And rose freedman. Watch our 10 part series books that shaped america started monday september 18 at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, cspan now the free mobile video app or online at cspan. Org. Good evening everyone. Welcome to Atlanta History Center imo am Vice President democracy i am sitting here tonight with three great scholars im very excited to hear it at length History Center were joined by fitzhugh brundage, jon sensbach, and scott nelson. There are three of many contributors to this new volume and new history of the American South. Just came out a couple weeks ago. We are very excited to be here in discussion with them tonight. Each are professors of history per each have different areas of expertise. We have a lot of ground to cover tonight. Ill briefly introduce them that we will jump right in. He is the editor of this wonderful volume. He is a professor of history at the university of North Carolina at chapel hill so welcome, we appreciate being here. Seated next to him is jon esensbach. Hes from gains here to join us we are very grateful to you for being here tonight. And lastly on the end we have scott nelson who was a Georgia Athletic Association the faster of history at the university of georgia. Joins us from athens today thank you for being here with us. Thank you for having me. Like i said this book covers a lot of ground. It goes back several thousand years and takes a separate close to the present. Its truly a comprehensive look at the south africa so many contributors and so much ground to cover i thought wed start wt the basic question for the editor. In that is how did this project initially come about . It came about when an editor editorfrom the university of noh carolina came to me two decades ago and suggested it was time to have a new interpretive history of the American South. I was keen to do it. But life intervened and it took longer than i would have expected. But part of the challenge was we wanted to pull together a team of great w scholars and i hope they wont be offended. We wanted mid to late midcareer scholars. [laughter] but it took us along to put the book out there we are a little further and our careers now. [laughter] but in any case the goal was to get people who have fresh things to say about the south. Not just get fresh things said about the south would try to get the authors to Work Together collaboratively. So the book as an ensemble effort as opposed to single authors writing post whole chapters. That makes it a little more challenging to write the book. Otherwise had to start the early authors. Earliest contributors not only in the. But in the actual writing of it. And we worked our way to the 20th century. Weaving that together was a conscious goal from the outset. I think that is what distinguishes it for example for some the other works of single author or multivolume histories of the south. I want to touch on the concept of the south really quick before we move into talking about more specific things. Its a new history of the American South. It goes back to many, many years before the concept of the United States would have existed. And in the introduction to the book you get guidance about what this book is not the things it is not framed around. Made us giggle. We are notki looking at the souh of the lens of southern distinctiveness. Because we think we are sono different or so special. Were also not looking at the south for purposes of this volume how did you define the south . And the place and time. What led you in that direction . Regard to time. Admittedly this is the book that focuses on the history of the region from before european but largely through the era of the emergence of the year old american civilization. What we do go back wednesday 15 home to the president. We didnt want to start the assumption that history of the region was a history of the european region. The assumption theres one moment in time when the south became the identical thing we call theso south. It may sound complicated. The way we work with backward so to speak. The part of the confederacy we accept that thats the thats ar use of the south. Look at the history of that territory throughout the entire span of time as opposed to starting at same jamestown and Saint Augusta and tracing the european settlement out from that. 1600 or 1700 or 1800 for that matter. A you are paying attention to all the people who lived in what we now think of as the south as opposed to essentially euroamericans. Its a much more cosmopolitan style. And that europeans in the early south protecting us from the foundation the area we now know as the south as the native inhabitants of this region. He talk a lot about how people from three different continents came together i not super large area of land for the first time for a lot of them. Ia can you talk about the early history of the initial contact and how the relationship between white settlers, native americans, and africans brought over from africa, how those things started out and how they changed over the course that you are writing about . Theres quite a starke differee between where you start your work and we end it. The larger question you get back is how do we find the earlier centuries historians like myself that right about that. Have this conundrum. How do you write about when youre living in the south. But during that period on the 16 or 1700 to the middle of the 18th century saw profound demographic changes. In the year 1600 the entire population would have been Indigenous People, native americans. By the time the spanish, english and french begin settling small pockets of colonization in florida, and louisiana and virginia and the carolinas. You see this profound transition. Begins to decline precipitously by 1750. Theyre down to about 20 of the population. Turns off most of the south are now called the south was still in native hands. West of