Debating Southern History

In this century, no region of the country has experienced greater social upheaval or undergone a more dramatic political transformation than the South. Now there is a textbook that critically examines the magnitude of these changes, the individuals who made them happen, and their influence on the rest of the nation. Noted historians Bruce Clayton and John Salmond explore the mind of the 'new South,' from the pivotal 1920s to the tempestuous `60s. Clayton's focus is on the intellectual and artistic achievements of the period—a time of immense creativity, when southern literary giants like William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, and Robert Penn Warren rose to international prominence. Crucial to his analysis are the key intellectuals of the day—among them W. J. Cash, Julia Peterkin, DuBose Heyward, and the Fugitive-Agrarians—who formed a second component of the 'southern renaissance.' Clayton does not neglect the thought of regionalists, like Howard Odum and Arthur Raper; and he devotes special attention to the writings of civil rights leaders from Lillian Smith and Richard Wright to Martin Luther King, Jr. Salmond's essay focuses not on ideas but actions, his primary concern is the activists and organizations that created the ambitious agenda formulated by the great thinkers of the day. He pays particular attention to the legacy of southern labor organizers, especially in the textile industry, who led a series of critical strikes between the 1920s and 1940s that reshaped the region's manufacturing landscape. He also addresses the social reform movements that played a major role in transforming the everyday lives of whites and blacks across the South: the Southern Conference on Human Welfare, the Southern Regional Council, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following the essays are an overview of the subject, with reference to the current state of historical analysis, and a selection of relevant documents that allow students to draw their own conclusions about this complex period in American history.