{"product_id":"ersatz-in-the-confederacy-mary-elizabeth-massey-9780872498778","title":"Ersatz in the Confederacy: Shortages and Substitutes on the Southern Homefront","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst published by the University of South Carolina in 1952, \u003ci\u003eErsatz in the Confederacy\u003c\/i\u003e remains the definitive study of the South's desperate struggle to overcome critical shortages of food, medicine, clothing, household goods, farming supplies, and tools during the Civil War.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMary Elizabeth Massey's seminal work carefully documents the ingenuity of the Confederates as they coped with shortages of manufactured goods and essential commodities--including grain, coffee, sugar, and butter--that previously had been imported from the northern states or from England. Creative Southerners substituted sawdust for soap, pigs' tails and ears for Christmas tree ornaments, leaves for mattress stuffing, okra seeds for coffee beans, and gourds for cups. Women made clothing from scraps of material, blankets from carpets, shoes from leather saddles and furniture, and battle flags from wedding dresses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the Confederates' penchant for \"making do\" and \"doing without,\" Massey's research reveals the devastating impact of war's shortages on the South's civilian population. Overly optimistic that they could easily transform a rural economy into a self-sufficient manufacturing power, Southerners suffered from both disappointment and hardship as it became clear that their expectations were unrealistic. \u003ci\u003eErsatz in the Confederacy's\u003c\/i\u003e lasting significance lies in Masseys clearly documented conclusion that despite the resourcefulness of the Southern people, the Confederate cause was lost not at Gettysburg nor in any other military engagement but much earlier and more decisively in the homefront battle against scarcity and deprivation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mary Elizabeth Massey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0872498778\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780872498778\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of South Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/1993\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.97lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.99h x 6.03w x 0.67d","brand":"Mary Elizabeth Massey","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43926704849151,"sku":"9780872498778","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_8f0e11c0-5cda-499b-925e-7a53677f550e.jpg?v=1681084546","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/ersatz-in-the-confederacy-mary-elizabeth-massey-9780872498778","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}