the Appalachian Mountains this was still native territory. This was by Indigenous People even the populations began to decline dramatically. As the americans in people beginning to push further and further south and west displacing Indigenous People even more. This. Involves tremendous changes in population and culture and economics. Does that look different in different colonies depending upon which european country was settling . I think from the u. S. We have a tendency to talk about Early American History we forget about florida for some reason. We tend to talk about theso british colonies. Did you see any difference between the spanish, french, british with that look like . Its one thing to try toac emphasize. All of these projects going on. She have a catholic zone through spanish florida. When you go northington for the carolinas there is a religiousta tension in the catholic and protestant, the wars of religion that started in the atlantic. That is very much a project ofer that. With corresponding changes and differences where the societies are structure a higher degree of incorporation of African Americans and Indigenous People in the catholic societies that in british colonies for example. Cooks one of the other frames of the book as the south is a region that sees a lot of people over many years. Its not just unique to the south. Its a defining feature. The third author we have with us tonights stay with me, heres focuses on the aftermath of the civil war. We are starting that conceptions of people moving in an informant in and formingwhat we now know e territory. And in many ways after the civil war you have a situation where 40 of the southern population give or take went from being considered property in the eyes of the law to becoming citizens. Some of them, the men in that case were at the time voting citizens. You have massive demographic shifts there in the shift in the conception of who gets to be a southerner and who gets to participate inay society. I wonder if you could enlighten us on the societal. Throughout the lot of atlanta history. I thought that might be fun to dig into. The bourbons are immediately after the war to black and white settlers moving into the south or the southern home said action lots of black families see tremendous amount of people growing cotton for the first time. The bourbons are the ones they never forget what is the expression. They never learn and they never forget. [laughter] they come in and try to retake the south make it a white enclave in which white southerners ruled the roost. They are called the bourbons by their critics they just want to remember again and again with the south was before the war. What they were during the civil war. That obsession and dressing up the confederate is old south planters you try to recreate some reimagined south. The south is being brought together for the first time after the war the Southern States were not connected by enlarged by railroads they were so supported by the Southern States who prevented the states from joining each of the North Carolina did out a traffic on the south carolina. South carolina did not want any going its when the confederacy comes in no event is not a place of any importance until the confederacy brings bridges which was largely to feed the confederacy. And then you see it go south all the way to texas. You start to a see the convergence. The peculiar thing about that is is an environmental catastrophe when you bring that railroads through you start to see yellow fever. All of these other diseases whos who had been coastal. You see pellagra and scurvy had a lot of other diseases that have to do with the cheap food that starts coming in by it railroaded into the south. The cheap food does not have vitamin c, does not have iron, lots and lots of white and black people are eating food thats them. Pecially good for you see a slowness in all of these diseases and all these other things. The south becomes something in this. There really is that in the south. But at least for people like henry and atlanta is about remembering a kind of self which the moonlight and magnolia stories. Kind of puts together a way of exclude excluding. Hey comes up with a way of preventing black people from voting not explicitly but implicitly. Thats the story of the south. And atlanta they still see it when they go in the statehouse. And ensures its by and large only black people. Only white people are going to be injuries. Its when we see all the other hills distinctively. Building off of that take into some of the mechanics could you talk talk about the Supreme Court specifically. There are other things more georgia or atlanta specific which go into that a little bit please . So most of the cotton grown in the south 8200 frost free days to grow cotton at the deep south that grows cotton. After the board when the Railroad Comes through the only new credit all the banks are destroyed by the war. They come in, take the gold out of the vault they give them confederate bonds and after that its useless ores valueless. The only way to grow credit is to get cotton. People up around here in the hills he would never have grown cotton are suddenly growing cotton its unthinking it cash for. We think about Cracker Barrel we think of it as an oldfashionedd thing. And 1870s it was the institution that gave you credit for growing cotton that provided you the new juice and provided all these things. Things you think of distinctively southern are very much new things. Advanta becomes a hub for the southern railway. That joy just out together. Most of the cotton, a lot of the cottonon runs through georgia. Georgia becomes a colony and its relationship to the u. S. Economy changes. I think its interesting you mention henry grady and the moonlight magnolias conception. He also think about what he was known for. So explained. [laughter] quick so he gave a speech at the union