A review by mcf
The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth" About the "Lost Cause" by Edward H. Sebesta, James W. Loewen

5.0

This is a book with a clear agenda (and how nice to read a book intended for use in school that states its agenda clearly and simply from the start!), and that, in large part, is to disprove the increasingly pervasive myth that the South seceded from the union to protect states' rights, and not to defend slavery and white supremacy. To support the slavery thesis, Loewen and Sebesta provide dozens upon dozens of devastating primary sources which, taken together, make it abundantly clear that slavery was, in fact, the main factor behind the southern departure. What follows in the book are chapters of documents illuminating the development of the myth of the pure, anti-slavery Confederacy, and how that myth survives -- and is used -- today. It's an immensely powerful, informative volume no matter one's occupation but, for teachers, it's a hugely valuable resource.