During the winter of 1864; more than 3;000 Federal prisoners of war escaped from Confederate prison camps into South Carolina and North Carolina; often with the aid of local slaves. Their flight created; in the words of contemporary observers; a "Yankee plague;" heralding a grim end to the Confederate cause. In this fascinating look at Union soldiers' flight for freedom in the last months of the Civil War; Lorien Foote reveals new connections between the collapse of the Confederate prison system; the large-scale escape of Union soldiers; and the full unraveling of the Confederate States of America. By this point in the war; the Confederacy was reeling from prison overpopulation; a crumbling military; violence from internal enemies; and slavery's breakdown. The fugitive Federals moving across the countryside in mass numbers; Foote argues; accelerated the collapse as slaves and deserters decided the presence of these men presented an opportune moment for escalated resistance. Blending rich analysis with an engaging narrative; Foote uses these ragged Union escapees as a lens with which to assess the dying Confederate States; providing a new window into the South's ultimate defeat.
#1184797 in Books Pete Daniel 2015-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 6.00 x 1.00l; 1.14 #File Name: 1469622076352 pagesDispossession Discrimination against African American Farmers in the Age of Civil Rights
Review
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Terrific work about USDA discrimination and government backlash against black farmers during the civil rights movementBy Jesse S. HallIn Dispossession; Pete Daniel expertly demonstrates policies; acts; and intent of discrimination by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) against black farmers throughout the twentieth-century South. Daniel frames this narrative within the traditional civil rights era and through the actions of three USDA agencies: the Farmers Home Administration (FHA); the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS); and the Federal Extension Service (FES). Dispossession makes two significant claims as the narrative bisects agricultural and civil rights history. First; the decline of black farmers was the result of USDA discrimination and not solely the consequence of agricultural industrialization. Daniel rejects a technologically deterministic story; in favor of USDA agency. He does situate USDA discrimination within the technological and scientific agricultural revolution of the twentieth century; with advancements in mechanized harvesting; synthetic pesticides; and fertilizer; but human action remains paramount in the narrative. Despite the shared challenges of all small farm owners; Daniel establishes that no segment of the rural population suffered more at the hands of the USDA than African American farmers in the South. The decline of African American farmers lay in systematic discrimination by refusing loans; withholding agricultural information; and financially ruining successful black farmers.Amidst this agricultural revolution and USDA discrimination; however; Daniel offers a second argument that provides a nuanced version of a civil rights narrative. He argues that not only did African Americans suffer discrimination by the USDA; but that discrimination against black farmers actually increased after civil rights landmark events like the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964. Such a counterintuitive claim forces the reader to rethink the idea of “progress†and the underlying assumption that legislation and legal verdicts automatically equate to progress and lessened discrimination. Symbolic victories do not necessarily beget practical progress in the lives of the discriminated. The significance of Daniel’s argument is that it shatters the foundation of so many triumphal narratives about the civil rights era. On the surface; the 1950s; 1960s; and early 1970s appear as decades of social progress and justice; but Daniel’s story begs the question that if we hold the microscope to other organizations; agencies; and officials; what would progress look like? The USDA deftly played a game of “smoke and mirrors†(135-136) that gave the illusion of compliance and progress. After reading Daniel’s Dispossession; one cannot help think that other bureaucratic agents of the Civil Rights Movement may have acted out a similar charade.Dispossession challenges historical assumptions and forces readers to rethink government policy and action in the post-Civil Rights Movement world. Daniel’s deft use of sources and memory; coupled with a well-written narrative and grounding in physical space; deliver a work that demonstrates the historical roots of suffering and discrimination at the hands of the USDA. This book is well worth the time and money; I would highly suggest it for anyone interested in civil rights history; agricultural history; or issues of environmental justice.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy d bgood
