Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency
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| Language: | English |
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Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
2014
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1394035940 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu13940359402021-08-03T06:22:36Z Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency Lengyel, Christian M. History Civil War Currency Vignettes Blueback Agriculture Patriotism Victory Treasury Notes Allegories Mythologies Industry Commerce Indians Slavery Children Women Value Worth Buildings Capitols Confederate States of America Paper Money Recently scholars have begun to reassess the importance of monetary imagery as a reflection of subjects integral to past societies. This study looks at the vignettes featured on the Treasury notes issued by the Confederate States of America, and attempts to determine their cultural and historical significances. Using Grover Criswells seventy defined varieties of Confederate bills, as well as correspondences and records from the Confederate Treasury Department, I explore how these pictures promoted the diverse Southern causes of agriculture, patriotism, and victory. Further, besides advocating these aforementioned concepts, I demonstrate that early wartime representations acted as indicators of Confederate citizens advanced intelligence and practical self-sufficiency. In contrast to those who argue that the C.S.A.'s tableaus functioned as proslavery propaganda, I argue that they reflected a broader set of ideals among Southern Civil War society. By statistically testing the frequency that slave scenes were employed, I directly challenge these allegations and find that they represent a very small portion of the aggregate iconography. Instead, my analysis shows that several other vignette-types- namely commercial and mythological figures - were more regularly utilized. However, in October of 1862, these metaphoric depictions disappeared from circulation and the diversity of monetary images started to fade. In turn, realistic portraits of Confederate leaders and Southern capitol buildings dominated C.S.A. scrip with little room for variation. While this shift may have been due to a concerted effort to decrease counterfeits and conserve resources, I suggest that it was actually intended to convey a more overt sense of nationalism after Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation. 2014-03-25 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1394035940 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1394035940 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
History Civil War Currency Vignettes Blueback Agriculture Patriotism Victory Treasury Notes Allegories Mythologies Industry Commerce Indians Slavery Children Women Value Worth Buildings Capitols Confederate States of America Paper Money |
| spellingShingle |
History Civil War Currency Vignettes Blueback Agriculture Patriotism Victory Treasury Notes Allegories Mythologies Industry Commerce Indians Slavery Children Women Value Worth Buildings Capitols Confederate States of America Paper Money Lengyel, Christian M. Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency |
| author |
Lengyel, Christian M. |
| author_facet |
Lengyel, Christian M. |
| author_sort |
Lengyel, Christian M. |
| title |
Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency |
| title_short |
Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency |
| title_full |
Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency |
| title_fullStr |
Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Pictures of a Forgotten Past: The Socio-Historic Significance of Wartime Vignettes on Confederate Currency |
| title_sort |
pictures of a forgotten past: the socio-historic significance of wartime vignettes on confederate currency |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1394035940 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT lengyelchristianm picturesofaforgottenpastthesociohistoricsignificanceofwartimevignettesonconfederatecurrency |
| _version_ |
1719435252802256896 |