Struggle for Mastery: Disfranchisement in the South, 1888-1908

Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies

by Michael Perman

Around 1900, the southern states embarked on a series of political campaigns aimed at disfranchising large numbers of voters. By 1908, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia had succeeded in depriving virtually all African Americans, and a large number of lower-class whites, of the voting rights they had possessed since Reconstruction--rights they would not regain for over half a century.

Struggle for Mastery is the most complete and systematic study to date of the history of disfranchisement in the South. After examining the origins and objectives of disfranchisement, Michael Perman traces the process as it unfolded state by state. Because he examines each state within its region-wide context, he is able to identify patterns and connections that have previously gone unnoticed. Broadening the context even further, Perman explores the federal government's seeming acquiescence in this development, the relationship between disfranchisement and segregation, and the political system that emerged after the decimation of the South's electorate. The result is an insightful and persuasive interpretation of this highly significant, yet generally misunderstood, episode in U.S. history.

Genres: History, American History

416 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2001

About the author

Michael Perman is professor of history emeritus at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He earned his B.A. in 1963 at Hertford College, Oxford University, his M.A. in 1965 at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1965 and his doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1969.

Reviews

[Eva Forslund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally! I'm sure this could be a good book, but I read it on my computer and could not concentrate and was bored. I also had a very specific purpose with reading it (finding out what years different states introduced different disenfranchisement reforms), so I just kept looking for specific dates in order to be able to systemize disenfranchisement in the South. It was not easy. I skimmed a lot. Will probably have to reread big chunks.