Description
Book SynopsisWinner of the J. B. Jackson Prize from the Association of American GeographersOriginally published in 1998. The plantation, writes Charles Aiken, is among the most misunderstood institutions of American history. The demise of the plantation has been pronounced many times, but the large industrial farms survive as significant parts of, not just the South's, but the nation's agriculture.In this sweeping historical and geographical account, Aiken traces the development of the Southern cotton plantation since the Civil Warfrom the emergence of tenancy after 1865, through its decline during the Depression, to the post-World War Two development of the large industrial farm. Tracing the geographical changes in plantation agriculture and the plantation regions after 1865, Aiken shows how the altered landscape of the South has led many to the false conclusion that the plantation has vanished. In fact, he explains, while certain regions of the South have reverted to other uses, the cotton plan
Trade ReviewA brief review can only hint at Aiken's exciting, original, and insightful contributions. This splendid book deserves to be read, discussed, and debated among all serious students of southern history.
—Harold D. Woodman,
Journal of Southern HistoryAny serious student of the geography of the United States will want to have it in their library.
—Richard H. Jackson,
Geographical ReviewCharles Aiken has written a book in clear, readable prose that should be read by anyone with an interest in or opinion about the American South.
—Stephen S. Birdsall,
Economic GeographyTable of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgements
Part I: The Cotton Plantation Landscape, 1865 to 1970
Chapter 1. Overview of the Southern Plantation
Chapter 2. From Old South to New South Plantation
Chapter 3. The Demise of the Plantation
Chapter 4. Mechanization of the Plantation
Chapter 5. The World of Plantation Blacks
Part II: The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954 to 1998
Chapter 6. Mobilization
Chapter 7. Confrontation
Chapter 8. The War on Poverty
Chapter 9. School Desegregation
Part III: The Contton Plantation Regions in the Modern South
Chapter 10. The RIght to Vote-An Illusive Black Power
Chapter 11. New Settlement Patterns
Chapter 12. Quest for a Nonagrarian Economy
Chapter 13. Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
