such interference, the Movement began concentrating more exclusively on black southerners. Washington became an advocate for the Movement, and in turn the Movement became a cornerstone of Washington's ideology. After Washington's death, leading supporters of the Movement wanted to perpetuate his vision. They used obituaries, burial rites, memorials, and eulogies as weapons of choice in their efforts to continue a culture war between a supposedly democratic North and a seemingly aristocratic South. Hamilton reexamines Washington's influences, thereby producing a new understanding of his life. Integrating an analysis of letters of solace, obituaries, and other archival documents, Hamilton examines the ways that the memory of Washington and his works were cultivated and utilized by his contemporaries to promote racial consciousness. By closely working with the documents that reflect the memory and admiration of Washington at the time of his death, Hamilton is also able to show how recollections of Washington have shifted or become obscured by more recent historical assumptions or interpretations."--Provided by publisher. |