Lost Cause Political Influence

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“Lost Cause” advocates stated that their work was not political, and this appears to be mostly true given that much of their work discussed in the documents provided did not seem to be very politically based. The Lost Cause seemed to have influence in many aspects of southern life, some positive and some negative. The Lost Cause associations seem to have influenced the legacies of Reconstruction because those involved in the programs attempted to alter what was publicized or what was said to be the truth. The Lost Cause belief was founded upon false beliefs that the Civil War was started because the South wanted to protect state’s rights, and not preserve slavery along with the belief that slavery was benevolent and for the good of African …show more content…
Matthew Page Andrews wrote “The Women of the South in War Times” and his book he emphasized how he believed that slavery was benevolent and the southern women were doing African Americans a favor by taking them in and educating them. Matthew Page’s book was accepted as a popular textbook for schools in the South and so as his beliefs and teachings were more widely spread it is likely that his skewed perceptions caused people to believe that Reconstruction was wrong and took away the “good” that southerners were doing for African Americans. Susie King Taylor wrote an important article which highlighted the fact that ex-confederate Daughters were trying to ban “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” because they believed that it misconstrued what actually took place in the South. The ex-confederate Daughters were trying to cover up what took place in the South so that they could say that Reconstruction was falsely advertised as helping former slaves. Many Lost Cause associations wanted to cover up what took place in the South, which meant covering up the truth when it tried to come out. Lost Cause associations greatly influenced the legacy of