This path-breaking text deals with the effects of federal civil
rights legislation on the behavior and attitudes of the inhabitants
of a single county in Mississippi--Panola County. These effects are
examined in the three civil rights areas of voting, education, and
economic opportunities. By using this smaller example, Frederick M.
Wirt's broader interest is to show how legislation can be used to
effect social change on a large scale.
The need to substitute empirical knowledge for abstract
speculation motivates Wirt's study. Wirt restricts his study to one
county but with conclusions on comparative studies that illumine
the emerging political sociology of the South. The author sketches
the historical setting of Panola County, emphasizing on the
demographic, economic, and political developments in recent
decades. He then examines what has actually happened in race
relations as an effect of civil rights laws affecting votes,
schools, and jobs.
Wirt utilizes documentary material from federal, state, and
county sources; local newspapers; and records from business and
other groups. But his closer understanding comes from personal
interviews. Because federal law is the dynamic factor setting the
social system in movement, the author explains the interactions
between public opinion, the President, and the Congress, which in
the end resulted in the laws on votes, schools, and jobs. He also
deals with the differing machinery of sanctions and enforcement.
Law has a huge effect on social change; and Wirt draws from his
empirical study a systematic, inclusive statement of the factors
affecting compliance with law, in conditions of conventional
biases.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!