The Human Tradition in the New South (review)

Editor James C. Klotter, professor of history at Kentucky's Georgetown College and Kentucky state historian, has assembled in The Human Tradition in the New South a remarkable collection of short biographical essays that help readers understand the complexities of the New South. As Klotter points out in the introduction, an easy definition of the South is elusive. Like other regional historians, Southern historians realize that different perspectives and definitions exist. Defining the New South is likewise subject to debate. When does the period begin? When does it end? Where is the South? Klotter states, "To understand the South since 1865 means understanding the long influence the Civil War had on southerners, in fact and memory" (p. xii). Indeed, the book will help readers appreciate the nuances of what it means to be a Southerner in the New South.

While the book includes chapters on both well-known and ordinary Southerners, the real strength is in the essays on typical people who lived in the New South. Rebecca Sharpless's chapter, "Hester Calvert: Farm Wife," is an example of the collection's focus on typical southerners, and among the best in the collection. Paul Conkin's personal essay on the influence of two average, yet memorable, African American men in a predominately Southern town is a moving piece of historical writing. Christopher Waldrep's article exemplifies the daily civil rights battle in the hearts and minds of common Southerners in the 1950s and 1960s. At the beginning of the article, he identifies a major theme of New South history that echoes throughout the edition, "One great irony . . . is that no region of the nation changed as much as the white South, the same part of the country most determined not to change at all" (p. 158).

Readers will also appreciate the biographies of more recognizable citizens of the New South. Cita Cooks's chapter on Winnie Davis, Jefferson Davis's daughter, illustrates the enduring power of the Lost Cause on the mind of the New South. S. Spencer Davis contrasts the public success of blues singer Ma Rainey with her personal struggles, and Kathryn Kemp illustrates how the idea of the New South combined with traditional values in the life of Coca-Cola inventor, Asa Candler. William J. Marshall's essay on baseball legend Dizzy Dean provides one of the most detailed biographies in the edition but also the most unsatisfying as the author leaves some loose ends in a rather abrupt conclusion to the story, and fails to demonstrate how Dean's life fits into the New South. On the other hand, in the familiar story of perhaps the most well-known Kentuckian, Kentucky Fried Chicken icon Harlan "Colonel" Sanders, the author explains how Sanders's diligence and hard work finally paid off in his later years through an appeal to the Lost Cause.

For those familiar with the series, some chapters are culled from previous titles in the series, including Rebecca Sharpless's essay, which appeared in The Human Tradition in Texas History edited by Ty Cashion and Jesús F. de la Teja (Scholarly Resources Books, 2001). Texas historians will also note the parallels between the controversy over the internment of African American soldier Bill Henry Terry Jr. and the Felix Longoria story. James C. Klotter's The Human Tradition in the New South is a wonderful resource aimed at college students taking southern history courses, but anyone who picks up this book will find it enjoyable.