Caught "between our moral and material selves": Mississippi's elite white "moderates" and their role in changing race relations,1945--1956.

详细信息   

• 作者：Sperry ; Benjamin O.
• 学历：Doctor
• 年：2010
• 导师：Hammack, David C.,eadvisor
• 毕业院校：Case Western Reserve University
• Department：History
• ISBN：9781124134543
• CBH：3417090
• Country：USA
• 语种：English
• FileSize：6592553
• Pages：645

文摘

My dissertation is about the ambiguous process of historical change. I examine a group of conflicted individuals in a dynamic situation -- early post-World War II Mississippi -- as representative of a broader notion of how change occurs, or does not occur, in a democracy. Specifically, I consider the contribution of a small network of elite white "moderates" that took shape in the state of Mississippi in the years 1945-1956. The network I describe numbers 127 individuals, and among them were a handful of leaders who were particularly significant. Proceeding roughly on a chronological continuum, I explore several cases in which these white Mississippi elites were active. These situations include: the formation of a post-war agenda for the state (1945)； the emergence of John C. Stennis as a political leader, replacing Theodore G. Bilbo in the U.S. Senate (1946-1947)； the actions of a conservative "progressive" state legislature in Jackson in the face of the national States' Rights "Dixiecrat" phenomenon (1948-1950)； the fostering of industrialization in the state and the gradual reforms at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman (1951-1953)； and the issue of academic freedom, especially at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), and an incident of community vigilantism in the Delta town of Tchula (1954-1956). Relying heavily on the papers of several "moderate" figures, such as journalist Hodding Carter and Ole Miss history Prof. James W. Silver, I make the argument that while clinging to essential aspects of continuity and race privilege, these non-reactionary whites were also effective in pushing for a degree of social, economic and political change in Mississippi.