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The Strange Career of Jim Crow
C. Vann Woodward, who died in 1999 at the age of 91, was America's most eminent Southern historian, the winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Mary Chestnut's Civil War and a Bancroft Prize for The Origins of the New South. Now, to honor his long and truly distinguished career, Oxford is pleased to publish this special commemorative edition of Woodward's most influential work, The Strange Career of Jim Crow.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow is one of the great works of Southern history. Indeed, the book actually helped shape that history. Published in 1955, a year after the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education ordered schools desegregated, Strange Career was cited so often to counter arguments for segregation that Martin Luther King, Jr. called it "the historical Bible of the civil rights movement." The book offers a clear and illuminating analysis of the history of Jim Crow laws, presenting evidence that segregation in the South dated only to the 1890s. Woodward convincingly shows that, even under slavery, the two races had not been divided as they were under the Jim Crow laws of the 1890s. In fact, during Reconstruction, there was considerable economic and political mixing of the races. The segregating of the races was a relative newcomer to the region.
Hailed as one of the top 100 nonfiction works of the twentieth century, The Strange Career of Jim Crow has sold almost a million copies and remains, in the words of David Herbert Donald, "a landmark in the history of American race relations."
245 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1955
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C. Vann Woodward
37 books55 followersComer Vann Woodward was an American historian who focused primarily on the American South and race relations.
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November 14, 2024
Yale professor Comer Vann Woodward was one of the most prominent U.S. academic historians of his generation to specialize in the history of the American South (as his father-in-law, Avery Craven, had been in the preceding generation). This relatively short book (just 220 pages of actual text in this edition) is one of many that he authored, but it's perhaps the best known and most significant. It originated as a series of lectures delivered at the Univ. of Virginia in 1954, then published in book form in 1955. (That original edition went through some successive revisions, as noted below.) His subject here is black-white relations in the South, beginning with Reconstruction (and with some reference to ante-bellum conditions), but concentrating particularly on the evolution and perpetuation of the “Jim Crow” regime of de jure segregation and black disenfrachisement, down to his own present.
In the rising national debate that developed, in the 20 years following World War II, over the Jim Crow regime (and having been born in 1952, I recall that debate from personal memory!), a key argument of Jim Crow apologists was that the whole system was an ingrained part of white Southern consciousness and tradition going back to very origins of Southern society in colonial times; that black suffrage and the presence of blacks in “white” venues had always been unthinkable (barring the short aberration of the Reconstruction regime, imposed from outside), and that this attitude was absolutely ineradicable for all time. Woodward's contribution in this book (and it was an enormously important and valuable one) to that debate was to demonstrate beyond any shadow of doubt that this particular argument was a total fallacy. While many people in that era believed it, having never experienced any other system in their own lifetimes, it actually rested on a massive case of historical amnesia. Even though white racism was a persistent factor in Southern history, the whole Jim Crow regime and the peculiar conditions it spawned began to be erected only in the 1890s (and was opposed then by many white Southerners). The history that Woodward recovers, and the faithful portrait of Southern society that Gwen Bristow paints in the novels of her Plantation Trilogy, helpfully illuminate each other (and I'm glad to have read both). This knowledge also helps greatly in understanding political developments since 1955.
A crucial backdrop for understanding the argument of this book (and one that Woodward doesn't introduce in detail; he just presupposes it, and frequently reflects it) is that from very early in ante-bellum times on down, while nearly all Southern whites viewed blacks as inferior Others, it was the poor whites who not only did not benefit from the presence of an exploited black population, but actually suffered directly because of it. The availability of slave labor meant that the employers with the largest labor needs didn't hire free labor. That was true not only in the agricultural sector that greatly dominated the Southern economy, but in any area of unskilled non-agricultural labor. This was also a big factor in concentrating land ownership in the hands of a relatively small caste of wealthy planters; they could farm cheaply on a scale that brought a lot of wealth into their coffers, and ensured that they could outbid any poor white would-be landowners for the most productive land. So the slavery system had the effect of increasing poor white unemployment, depressing poor white wages when they were employed, and hampering their ability to engage in very prosperous farming. Even though most of them were illiterate, poor whites were generally well aware of this, and for that reason tended to be unsympathetic to slavery and slave owners.
However, that attitude did not translate into sympathy for enslaved blacks. On the contrary, they were generally blamed for simply existing, as much as if they had volunteered to be slaves. Indeed, as ridiculous as we can recognize this claim to be, poor white spokespersons not infrequently seriously maintained that slave owners and slaves were engaged together in a “conspiracy” to keep poor whites down. With this attitude rampant in the poor white community, that sector became the stronghold of actual fear, hatred and jealousy towards blacks, with a concomitant desire to hurt and demean them. (Given that the living conditions of enslaved blacks were, by our standards, abysmally bad, jealousy might seem an odd emotion in that connection; but the living standards of most poor whites were even worse, and the slaves actually usually enjoyed a greater degree of economic security than poor whites did.) In contrast, the members of the planter aristocracy, though they subscribed to convenient racist theories that justified exploiting blacks, generally did not view them with actual malevolent hatred, and often held a paternalistic attitude toward them. They also typically viewed the poor white community with contempt and disdain, as worthless “trash” and “crackers” who were poor because they were too stupid and inferior to be anything else, and that view tended to percolate down to their slaves. The black community was well aware of the poor white attitude; and not surprisingly responded to it with answering fear, hatred and disdain; so the prospects for Southern racial harmony by 1865 were poor.
