A New South Rebellion - (Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies) by Karin a Shapiro (Paperback)

About the Book

New South Rebellion: The Battle against Convict Labor in the Tennessee Coalfields, 1871-1896

Book Synopsis

In 1891, thousands of Tennessee miners rose up against the use of convict labor by the state's coal companies, eventually engulfing five mountain communities in a rebellion against government authority. Propelled by the insurgent sensibilities of Populism and Gilded Age unionism, the miners initially sought to abolish the convict lease system through legal challenges and legislative lobbying. When nonviolent tactics failed to achieve reform, the predominantly white miners repeatedly seized control of the stockades and expelled the mostly black convicts from the mining districts. Insurrection hastened the demise of convict leasing in Tennessee, though at the cost of greatly weakening organized labor in the state's coal regions.
Exhaustively researched and vividly written, A New South Rebellion brings to life the hopes that rural southerners invested in industrialization and the political tensions that could result when their aspirations were not met. Karin Shapiro skillfully analyzes the place of convict labor in southern economic development, the contested meanings of citizenship in late-nineteenth-century America, the weaknesses of Populist-era reform politics, and the fluidity of race relations during the early years of Jim Crow.

Review Quotes

It not only supersedes previous accounts-it overwhelms.

"Journal of Southern History"

[A] much more balanced, complex, and compelling portrait of labor in the New South.

"American Historical Review"

[C]lear argument, and excellent writing elevate the convict wars to one of the South's major struggles between capital and labor.

"Law and History Review"

The book will stand as a valuable contribution to the history of labor union activity in the South.

"Journal of Economic History"

ÝA¨ much more balanced, complex, and compelling portrait of labor in the New South.

"American Historical Review"

ÝC¨lear argument, and excellent writing elevate the convict wars to one of the South's major struggles between capital and labor.

"Law and History Review"

"[A] much more balanced, complex, and compelling portrait of labor in the New South.

"American Historical Review""

"[C]lear argument, and excellent writing elevate the convict wars to one of the South's major struggles between capital and labor.

"Law and History Review""

A sophisticated and multilayered analysis.

"Labour"

It not only supersedes previous accounts--it overwhelms.

"Journal of Southern History"

About the Author

Karin A. Shapiro received her doctorate from Yale University and served from 1992 to 1997 as a research fellow at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand. She now lives in Durham, North Carolina.