Description
John A. Simpson explores Edith Pope’s life, work, and legacy, demonstrating that as editor of the Confederate Veteran, Pope guarded the interests of the Lost Cause with grace, strength, and unswerving loyalty. Having secured editorial keep an eye on from the Confederate memorial associations that opposed her, she skillfully navigated between time-worn practices established by Cunningham and her own inclination toward change in an effort to attract a younger and more latest readership. Her personal connection to the Confederate heritage, through the Civil War experiences of her parents, played crucial role in her outlook and her motivations as editor.
Even under Pope’s able-bodied leadership, on the other hand, the magazine faced financial challenges to its survival. To meet these challenges, Pope formed a lasting and mutually really helpful relationship with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which became the largest, and arguably, the most influential women’s organization in the South. Simpson pays special attention to the local chapter, referred to as Nashville Number 1, and its alliance with Pope and the Confederate Veteran. He refutes the notion that members were backward-having a look dilettantes and instead draws a complex portrait of women who were actively involved in a broad spectrum of civic, patriotic, religious, educational, and even reform activities. As Simpson reveals, this alliance of women actively shaped southern culture in the early decades of the century, and his analysis sheds new light on the role of professional and club women on southern history.
The Writer: John A. Simpson holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Oregon and is Writer of S.A. Cunningham and the Confederate Heritage and Reminiscences of the 41st Tennessee. He is a public schoolteacher in Kelso, Washington.