Abstract
This chapter applies analytical approaches from political psychology to review the depth of the wounds leading up to, during, and after the American Civil War and the impact of individual and societal hurts and resentments that still in the twenty-first century profoundly affects national politics and paralyzes the federal government. It draws on little-known history and contemporary journalism to describe the memory of loss and insult that needs to be healed for the United States to function in reasonable health.
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Notes
- 1.
On February 14, 2013, during a Lenten Forum at the Washington National Cathedral, I emphasized the psychological importance of the election of Rev. Luter to the SBC presidency and cited press reports that most of the 7000 delegates at the New Orleans convention rose to their feet to cheer the election, many shouting Hallelujah. I also proposed that the Dean of the Cathedral consider inviting Rev. Luter to a discussion of America’s unhealed wounds and a walk through the history of North-South and black–white relationships. (www.nationalcathedral.org/forums).
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Montville, J.V. (2018). The Civil War at 150 Years: Deep Wounds Yet to Heal. In: Rothbart, D. (eds) Systemic Humiliation in America. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70679-5_5
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