22nd Annual Student Research Conference
Fitzhughian Ideology: Implications and Embodiment in Literature
Shannon C. Harbaugh
Dr. Bob Mielke, Faculty Mentor
The abundance of post-bellum literature is the greatest of implications as to how vastly the American Civil War affected not only an entire generation of the mid-nineteenth century but also the consciousness of an entire nation. I explore two post-bellum works, A Hazard of New Fortunes and Free Joe, and other Georgian Sketches as responses to an empathetic readership and nostalgic post-bellum society who wished to sentimentalize the antebellum South. Additionally, I will explain Fitzhughian ideology, the notion that enslavement benefitted the slaves and was not cruel of the masters but rather altruistic. In applying Fitzhughian ideology to these two selected works, it can be considered that these literary works were not misguided attempts to redeem a feudalistic South but to implement an improved and more efficient system of slavery.
Keywords: post-bellum, antebellum, Fitzhugh
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 53-1
Location: OP 2117
Time: 2:45