That said, in the antebellum South, the conditions of rural slavery made de jure racial segregation mostly irrelevant and impractical, and even in Southern cities it was relatively rare. Segregation by custom was more pervasive, but not as much so as it would be from the 1890s on, and not as much so as it was, ironically, in the North; and residential segregation didn't exist at all. Reconstruction brought about a temporary political equality of the races, elimination of such segregation laws as then existed, and some relaxation of customary barriers; blacks generally didn't push the envelope, but what relaxation there was accomplished without significant friction. The restoration of white rule, completed by 1877, was spearheaded by the planter aristocracy, who used appeals to white supremacy to get poor white cooperation; but once back in power, they tended to play the role of protectors of blacks against the excesses of the white underclass. As long as blacks voted Democrat rather than Republican, the aristocrats had no objection to their voting. Blacks continued to hold public offices (usually minor), to serve as police officers, and to enjoy a much greater degree of accommodation in public facilities, transportation, and retail establishments than they would later.
By the late 1880s and early 1890s, though, Southern poor whites came under crushing conditions of economic hardship, exacerbated by the elitist Democrats' alliance with both Northern and local banking, industrial and railroad interests, and general support for “haves” as opposed to “have nots.” This ultimately produced the revolt of the Populist party, which was led by radical poor whites, but which initially sought to make common cause with poor blacks. Both Democrats and Populists tried to enlist black voter support for their tickets; but the former had better success (though often attained by fraud or coercion); while at the same time they tried to discredit the Populists among the poor whites by attacking the Populist's racial progressivism, and eventually resorted to outright anti-Populist violence to largely suppress that party. Black electoral support for the aristocracy tended to eliminate whatever poor white support there had been for black suffrage; while the racist rhetoric and resort to violence by the aristocrats discredited their moral authority, already waning in the face of the increasing economic suffering of the poor whites. Beginning in Mississippi in 1890, and spreading across the South in the ensuing decade, the Democratic party itself came under the leadership of men willing to embrace the Populist economic agenda, but to couple it with black disenfranchisement, Jim Crow legislation, and a campaign of degradation and violent intimidation of blacks; and by and large, the white Populists were willing to buy into this. Thus the Jim Crow South was born, and alternatives were largely forgotten.
Woodward presents all of this in much more detail, drawing on primary sources to do so (though he doesn't use footnotes here). I think the edition I read was the second, 1965 one, but the one in front of me is the 1974 third edition. There, he tried to “update” the book by discussing the history of American black-white relations nationwide since the end of legally-mandated segregation. IMO, that was a mistake, which simply watered down the focus and particular message of the original edition. But that focus and message is a significant contribution to American historical scholarship, shedding light on a particular aspect of our history that had been relegated to a dark and forgotten corner.
In the rising national debate that developed, in the 20 years following World War II, over the Jim Crow regime (and having been born in 1952, I recall that debate from personal memory!), a key argument of Jim Crow apologists was that the whole system was an ingrained part of white Southern consciousness and tradition going back to very origins of Southern society in colonial times; that black suffrage and the presence of blacks in “white” venues had always been unthinkable (barring the short aberration of the Reconstruction regime, imposed from outside), and that this attitude was absolutely ineradicable for all time. Woodward's contribution in this book (and it was an enormously important and valuable one) to that debate was to demonstrate beyond any shadow of doubt that this particular argument was a total fallacy. While many people in that era believed it, having never experienced any other system in their own lifetimes, it actually rested on a massive case of historical amnesia. Even though white racism was a persistent factor in Southern history, the whole Jim Crow regime and the peculiar conditions it spawned began to be erected only in the 1890s (and was opposed then by many white Southerners). The history that Woodward recovers, and the faithful portrait of Southern society that Gwen Bristow paints in the novels of her Plantation Trilogy, helpfully illuminate each other (and I'm glad to have read both). This knowledge also helps greatly in understanding political developments since 1955.
A crucial backdrop for understanding the argument of this book (and one that Woodward doesn't introduce in detail; he just presupposes it, and frequently reflects it) is that from very early in ante-bellum times on down, while nearly all Southern whites viewed blacks as inferior Others, it was the poor whites who not only did not benefit from the presence of an exploited black population, but actually suffered directly because of it. The availability of slave labor meant that the employers with the largest labor needs didn't hire free labor. That was true not only in the agricultural sector that greatly dominated the Southern economy, but in any area of unskilled non-agricultural labor. This was also a big factor in concentrating land ownership in the hands of a relatively small caste of wealthy planters; they could farm cheaply on a scale that brought a lot of wealth into their coffers, and ensured that they could outbid any poor white would-be landowners for the most productive land. So the slavery system had the effect of increasing poor white unemployment, depressing poor white wages when they were employed, and hampering their ability to engage in very prosperous farming. Even though most of them were illiterate, poor whites were generally well aware of this, and for that reason tended to be unsympathetic to slavery and slave owners.
