Deep Souths : Delta, Piedmont, and Sea Island Society in the Age of Segregation

Times Literary Supplement

This book succeeds admirably in... show[ing] that far from being static during the years between Reconstruction and the Second World War, the southern states were rapidly changing... It would be hard to find a better ground-level account.

— Howard Temperley

American Historical Review

Harris's superb synthesis of the vast scholarship on this era is matched by his identifying previously untapped archival sources that offer fresh perspectives and evidence.

— Robert C. Kenzer

Journal of Social History

[A] very satisfying analysis. Harris' exhaustive research, his careful attention to the regional distinctions, and his sensitivity to the complexities of change make this an important contribution to the study of the Jim Crow South.

— Steve Tripp

Journal of American History

It should come as no surprise the Deep Souths, written by J. William Harris, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize... Deep Souths brings us closer to an understanding of how place and time shaped the different ways that the politics and cultures of segregation played out on the Georgia Sea Coast, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Georgia Piedmont.

— Sarah Judson

The Historical Journal

Deep Souths is unusual... rigorous comparative studies of different subregions of the wider South are extremely rare... His book is agreeably written and he has a nice touch in telling stories that make the economic and social abstractions complete.

— Michael O'Brien

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

Harris has constructed a mosaic of impressive dimension and subtlety in Deep Souths, a study that adds significantly to our understanding of the South on several levels.

— George B. Ellenberg

Times Literary Supplement - Howard Temperley

This book succeeds admirably in... show[ing] that far from being static during the years between Reconstruction and the Second World War, the southern states were rapidly changing... It would be hard to find a better ground-level account.

American Historical Review - Robert C. Kenzer

Harris's superb synthesis of the vast scholarship on this era is matched by his identifying previously untapped archival sources that offer fresh perspectives and evidence.

H-South, H-Net Reviews - David B. Parker

There is no static South here; Harris's story is one of constant change and evolution, in response to forces both internal and external... Harris's achievement is not in reconceptualizing southern history, it is in synthesizing many of the strands of recent historiography, helping us understand how they fit together in the lives of real Deep Southerners.

Journal of Social History - Steve Tripp

[A] very satisfying analysis. Harris' exhaustive research, his careful attention to the regional distinctions, and his sensitivity to the complexities of change make this an important contribution to the study of the Jim Crow South.

Journal of American History - Sarah Judson

It should come as no surprise the Deep Souths, written by J. William Harris, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize... Deep Souths brings us closer to an understanding of how place and time shaped the different ways that the politics and cultures of segregation played out on the Georgia Sea Coast, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Georgia Piedmont.

The Historical Journal - Michael O'Brien

Deep Souths is unusual... rigorous comparative studies of different subregions of the wider South are extremely rare... His book is agreeably written and he has a nice touch in telling stories that make the economic and social abstractions complete.

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society - George B. Ellenberg

Harris has constructed a mosaic of impressive dimension and subtlety in Deep Souths, a study that adds significantly to our understanding of the South on several levels.

Bryant Simon

A fascinating study of change and continuity in the so-called Deep South from Reconstruction through the New Deal era. Harris seems to have left no stone unturned in his quest to understand the 'age of segregation' in the Georgia Sea Islands, the Georgia Piedmont,and the Mississippi Delta. Harris locates national and regional developments in their particular 'locale,' or what he calls their 'local geography.' This is a wonderfully written book: each chapter starts with a compelling story,and the prose is crisp, clear, lively, and evocative.

Jane Turner Censer

Deep Souths combines sophisticated analysis with finely etched portraits of life and labor.Although pointing out that the term 'Deep South' connotes timelessness and changelessness,Harris creates a stunningly effective synthesis of the changes in three Deep South locales.He moves almost effortlessly across space and time to highlight the profound similarities yet distinctive differences in land tenure and work patterns and cultural and political life. The book's compelling vignettes—of rice planter and sharecropper,convict labor lord and blues singer—give an immediacy to Harris's story and make it fascinating reading.

Library Journal

This is one of those uncommon scholarly works that combines remarkable research and a fluid writing style into an illuminating and highly readable book. Harris (Plain Folks) compares the economic, social, and political histories of three areas of the lower South. While the term Deep South conjures a picture of backward areas little changed since the Reconstruction, Harris shows that land ownership, race relations, and political structure varied greatly among the Georgia Sea Islands, the Georgia Piedmont, and the Mississippi Delta. He argues that even during the darkest period of segregation, African Americans successfully challenged their oppression in many ways and thus sowed the seeds that grew into the Civil Rights movement. Harris gives voice to a heartbreaking story of economic struggle, racial conflict, and glacial change through memoirs, letters, and newspaper articles. He writes with genuine sympathy for the inhabitants of each region but never loses sight of the broad forces that shaped their lives. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Duncan Stewart, State Historical Society of Iowa Lib., Iowa City Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

Challenging the image of The South constructed by novels and movies during the 1930s and 1940s, Harris (history, U. of New Hampshire) offers a more complicated and vibrant portrait of the Mississippi Delta, the Georgia Piedmont, and the Georgia Sea Islands and the changes there over the course of a century. He draws on sources ranging from census records to oral histories, and describes how the three regions diverged during the three generations after Reconstruction. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)