" This] product of meticulous attention to historical detail plus a grasp of American history that enables the author to discern patterns from a mass of information . . . should permanently destroy the notion of the South as a 19th-century monolith."--Journal of American History

"An important and insightful book on a neglected subject in American political and social history. It adds not only to our understanding of the other South, but also contributes to our awareness of the other America which the 19th-century South represented."--Political Science...