Download or read book The Idea of a Southern Nation written by John McCardell and published by W. W. Norton. This book was released on 1981 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the nineteenth century began, the United States was a country in search of definition, of national character. Like other Americans, Southerners found the process of national self-definition urgent and exhilarating.