SOUTHERN HORIZONS 



ocrats would leave them isolated and politically power- 

 less, Southerners who are in revolt against the New 

 Deal philosophy, barred from direct action, seek other 

 outlets. By means of this natural inversion I am con- 

 vinced that a profound change is being wrought in the 

 thinking of thousands of Southern men and women, 

 not inspired by the New Deal, but irritated by it. Their 

 fellow countrymen will find that out of their political 

 apprehensions, their uneasy conscience, their bitter re- 

 sentment, a new spirit is being created. 



These are strange but very strong ingredients, and 

 the new spirit in the South is at once complex and 

 compelling. It comprises a fresh point of view and an 

 urge to direct action. It reaffirms an ancient faith in the 

 importance of independence and expresses a new be- 

 lief in the value of self-reliance. It is confident, not 

 boastful. Having agreed that Heaven helps those who 

 help themselves, more and more Southerners have no 

 time for whistling by the graveyard. This is quite the 

 most important change in the South in the past two 

 decades, possibly the greatest change since the bitter 

 days of Reconstruction. 



The South fought the War between the States to the 

 utter exhaustion of her physical and financial resources. 

 In 1865 she was physically bankrupt. Spiritually, 

 though beaten, she was unbroken. The faith and cour- 

 age of Southern men and women which sustained them 

 so magnificently through four years of unequal struggle 



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