“Yellowstone” highlights Montana’s long-forgotten connection to the Confederacy

The popular “Yellowstone“TV series, Set and filmed in Montanarevisits a lesser-known chapter of the state's history: its settlement by Confederates and ex-Confederates during and after the Civil War.

I come to this story with a novel perspective. I’m a Fourth generation Montanan. I’m one too Scholar of Western literary and cultural studies within the USA and left the state in my twenties to pursue a profession in academia.

Then, through the pandemic, I returned to Montana to take over for some time a nationwide cultural organization that connects Montana's history and literature with its modern residents.

That's why for me the story of the protagonist of the series, John Dutton IIIwho leads a wealthy but embattled ranching family in Montana is just not only a cultural phenomenon. Rather, “Yellowstone” offers insights into the dynamics currently influencing a changing Montana.

Montana's Little-Known Heritage

One of the series' prequels: “1883“provides the crucial backstory for the Dutton family’s journey to Montana.

James Dutton, portrayed by Tim McGraw, was a former Confederate captain; his wife, Maggie, was a nurse within the Confederate Army. By leaving their war-torn lives behind to hunt latest opportunities, they reflect the historical trend experienced by Confederate settlers Moving west during and after the Civil War.

According to Montana historian and scholar Ken RobisonConfederate prisoners of war languish in Union prisons were paroled to western areas like Montana. By 1864, two of those probationers had discovered gold in the world that remains to be referred to today because the Gold Rush Confederate Canyonon the time one in all the most important settlements within the Montana Territory. Other settlements, equivalent to Dixie Town And Jeff Davis Gulchshaped the landscape. Montana's state capital was briefly named Varina after her the wife of the Confederate president.

Although there is no such thing as a solution to know obviously, it is feasible that within the second half of the war half of the residents of the Montana Territory – perhaps 30,000 – were in favor of secession. Some had been in Confederate service; the remainder shared their feelings.

After the war, a lot of these Confederates stayed. In the late nineteenth century, there have been 13 United Confederate veterans organizations in Montana, with a complete of 176 members. In 1916, the Montana Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy erected a Confederate monument in Helena, the state capital. it stood for a century. In the Twenties there was a rise of approx 40 Ku Klux Klan chapters across the state Promoting xenophobic measures against immigrants and racist measures against non-whites. Montana remains to be one in all them today the whitest states within the USA – About 85% of Montanans are white; lower than 1% are black.

Recasting the “Lost Cause”

Numerous historical echoes briefly appear in “Yellowstone”.

In Season 2, a violent confrontation occurs between a Confederate militia group Don't Tread on Me flags. This subplot speaks to Montana's long history as a middle of populist and anti-government movements. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that Montana has done this 17 hate and anti-government groupsincluding three who’re defined as white supremacists or neo-Nazis.

This depiction of militia groups in “Yellowstone” represents the larger history of populist resistance within the American West. Of the Sagebrush Rebellion of the Nineteen Seventies for the The Standoff of the Montana Freemen With federal agents within the Nineties, Westerners often resisted federal control of land and resources—tensions which will date back to the secession of the Confederacy itself, a resistance rooted in defiance of federal authority, particularly over slavery.

After the defeat of the Confederacy the “Lost Cause” narrativeTo protect Southern pride, they framed Southern secession as a fight for states' rights slightly than a defense of slavery.

These Lost Cause connections are reflected in John Dutton III's relentless fight to keep up his family's ranch. Despite overwhelming political and economic pressures, Dutton stays determined to maintain the land, even when it runs counter to his best interests.

This tenacity reflects the “Lost Cause” mindset – clinging to a nostalgic yet unattainable past. Dutton embodies the archetype of “offended white man“, a central figure in lots of populist movements who feels displaced from his former position of power in politics, work and family.

Populist contradictions

It is difficult to see how much of Montana's recent changes might be attributed to “Yellowstone.” What is definite: Today's longtime Montanans face a brand new set of political, economic and cultural forces.

Tourism and the local economy are growing, partly as a result of this the “Yellowstone” effect. But there are also concerns in regards to the rising costs of just about all the pieces, especially houses.

These trends have been driven partially by Outsiders move to Montana – Newcomers who romanticize the state's harsh past and what they perceive as its current, harsh lifestyle.

Additionally, Montana has transformed from a purple state known for its political independence to a state a reliably conservative stronghold.

The drastic change from purple to red solidified in 2020 Election of a Republican governor after 16 years of democratic leadership. This was further highlighted by Democratic Senator Jon Tester's loss to Republican Tim Sheehy within the 2024 election.

In “Yellowstone,” when Dutton is sworn in as the brand new Republican governor of Montana, he tells his constituents that he’s “the opposite of progress” in response to changes that outside influences bring to the state.

But the politics of “Yellowstone” are “difficult to know“And the Duttons themselves represent different versions of left and right populism, while concurrently fighting and embodying the political and economic elite.

For the identical reason, Montanans detest wealthy outsiders but have given them political power by voting them into office.

Montana's current governor, Greg Gianforte, is a tech millionaireoriginally from Pennsylvania; Sheehy can also be one wealthy foreigner.

Neither could endorse fictional Governor Dutton's proposed policy of doubling property and sales taxes on out-of-state “transplants” – although many Montanans probably would. For some, the rapid changes in recent times, like life for the Dutton family, have been difficult.