American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Reconciliation Narratives: The Birth of a Nation after the US Civil War
American Economic Review
vol. 113,
no. 6, June 2023
(pp. 1461–1504)
Abstract
We study how the spread of the Lost Cause narrative—a revisionist and racist retelling of the US Civil War—shifted opinions and behaviors toward national reunification and racial discrimination against African Americans. Looking at screenings of The Birth of a Nation, a blockbuster movie that greatly popularized the Lost Cause after 1915, we find that the film shifted the public discourse toward a more patriotic and less divisive language, increased military enlistment, and fostered cultural convergence between former enemies. We document how the racist content of the narrative connects to reconciliation through a "common-enemy" type of argument.Citation
Esposito, Elena, Tiziano Rotesi, Alessandro Saia, and Mathias Thoenig. 2023. "Reconciliation Narratives: The Birth of a Nation after the US Civil War." American Economic Review, 113 (6): 1461–1504. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20210413Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- L82 Entertainment; Media
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- N41 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification