Brian Ward

William A. Link

Martyn Bone

Most of the research on the South ties the region to the North, emphasizing racial binaries and outdated geographical boundaries, but The American South and the Atlantic World seeks a larger context. Helping to define “New” Southern studies, this book?the first of its kind?explores how the cultures, contacts, and economies of the Atlantic World shaped the South.

The American South and the Atlantic World

After conquering Atlanta in the summer of 1864 and occupying it for two months, Union forces laid waste to the city in November. William T. Sherman's invasion was a pivotal moment in the history of the South and Atlanta's rebuilding over the following fifty years came to represent the contested meaning of the Civil War itself. The war's aftermath brought contentious transition from Old South to New for whites and African Americans alike. Historian William Link argues that this struggle defined the broader meaning of the Civil War in the modern South, with no place embodying the region's past and future more clearly than Atlanta. Link frames the city as both exceptional--because of the incredible impact of the war there and the city's phoenix-like postwar rise--and as a model for other southern cities. He shows how, in spite of the violent reimposition of white supremacy, freedpeople in Atlanta built a cultural, economic, and political center that helped to define black America.

Race and Remembering in the Civil War's Aftermath

Atlanta, Cradle of the New South

Atlanta, Cradle of the New South: Race and Remembering in the Civil War's Aftermath

Few North Carolinians were as well known or as widely respected as William Friday (1920-2012). Although he never ran for elected office, the former president of the University of North Carolina was prominent in public affairs for decades and ranked as one of the most important American university presidents of the post-World War II era. In this comprehensive biography, William Link traces Friday's long and remarkable career. Friday's thirty years as president of the university, from 1956 to 1986, spanned the greatest period of growth for higher education in American history, and he played a crucial role in shaping the sixteen-campus university during that time of tumultuous social change. In the 1960s and 1970s, he confronted a series of administrative challenges, including the expansion of the university system, the evolving role of the federal government in the affairs of a public university, an intercollegiate athletics scandal, the anticommunism crusade and the Speaker Ban, and racial integration. Link also explores Friday's influential work outside the university in American higher education, on the Carnegie Commission on the Future of American Education and the White House Task Force on Education, and in the development of the National Humanities Center and the growth of Research Triangle Park. After retiring from the university, Friday headed the William R. Kenan, Jr., Fund and the Kenan Charitable Trust. He died October 12, 2012.

Power, Purpose, and American Higher Education

William Friday

Focusing on the cultural conflicts between social reformers and southern communities, William Link presents an important reinterpretation of the origins and impact of progressivism in the South. He shows that a fundamental clash of values divided reformers and rural southerners, ultimately blocking the reforms. His book, based on extensive archival research, adds a new dimension to the study of American reform movements. The new group of social reformers that emerged near the end of the nineteenth century believed that the South, an underdeveloped and politically fragile region, was in the midst of a social crisis. They recognized the environmental causes of social problems and pushed for interventionist solutions. As a consensus grew about southern social problems in the early 1900s, reformers adopted new methods to win the support of reluctant or indifferent southerners. By the beginning of World War I, their public crusades on prohibition, health, schools, woman suffrage, and child labor had led to some new social policies and the beginnings of a bureaucratic structure. By the late 1920s, however, social reform and southern progressivism remained largely frustrated. Link's analysis of the response of rural southern communities to reform efforts establishes a new social context for southern progressivism. He argues that the movement failed because a cultural chasm divided the reformers and the communities they sought to transform. Reformers were paternalistic. They believed that the new policies should properly be administered from above, and they were not hesitant to impose their own solutions. They also viewed different cultures and races as inferior. Rural southerners saw their communities and customs quite differently. For most, local control and personal liberty were watchwords. They had long deflected attempts of southern outsiders to control their affairs, and they opposed the paternalistic reforms of the Progressive Era with equal determination. Throughout the 1920s they made effective implementation of policy changes difficult if not impossible. In a small-scale war, rural folk forced the reformers to confront the integrity of the communities they sought to change.

The Paradox of Southern Progressivism, 1880-1930

Susannah J. Link

Following the conclusion of the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Progressive Era brought a wholesale restructuring of social and political institutions. The period from the 1870s through World War I was characterized by the nationalization of American life, the establishment of the United States as a global power, the refashioning of social relationships and the reconstruction of the political system.This volume gathers together documents that illustrate the variety of experiences and themes involved in the transformation of American political, economic, and social systems during this period, and presents the essential perspectives of race, class, gender, and culture. Situating the documents within their historical context, the book is divided into five thematic sections: the American frontier after Reconstruction; the transformations that arrived with industrialization; the social and political crisis that gripped the United States at the end of the 19th century; reform; imperialism and war.This collection enables readers to engage actively in historical interpretation and to understand the interplay between social and political forces in the period, exploring the experiences of people during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era from a variety of diverse perspectives.

A Documentary Reader

The Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Richard J Milbauer Professor of History William A Link

Hard Country and a Lonely Place: Schooling, Society, and Reform in Rural Virginia, 1870-1920

Schooling, Society, and Reform in Rural Virginia, 1870-1920

A Hard Country and a Lonely Place

Few North Carolinians have been as well known or as widely respected as William Friday (1920-2012). The former president of the University of North Carolina remained prominent in public affairs in the state and elsewhere throughout his life and ranked as one of the most important American university presidents of the post-World War II era. In the second edition of this comprehensive biography, William Link traces Friday's long and remarkable career and commemorates his legendary life. Friday's thirty years as president of the university, from 1956 to 1986, spanned the greatest period of growth for higher education in American history, and Friday played a crucial role in shaping the sixteen-campus UNC system during that time. Link also explores Friday's influential work on nationwide commissions, task forces, and nonprofits, and in the development of the National Humanities Center and the growth of Research Triangle Park. This second edition features a new introduction and epilogue to enrich the narrative, charting the later years of Friday's career and examining his legacy in North Carolina and nationwide.

Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia

Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia

Roots of Secession

This volume presents documents that illustrate the variety ofexperiences and themes involved in the transformation of Americanpolitical, economic, and social systems during the Gilded Age andProgressive Era (1870-1920). Includes nearly 70 documents which cover the period from theend of the Civil War and Reconstruction in the 1870s throughWorld War I Explores the experiences of people during the Gilded Age andProgressive Era from a variety of diverse perspectives, includingimportant political and cultural leaders as well as everydayindividuals Charts the nationalization of American life and theestablishment of the United States as a global power Introduces students to historical analysis and encourages themto engage critically with primary sources Introductory materials from the editors situate the documentswithin their historical context A bibliography provides essential suggestions for furtherreading and research

This volume presents documents that illustrate the variety of experiences and themes involved in the transformation of American political, economic, and social systems during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (1870-1920). Includes nearly 70 documents which cover the period from the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction in the 1870s through World War I Explores the experiences of people during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era from a variety of diverse perspectives, including important political and cultural leaders as well as everyday individuals Charts the nationalization of American life and the establishment of the United States as a global power Introduces students to historical analysis and encourages them to engage critically with primary sources Introductory materials from the editors situate the documents within their historical context A bibliography provides essential suggestions for further reading and research

William A. Link

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