Cover Image: Freedom’s Dominion (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)

Freedom’s Dominion (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)

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Member Reviews

A riveting read that sucks you in immediately and won’t let you go. Trace the steps through history that lay the foundation of the zeitgeist George Wallace is born into and his influence as a conservative during the Civil Rights era. Fairly presented history that draws connections and reminds us that history does repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. Superb writing and meticulously researched and cited with a plethora of further reading provided in the chapter notes. A must-read for anyone interest in American history.

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This book is about the white people in Barbour county Alabama and how they don’t like change especially if it benefits minorities. From land grabbing from the Indians to oppressing black citizens in the area it seems as if this is the status quo there. Although I don’t think Barbour County is alone and it practices towards minorities this is where the book was focused. This book reminded me of a book I read about Quebec and how the people there treated the people indigenous to that land. I thought Jefferson Cowey did a great Job chronicling all the events and overall it was a very interesting book. Peoples hatred has always been interesting to me from The Civil Wars in Africa, France, Britain and other places it always starts due to fear and hatred from the beginning of time people have disliked those different from them even among white people we have jokes about blondes and brunettes, Black people have jokes about darker or lighter skinned Black people even Asian people have jokes about those with bigger eyes so this is not a problem isn’t one that just my Nordie‘s face but it’s a bigger problem that has been going on for eons. I thought this book was well researched and well told and I highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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Cowie's latest work could best be described as a microhistory, looking at one particular county in Alabama. The narrative does a great job zooming in on how events can be framed around the idea of resistance to the federal government, and how that argument has been used to push a white supremacist agenda. One early example is that of Jackson and the Creek natives, how they were pushed out even though the federal government ruled it unconstitutional. It set Jackson in the vein of white resistance to federal authority, which is often overlooked. I found the background of Francis Scott Key to be really interesting, showing the complexity of his American complexity. The pushback and redemption against the civil war during Reconstruction was also cast in resistance to federal authority, although underneath a racial impetus was at work.

Cowie also connects some ideas that have garnered more attention in history writing. Convict leasing and lynching were both keys to understanding post Civil War southern culture, and seeing how Cowie explains these institutions in terms of states rights adds to the depth of the argument.

Cowie comments in his conclusion that since the 1960s, a second "redemption" has been occuring. An interesting way to frame a time period, and I think there is some more work that could be done with this premise. He really makes the case for history's importance in today's matters.

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