History ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 4-10-2025

Abstract

From 1865 to 1870, tens of thousands of ex-Confederate soldiers, officials, and citizens fled the South for destinations in Latin America. They did so because their defeat in the U.S. Civil War instigated an emotional and identity crisis. Ex-Confederates felt that they could no longer live in the South given the changes wrought by Reconstruction. Rather than remain in the region, many looked toward Latin American states, such as Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and British Honduras (Belize), where they believed they could create a way of life like that experienced in the Old South. To do so, ex-Confederates sought settlement in destinations that supported cash crop production, coercive systems of labor, and conservative government. This dissertation demonstrates that the emotions of Confederate defeat motivated, guided, and eventually undermined efforts to create permanent expat communities in Latin America, resulting in the overall failure of the ex-Confederate expatriation movement after the Civil War.

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

David Prior

Second Committee Member

Lesley Gordon

Third Committee Member

Judy Bieber

Fourth Committee Member

Durwood Ball

Language

English

Keywords

U.S. Civil War, Reconstruction, Lost Cause, Emotion, Latin America, Expatriation

Document Type

Dissertation

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