil War gave him a sense of pride.

A different kind of symbolism explored by Horwitz is the Civil War's central role in a more general southern pride that is defined by rebelliousness stemming from a feeling of oppression. In Todd County, Kentucky, for example, he found that the Confederacy and the Confederate battle flag had become a popular symbol even though that region of the country had...