Nation within a Nation features cutting-edge work by lead scholars in the fields of history, political science, and human geography, who examine the causes--realand perceived--for the South's perpetual state of rebellion, which remains oneof its most defining characteristics.

"An eloquent and important examination of one of the most significant political trends of the last fifty years, revealing how prescient President Lyndon Johnson was on the occasion of his signing of the 1965 Civil Rights Bill when he made his famous comment about handing the South over to the Republicans for a generation."--Ralph Young, author of "Dissent in America"

Has the South, once the "Solid South" of the Democratic Party, truly become an unassailable Republican stronghold? If so, when, where, why, and how did this seismic change occur? Moreover, what are the implications for the U.S. body politic?
"Painting "Dixie Red is the first volume to grapple with these difficult yet critical questions. In this fascinating and timely collection, a distinguished group of scholars engages in an enlightening debate. Some make the case that the South has become Republican, and some contend that it has not. Some outline the region's exceptionalism, and some reject the idea of regional distinctiveness. Some point to white discontent over civil rights as the root of political changes, and some cite color-blind factors. All offer invaluable insights into U.S. politics during these ultra-partisan times.

"Before Brown" details the ferment in civil rights that took place across the South before the momentous "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision in 1954. This collection refutes the notion that the movement began with the Supreme Court decision, and suggests, rather, that the movement originated in the 1930s and earlier, spurred by the Great Depression and, later, World War II--events that would radically shape the course of politics in the South and the nation into the next century.

This work explores the growth of the movement through its various manifestations--the activities of politicians, civil rights leaders, religious figures, labor unionists, and grass-roots activists--throughout the 1940s and 1950s. It discusses the critical leadership roles played by women and offers a new perspective on the relationship between the NAACP and the Communist Party.

"Before Brown" shows clearly that, as the drive toward racial equality advanced and national political attitudes shifted, the validity of white supremacy came increasingly into question. Institutionalized racism in the South had always offered white citizens material advantages by preserving their economic superiority and making them feel part of a privileged class. When these rewards were threatened by the civil rights movement, a white backlash occurred.

"A valuable and timely volume . . . particularly welcome for the emphasis it places on the churches, on white women, and on returning black and white veterans, groups whose postwar role has been too long ignored."
--Tony Badger, author of "The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933-1940" and editor of, with Brian Ward, "The Making of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement"

Glenn Feldman is Associate Professor of Business in the Center for Labor Education and Research at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and author of "Politics, Society, and the Klan in Alabama, 1915-1949." Patricia Sullivan is Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and author of "Days of Hope: Race and Democracy in the New Deal Era."

The Ku Klux Klan has wielded considerable power both as a terrorist group and as a political force. Usually viewed as appearing in distinct incarnations, the Klans of the 20th century are now shown by Glenn Feldman to have a greater degree of continuity than has been previously suspected. Victims of Klan terrorism continued to be aliens, foreigners, or outsiders in Alabama: the freed slave during Reconstruction, the 1920s Catholic or Jew, the 1930s labor organizer or Communist, and the returning black veteran of World War II were all considered a threat to the dominant white culture.

Feldman offers new insights into this "qualified continuity" among Klans of different eras, showing that the group remained active during the 1930s and 1940s when it was presumed dormant, with elements of the "Reconstruction syndrome" carrying over to the smaller Klan of the civil rights era.

In addition, Feldman takes a critical look at opposition to Klan activities by southern elites. He particularly shows how opponents during the Great Depression and war years saw the Klan as an impediment to attracting outside capital and federal relief or as a magnet for federal action that would jeopardize traditional forms of racial and social control. Other critics voiced concerns about negative national publicity, and others deplored the violence and terrorism.

This in-depth examination of the Klan in a single state, which features rare photographs, provides a means of understanding the order's development throughout the South. Feldman's book represents definitive research into the history of the Klan and makes a major contribution to our understanding of both that organization and the history of Alabama.