Civil Rights Mississippi River

The MISSISSIPPI

Civil Rights & Delta Blues

BOOKSTORE

The alluvial plain of the Mississippi River

... was virgin wilderness and swamp at the turn of the twentieth century, cleared for cotton and plantation life by the 1930's. Rich, aristocratic planters dominated the region that was first worked before the Civil War by slaves kidnapped from Africa, who were often brutally beaten and poorly treated by the planters, planter families and planter overseers. they

After the civil war, planters still made their money off the backs of poor Black and White sharecroppers, Italian and Chinese immigrants. Lebanese and Jewish merchants also immigrated to the region. Eventually many Blacks left to go north during "The Great Migration" for cities like Chicago and Detroit, thus spreading the unique culture with its blues, gospel music, soul food and the Civil Rights Movement.

But it all starts with the river ...

First, my personal favorite. Rising Tide, The Flood of 1927 and How it Change America, written by journalist John Barry, kept me up three nights in a row. I HAD to finish it before I could do anything else -- because it was so good. If you want to understand the river, the people and the culture, this selection offers a wonderful place to start. sk

Editorial Reviews/Amazon.com

When Mother Nature rages, the physical results are never subtle. Because we cannot contain the weather, we can only react by tabulating the damage in dollar amounts, estimating the number of people left homeless, and laying the plans for rebuilding. But as John M. Barry expertly details in Rising Tide: The Great Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, some calamities transform much more than the landscape.

While tracing the history of the nation's most destructive natural disaster, Barry explains how ineptitude and greed helped cause the flood, and how the policies created to deal with the disaster changed the culture of the Delta. Existing racial rifts expanded, helping to launch Herbert Hoover into the White House and shifting the political alliances of many blacks in the process. An absorbing account of a little-known, yet monumental event in American history, Rising Tide reveals how human behavior proved more destructive than the swollen river itself.

the

More Selections

The River We Have Wrought - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Vicksburg is the Key

Editorial Reviews - Vicksburg Is the Key

The struggle for control of the River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to armored ram, played a role, and military engineers practiced their art on a scale never before witnessed in modern warfare. Union commanders such as Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and Porter demonstrated the skills that would take them to the highest levels of command. When the immense contest finally reached its climax at Vicksburg and Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Here was the true turning point of the Civil War.

This fast-paced, gripping narrative of the Civil War struggle for the River is the first comprehensive single-volume account to appear in over a century. Vicksburg Is the Key: This work tells the story of the series of campaigns the Union conducted on land and water to conquer Vicksburg and of the many efforts by the Confederates to break the siege of the fortress. William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel present the unfolding drama of the campaign in a clear and readable style, correct historic myths along the way, and examine the profound strategic effects of the eventual Union victory.

About the Author
William L. Shea is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He is the coauthor of Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. Terrence J. Winschel is a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. He also wrote Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign.

Time of the French in the Heart of North America, 1673-1818; Struggle for the Heartland,

Uncle Sam's Farmers, Road to the Sea

Check here for more selections.

Simply type in your search word(s) and click on GO.

HOME