Southern Identity Analysis

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Pages: 5

Final Essay: The Search for Common History
I do not mean a Southern brand of Shintoism, the worship of ancestors. Nor do I mean written history and its interpretation, popular and mythological, or professionally and scholarly, which have changed often and will change again. I mean rather the collective experience of the Southern people. It is in just this respect that the South remains the most distinctive region of the country. In their unique historic experience as Americans the Southerners should not only be able to find the basis for continuity of their heritage but also make contributions that balance and complement the experience of the rest of the nation (Woodward 16-17). C. Vann Woodward establishes some interesting points about Southern identity in his piece from “The Burden of Southern History”. Prior to reading Woodward’s excerpt “The Search for Southern Identity”, I had never questioned the origins
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Woodward’s piece provided insight to the basis of Southern identity which was important to the unit in which it was discussed. At the introduction of this unit entitled “The Foundations of Southern Studies”, origins of the South were discussed. Professor Gholston highlighted, “[t]he South has maintained a deeper regional sense than any other part of the U.S.” (The Changing South PowerPoint). The passage quoted above is particularly noteworthy because it could be used as a reference throughout the course. I believe the South has made greater social strides than any other region, but the transition to a more tolerant and equal society has been difficult, even deadly, and there is still much progress to be made. A statement during a film presented in class summed it up: “the South was, but the South is” (Wright Thompson, “Ghosts of Ole