"Ante-bellum"" Alabama: Town and Country "was originally published in 1957 to give the reader insight into important facets of Alabama's antebellum history. Presented in the form of case studies from the pre-Civil War period, the book deals with a city, a town, a planter's family, rural social life, attitudes concerning race, and Alabama's early agricultural and industrial development. Antebellum Alabama's primary interest was agriculture; the chief crop was King Cotton; and most of her people were agriculturists. Her towns and cities came into existence for the express purpose of supplying...