Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South

Title Page, Copyright

DELTA EMPIRE MAKING THE MODERN SOUTH David Goldfield, Series Editor L O U I S I A N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S B AT O N R O U G E LEE WILSON AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AGRICULTURE IN THE NEW SOUTH DELTA EMPIRE Jeannie Whayne Published with the assistance of the V. Ray Cardozier Fund Published by Louisiana State University Press Copyright © 2011 by Louisiana State University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing Designer: Michelle A. Neustrom Typeface: Whitman, text; Baurer Bodoni, display Printer: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc. Binder: Acme Bookbinding Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Whayne, Jeannie M. Delta empire : Lee Wilson and the transformation of agriculture in the new South / Jeannie Whayne. p. cm.— (Making the modern South) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8071-3855-7 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-8071-3856-4 (pdf)—ISBN 978-0-8071-3857-1 (epub) —ISBN 978-0-8071-3858-8 (mobi) 1. Wilson, Lee, 1865–1933. 2. Farmers—Arkansas—Mississippi County—Biography. 3. Plantation owners— Arkansas—Mississippi County—Biography. 4. Businessmen—Arkansas—Mississippi County—Biography. 5. Agriculture—Arkansas—Mississippi County—History. 6. Plantations—Arkansas—Mississippi County—History. 7. Plantation life—Arkansas—Mississippi County—History. 8. Social change—Arkansas—Mississippi County— History. 9. Mississippi County (Ark.)—History. 10. Mississippi County (Ark.)—Biography. I. Title. F417.M58W47 2011 976.7’05092—dc22 [B] 2011013606 Two previously published essays of mine proved useful in the writing of Delta Empire. “The Changing Face of Sharecropping and Tenant Farming in the Twentieth Century” (pages 41–46 in Revolution of the Land: Southern Agriculture in the Twentieth Century, edited by Connie Lester [Starkville: Mississippi State University, 2002]) focused on the experiences of William “Snake” Toney, particularly on his ability to use his relationship with the Wilsons to his advantage, although only up to a point. “Robert E. Lee Wilson and the Making of a Post–Civil War Plantation” (pages 95–117 in Southern Elite and Social Change: Essays in Honor of Willard B. Gatewood [Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2002]) provided several background details, some of which called for revision in the later work, such as exactly how much acreage Wilson inherited. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ⬁ 䊊 ...