Growing up in Kentucky, MSU assistant history professor Anne Marshall learned early on about the conundrum of that state's Civil War history.
Despite being a Southern, slave state, Kentucky remained loyal to the Union, and it was only after the end of the war that the citizens of the commonwealth became disaffected with the Union, embracing the lost cause of the Confederacy and choosing to rewrite its history as a Confederate state.
When the time came for Marshall to choose a dissertation topic for her doctoral thesis, it was only natural that the identity crisis of her home state be the topic. Her thesis became the jumping-off point of a 12-year process that would culminate in the publishing of her first book, in which she thoroughly examines the issue.
"Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory in a Border State" was published in November, and Marshall says it is simply an example of her following the advice she gives her students.
"I tell them, when you are looking for a research topic, find a historical question you are passionate about," Marshall said. "It was my personal connection with this topic that kept me going forward. When you are doing extensive research, you need something compelling, something that you are passionate about."