Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest: Louisiana Politics, 1877–1900

History

Hair, William Ivy

Americas

LSU Press

Bourbonism and agrarian protest;: Louisiana politics, 1877-1900

Louisiana State University Press

The River Flows On offers an impressively broad examination of slave resistance in America, spanning the colonial and antebellum eras in both the North and South and covering all forms of recalcitrance, from major revolts and rebellions to everyday acts of disobedience. Walter C. Rucker analyzes American slave resistance with a keen understanding of its African influences, tracing the emergence of an African American identity and culture. Rucker points to the shared cultural heritage that facilitated collective action among both African- and American-born slaves, such as the ubiquitous belief in conjure and spiritual forces, the importance of martial dance and the drum, and ideas about the afterlife and transmigration. Focusing on the role of African cultural and sociopolitical forces, Rucker gives in-depth attention to the 1712 New York City revolt, the 1739 Stono rebellion in South Carolina, the 1741 New York conspiracy, Gabriel Prosser's 1800 Richmond slave plot, and Denmark Vesey's 1822 Charleston scheme. He concludes with Nat Turner's 1831 revolt in Southampton, Virginia, which bore the marks of both conjure and Christianity, reflecting a new, African American consciousness. With rich evidence drawn from anthropology, archaeology, and religion, The River Flows On is an innovative and convincing study.

Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of 1900

Louisiana State Univ Pr

Chronicles the life and political career of Louisiana's most famous politician

The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Born in rural Winn Parish, Louisiana, Huey P. Long grew up to become the most influential governor the state of Louisiana has ever known. Indeed, he commanded a power base that ultimately made him virtual dictator of his home state. The story of Long’s remarkable life, from his turn-of-the-century upbringing to his death at the hands of an assassin in 1935, fascinates students of Louisiana politics still. In The Kingfish and His Realm, William Ivy Hair carefully sets Long and his regime in the context of the history of Louisiana and the South. He provides both a new biography of Long and a thoroughgoing treatment of his social, political, and economic environment in light of the latest scholarship. The result is a view of Huey Long that dispels many of the myths that have surrounded him and also challenges T. Harry Williams’ influential interpretation. Hair emphasizes Huey’s darker side, portraying him as a gifted, charismatic leader who craved power above all else―the more of it the better. From childhood, Long believed that he could become president of the United States, and almost all of his actions were taken with that goal in mind. By the early 1930s, he thought the presidency was within reach. The book’s detailed and convincing picture of Louisiana as an impoverished, underdeveloped state rife with complex social and class-based tensions goes far toward explaining how this ruthless, supremely energetic, power-hungry man was able to realize such grand political dreams at so young an age. When the forty-two-year-old Long was gunned down on September 8, 1935, it ended his drive for the White House but not his influence in Louisiana. Even today, more than half a century after his death, when political pundits no longer speak in terms of Longs and anti-Longs, Huey remains a larger-than-life icon in the state―and the most controversial character in its colorful history. The Kingfish and His Realm may not end the controversy, but it does significantly enrich our understanding of Huey Long and his world.

The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long (Jules and Frances Landry Award)

Historical

One July week in 1900 an obscure black laborer named Robert Charles drew national headlines when he shot twenty-seven whites -- including seven policemen -- in a series of encounters with the New Orleans police. An avid supporter of black emigration, Charles believed it foolish to rely on southern whites to uphold the law or to acknowledge even minimal human rights for blacks. He therefore systematically armed himself, manufacturing round after round of his own ammunition before undertaking his intentionally symbolic act of violent resistance. After the shootings, Charles became an instant hero among some blacks, but to most people he remained a mysterious and sinister figure who had promoted a "back-to-Africa" movement. Few knew anything about his early life.This biography of Charles follows him from childhood in a Mississippi sharecropper's cabin to his violent death on New Orleans's Saratoga Street. With the few clues available, William Ivy Hair has pieced together the story of a man whose life spanned the thirty-four years from emancipation to 1900 -- a man who tried to achieve dignity and self-respect in a time when people of his race could not exhibit such characteristics without fear of reprisal. Hair skillfully penetrates the world of Robert Charles, the communities in which he lived, and the daily lives of dozens of people, white and black, who were involved in his experience. A new foreword by W. Fitzhugh Brundage sets this unique and innovative biography in the context of its time and demonstrates its relevance today.

Community & Culture

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Books by Hair, William Ivy