It’s January 15th. In the winter of 1898-99, at the end of the Spanish-American War, President McKinley is touring the south to drum up support from Southern lawmakers.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how as part of his appeal to Southerners, McKinley embraces a story of the Civil War as virtuous and noble — and makes key concessions about monuments and burial plots to Southern soldiers. In many ways, this starts to plant the seeds for the so-called “Lost Cause” narrative.
Thanks to listener David for planting this idea in our heads!
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