Prolific writer and revered teacher M.E. Bradford holds a unique place in American scholarship. During a distinguished career, which came to an early end with his untimely death in 1993, Bradford breathed new life into the southern conservative traditions of his predecessors, the Vanderbilt Agrarians and Richard M. Weaver. Trained as a literary scholar, Bradford made substantial contributions to the study of southern literature, but he also wrote and worked in American history and political thought. A Defender of Southern Conservatism: M.E. Bradford and His Achievements is the first full evaluation of this southern intellectual's career. Examining his contributions to literary criticism, southern and American constitutional history, rhetoric, and even his controversial writings on Abraham Lincoln, these distinguished academics afford an evaluation of this unique and important thinker.