league in which he says we welcome you to the south. The south is thrilling with new capitol. It imagines itself as a woman. You start to see the self as a female character the south needs capitol. This south is thrilling with investment. In fact what he is offering is what women lots and lots of white women who have lost husbands or fathers during the civil war. The very large number of whiteum men, black men as well but many of the black men are wiped out by the war itself. Theyre all these unattached women. Black and white women these are going to be the hands to work in the cotton fields are than just a growing cotton were also going to see industrialization and urbanization. And in the south ask not what we see here. Its not 20 story buildings. Its taking cotton and turning into cloth. Its taking timber and turning into furniture its taking is taking tobaccointerning into. Here taking the Raw Materials and going one step up that is what the south as we talk about urbanization and industrialization places like atlanta were talked about taking those Raw Materials doing one more thing with them. Absolutely. I want to go back a little bit before the civil war. I want to touch on what you left off with. We skipped a large time period, right . So during this time there was a shift on the way enslaved africans and africanamericans and white people were relating to eachi other i wanted to aski dont to leave it out the native american piece. You talked about the population is rapidly declining due to disease, do to work, due to otherr factors. But as a definition of the south expense include things like oklahoma where theres a largek native american population. So can you talk a little bit about while all of this is going on simultaneously when we see going on in the lead up to the civil war . With the native american beast that becomes important after the civil war two. As i said, 18th century most of the south even the preponderance was steadily becoming more and more european and african. The indigenous population was declining. Even after the American Revolution well into the 19th century most of the south was claimed by native people. When the constitution signs in 1788. Up until the first two or three decades of the 19th century and increasing pressure driven by the federal government as well as speculators and privateers to acquire native lands. Im people from their homeland. What you are saying gradually especially under andrewse jacksn is native people, for their own good need to bey removed to mae way for like settlers. So the removal acts better known as indian dispossession act. Get signed in 1830 its committed to moving Indigenous People from georgia, from florida, from the carolinas, from arkansas people moveded wet and relocated in oklahoma. H spring part of an extended south that is one big reason that would be the case. With one observation, we tend to think about violent dispossession of the tradition of western movies its worth remember in the bloodiest war against American Indians was fought inth florida. The violent occupation ofy florida is very much a part of the story. Of the modern south. Through this whole book one of the themes in the other authors talk about is this idea ofof expanding who gets to be considered southern. Whose history is going to beingv included in this book. Its very, very different than his history will be included in a book like this 50 years ago. I would love to hear from all of you about that process. The reflection of many other things that you all been working on for quite some time. Could you talk about how that definition of southern has gotten expanded . And kind of breezy that potentially Going Forward . I certainly think the definition has been utterly transformed over the last halfcentury. A no pun intended revolution in the early self. When i was in graduate school still in the middle atlantic. There is a wonderful scholarship on Chesapeake Bay but that was a southern extension. There is a particular focus on Early American History that excluded large parts of the south. In addition we think back is not to the 1970s there starts to be a large body of scholarships on black women, indigenous women, white women and the American South. Prior to 1970 you can count on two hands probably these scholarly works that talk about women. And then the scholarship on black southerners exploded in depth. We know so much more about slavery than they did just 50 years ago. I think its not just the definition of southerners has changed bute the richness with which we can talk about all of the people who we now call southerners has been transformed over the last 50 years. What we think of as southern, so many of those things you talk about the sort of religious traditions that comes out of new orleans. You talk about jazz, i talk about blues. We talk about cooking and its relationship to african traditions of food. An understanding that part of the south means that a lot of things we think of that are actually interesting that are c beautiful about the south actually come from the african part of the south. That tradition is in a way that was spoken of before were regular accents from. Where southerners get their accents from used to be told there is somehow an english tradition that was carried on we can now understand its an african compelling of african and european traditions that make much of the line is we talk about. Also music has african has native american roots. It is a richer south. Its the south we actually admire, that we like. Much of it is we need to see the bringing together of all this rich and complicated and struggling cultural traditions. Can i jump in on food product until the undergraduates were his progresso food Company Start . It is eight new orleans Company Started by sicilians. The of the second largest civilian population in the United States and i asked him whats most famous sandwi