Deep Water
A review of Deep Water: The Mississippi River in the Age of Mark Twain (LSU Press, 2019) by Thomas Ruys Smith In Deep Water: the Mississippi River in the Age of Mark Twain prominent Mississippi… »
A Southern Critique of Radical Chic
“The Southerner is usually tolerant of those weaknesses that proceed from innocence,” observed Southern Gothic author and native Georgian Flannery O’Connor. But what about those weaknesses that don’t? Well, then the offender may require rebuke,… »
VMI Test Case for the Country
In May of this year, George Floyd died; seven months later, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) removed its statue of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson from its prominent position at the nation’s oldest state-supported four-year military… »
Meditations on a Couple of Old Postcards
I saw a pile of household goods on the side of the road a couple of days ago, as I was picking up a friend to take him to the store. It was a blighting… »
Agrarianism, Republicanism, and Laissez Faire
From the 2020 Abbeville Institute conference on “Who Owns America?” October 16-17, 2020 in Charleston, SC.
Who Owns America? Populism, Political Economy, and Corporate Personality
From the 2020 Abbeville Institute conference on “Who Owns America?” October 16-17, 2020 in Charleston, SC.
The Blundering Generations and the Crisis of Legitimacy
Crises of legitimacy are rarely resolved without some resort to violence. The European experience in the seventeenth century is generously populated with examples: The English Civil War, Le Fronde I and II, The Thirty Years… »
A Grandfather’s Love
Most all of us who were fortunate enough to know our Grandfather has experienced his love. It may be expressed in many ways, whether it be a spoken ‘Well done’ or an ‘I love you’,… »
Identity Politics and the Southern Gentleman
Earlier this year, shortly after the sad and unfortunate death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, I witnessed an especially peculiar example of one of the many thousands (perhaps millions?) of debates on social media regarding… »