HEYSE, Amy Lynn

Fall 2008, 38:4, pages 408-432

The Rhetoric of Memory-Making: Lessons from the UDC's Catechisms for Children 

ABSTRACT: This article analyzes five of the United Daughters of the Confederacy's catechisms for the Children of the Confederacy dating from 1904 to 1934. Of particular interest are the ways the women constructed collective memories for their young readers. It is my contention that the UDC crafted four collective memories of the South's past by drawing on the mythical rhetorical context of the post-war era and by employing eight interdependent rhetorical strategies. Identifying the material and strategies of collective memory illuminates the rhetorical choices that must take place in order for memories to become successfully employed in public discourse.