Rhetorical analysis of the myth of the lost cause as embodied in Robert E. Lee

Mead, George Frederick

Rhetorical analysis of the myth of the lost cause as embodied in Robert E. Lee 238 views

Author

Mead, George Frederick, Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies, University of Virginia

Advisors

Davis, Janet B. , University of Virginia
Prosser, Michael H. , University of Virginia

Abstract

This thesis will focus on a rhetorical analysis of the Lost Cause as embodied by Robert E. Lee. The Lost Cause was a cultural attitude, with a marble reification in the monuments that proliferated throughout the South after 1875 (Wilson 1980, 19). Most of the existing research on Lee and Civil War history ignores a very important post-war development: the general's role as a symbol of a cohesive Southern people with a separate cultural identity. This thesis takes the position that the Lee myth served Southern needs; it helped the region respond to the exigencies of post-war life. This study aims to shed light on the myth. 

[Excerpt from the Introduction]

Degree

MA (Master of Arts)

Language

English

Rights

Issued Date

1994-01-01

Persistent Link

https://doi.org/10.18130/v3-ktg8-5287

Suggested Citation

Mead, George Frederick. Rhetorical analysis of the myth of the lost cause as embodied in Robert E. Lee. University of Virginia, Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies, MA (Master of Arts), 1994-01-01, https://doi.org/10.18130/v3-ktg8-5287.

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