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As a historian, Dr. Ann Tucker has always been interested in the issue of the Southern identity and Southern regionalism.

The assistant professor of history at the University of North Georgia (51³Ô¹ÏÍø) used the topic for her master's thesis and later her dissertation. Now, she has turned both into a book titled "Newest Born of Nations: European Nationalist Movements and the Making of the Confederacy."

"I'm excited this work will be available for people to read," Tucker said. "I've worked on it for more than a decade. I have can't wait for people to read it and learn from it."

The book explains how the U.S. Confederacy used the European revolutions of 1848 and 1860 as a comparison for its reasons of seceding from the union. For example, white Southerners claimed if Italy could claim independence from the oppressive Austrian Empire, then the South could declare its independence and become a governing nation.

"The wrench in the works was the South wasn't doing that," Tucker said. "The white Southerners  created a new nation based on slavery. They were not facing oppression."

The book was officially released June 29 with a virtual book launch live on Facebook and YouTube with the acting as host.