The civilization of slavery vs. that of freedom: The Civil War and Reconstruction as an ideological struggle

Author

Heath M. Anderson, Mississippi State UniversityFollow

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8796-5638.

Advisor

Lang, Andrew F.

Committee Member

Messer, Peter

Committee Member

Ural, Susannah

Committee Member

Shively, Kathryn

Date of Degree

5-16-2025

Original embargo terms

Embargo 2 years

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

History (US and European History)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of History

Abstract

This dissertation argues that Reconstruction was shaped by an irreconcilable conflict between two competing visions of American civilization: the civilization of freedom, grounded in the democratic ideals of liberty and equality, and the civilization of slavery, rooted in racial hierarchy and white supremacy. While Union victory in the Civil War destroyed slavery as an institution and resolved the question of secession, it could not bridge nineteenth-century Americans’ deeper ideological divide over the meaning of freedom and the moral foundations of democracy.

Recommended Citation

Anderson, Heath M., "The civilization of slavery vs. that of freedom: The Civil War and Reconstruction as an ideological struggle" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 6454.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/6454