We Are Not One People

Michael J. Lee teaches and writes in the areas of political communication and rhetoric at the College of Charleston. He is particularly interested in the formation and expression of political identity in America. His research has earned over a dozen awards including five national book awards for Creating Conservatism: Postwar Words that Made an American Movement (2014). In the classroom, he teaches courses on eloquence, persuasion, political campaigns, journalism, and media. R. Jarrod Atchison studies argumentation and rhetoric at Wake Forest University where he is the John Kevin Medica Director of Debate. His research focuses on public argument, public address, and rhetorical history. His first book, A War of Words: The Rhetorical Leadership of Jefferson Davis, was published by the University of Alabama Press in 2017. As the Director of Debate, he works with the national championship winning Wake Forest debate program. He also teaches courses on argumentation theory,conspiracy theories, rhetorical theory and criticism, and the rhetoric of the South.

• Prologue Chapter 1: Bands, Bonds, and Affections Chapter 2: Secession All the Way Down: Libertarians Opt Out Chapter 3: "A Slave Republic": Secession and Southern Slavery Chapter 4: White Devils and Black Separatists Chapter 5: "Dykes First": Lesbian Separatism in America Chapter 6: Exodus as Secession: Achieving God's Terrestrial Kingdom Chapter 7: Conclusion Index

Unity is regarded as one of the founding myths of the US, but the authors of this book explore the subject of disunion in the national psyche and maintain that it is a founding tradition as well...this book brings important thoughts to contemporary discussions of union and disunion in the US.