Race in the American South: From Slavery to Civil Rights

Race in the American South is an introduction to one of the most important areas of American history - the establishment and dismantling of two systems of racial control in the American South: slavery and segregation. While the authors recognize the very different racial balances in different parts of the region, the divisions amongst southern whites, and the non-racial basis of many aspects of southern distinctiveness, they convincingly put forward the case that the driving engine of southern history is the attempt to resolve the dilemmas posed by the racial issue. They focus therefore on the omnipresent racial basis of the changes over time in the region’s politics, economy and social structure, as well as paying attention to the other main areas of study in American history: culture, class and gender. The book is divided into three parts: The Slave South ; Segregation ; and the Collapse of Segregation . It moves from the origins of the Plantation System, through the Civil War, to the Civil Rights movement and the situation in the South today, giving a broad, over-arching view of race in the American South throughout its turbulent history.