The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890

by Steven Hahn

In this fresh examination of the rise of agrarian radicalism in the late 19th-century South, Hahn focuses on social change and popular consciousness while exploring populism's kinship with other movements such as labor radicalism.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, American

Paperback

First published February 7, 1985

About the author

Steven Hahn is the Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor in American History at the University of Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really, really enjoyed this book! Hahn took statistical info from 2 counties in Georgia upcountry & used the data to extrapolate some bigger political themes in the after-reconstruction/redeemer period. I learned a lot. It was really neat to see how the populists came to fruition from this very tenuous place between the southern dems & the radical republicans, mostly based on race & family/neighbor connections. Very cool to learn how the upcountry was forced to move from independent subsistence farming to mostly cotton economy too.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carefully crafted, deep analysis of two counties in Upcountry Georgia, 1850-1890. Explores the region’s experience with secession, the Confederacy, and the rise of a modern capitalist economy. Shows that the failure of Populism in the 1890s was due to trends decades in the making. Deep dive into poor farmers and their artisan republicanism.