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Virginia Tech

Competing Visions of America: The Fourth of July During the Civil War

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

By examining the celebration of the Fourth of July during the Civil War, this thesis will highlight the regional distinctiveness of both sides of the war. This work is divided into two main parts, one focusing on the Fourth of July in the Union, the other on the Fourth of July in the Confederacy. Three separate areas of commemoration are analyzed: in newspaper rhetoric, on the home front, and on the battlefield. Rather than stating that the Confederacy abandoned the holiday entirely, this thesis shows that the North and the South celebrated different aspects of the holiday, which reflected unique interpretations of America. Drawing on newspaper and diary accounts, these interpretations are tracked over the course of the war. The Southern perspective could not outlast the Confederacy, the reestablishment of the Union cemented the Northern view, and with emancipation a new vision of America emerged.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
History
Department dc:contributor.department
History
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2007

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Bond, Jared Jefferson
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Robertson, James I. Jr.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Jones, Kathleen W.
  • Davis, William C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-06092007-162821
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33496

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Bond, Jared Jefferson. Competing Visions of America: The Fourth of July During the Civil War. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33496