However, that attitude did not translate into sympathy for enslaved blacks. On the contrary, they were generally blamed for simply existing, as much as if they had volunteered to be slaves. Indeed, as ridiculous as we can recognize this claim to be, poor white spokespersons not infrequently seriously maintained that slave owners and slaves were engaged together in a “conspiracy” to keep poor whites down. With this attitude rampant in the poor white community, that sector became the stronghold of actual fear, hatred and jealousy towards blacks, with a concomitant desire to hurt and demean them. (Given that the living conditions of enslaved blacks were, by our standards, abysmally bad, jealousy might seem an odd emotion in that connection; but the living standards of most poor whites were even worse, and the slaves actually usually enjoyed a greater degree of economic security than poor whites did.) In contrast, the members of the planter aristocracy, though they subscribed to convenient racist theories that justified exploiting blacks, generally did not view them with actual malevolent hatred, and often held a paternalistic attitude toward them. They also typically viewed the poor white community with contempt and disdain, as worthless “trash” and “crackers” who were poor because they were too stupid and inferior to be anything else, and that view tended to percolate down to their slaves. The black community was well aware of the poor white attitude; and not surprisingly responded to it with answering fear, hatred and disdain; so the prospects for Southern racial harmony by 1865 were poor.
That said, in the antebellum South, the conditions of rural slavery made de jure racial segregation mostly irrelevant and impractical, and even in Southern cities it was relatively rare. Segregation by custom was more pervasive, but not as much so as it would be from the 1890s on, and not as much so as it was, ironically, in the North; and residential segregation didn't exist at all. Reconstruction brought about a temporary political equality of the races, elimination of such segregation laws as then existed, and some relaxation of customary barriers; blacks generally didn't push the envelope, but what relaxation there was accomplished without significant friction. The restoration of white rule, completed by 1877, was spearheaded by the planter aristocracy, who used appeals to white supremacy to get poor white cooperation; but once back in power, they tended to play the role of protectors of blacks against the excesses of the white underclass. As long as blacks voted Democrat rather than Republican, the aristocrats had no objection to their voting. Blacks continued to hold public offices (usually minor), to serve as police officers, and to enjoy a much greater degree of accommodation in public facilities, transportation, and retail establishments than they would later.
By the late 1880s and early 1890s, though, Southern poor whites came under crushing conditions of economic hardship, exacerbated by the elitist Democrats' alliance with both Northern and local banking, industrial and railroad interests, and general support for “haves” as opposed to “have nots.” This ultimately produced the revolt of the Populist party, which was led by radical poor whites, but which initially sought to make common cause with poor blacks. Both Democrats and Populists tried to enlist black voter support for their tickets; but the former had better success (though often attained by fraud or coercion); while at the same time they tried to discredit the Populists among the poor whites by attacking the Populist's racial progressivism, and eventually resorted to outright anti-Populist violence to largely suppress that party. Black electoral support for the aristocracy tended to eliminate whatever poor white support there had been for black suffrage; while the racist rhetoric and resort to violence by the aristocrats discredited their moral authority, already waning in the face of the increasing economic suffering of the poor whites. Beginning in Mississippi in 1890, and spreading across the South in the ensuing decade, the Democratic party itself came under the leadership of men willing to embrace the Populist economic agenda, but to couple it with black disenfranchisement, Jim Crow legislation, and a campaign of degradation and violent intimidation of blacks; and by and large, the white Populists were willing to buy into this. Thus the Jim Crow South was born, and alternatives were largely forgotten.
Woodward presents all of this in much more detail, drawing on primary sources to do so (though he doesn't use footnotes here). I think the edition I read was the second, 1965 one, but the one in front of me is the 1974 third edition. There, he tried to “update” the book by discussing the history of American black-white relations nationwide since the end of legally-mandated segregation. IMO, that was a mistake, which simply watered down the focus and particular message of the original edition. But that focus and message is a significant contribution to American historical scholarship, shedding light on a particular aspect of our history that had been relegated to a dark and forgotten corner.
September 1, 2014
Excellent!
Did you know there was a period after the Civil War ended where blacks and whites lived together peacefully in the South? Yeah, I didn't, either. It wasn't until the early part of 20th century that the white population -- following the lead of their Northern countrymen -- began enacting laws to restrict the movement of the African American population.
This book was eye opening. It's short -- barely over two hundred pages -- and easy to read. It's well worth your time to peruse. It debunked about everything I learned in history class in elementary and middle school.
Martin Luther spoke to a crowd in Montgomery on the 25th of March, 1965, and said the following:
"Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of the hatred between the races immediately after the Civil War .... As the noted historian, C. Vann Woodward, in his book The Strange Career of Jim Crow, clearly points out, the segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging Bourbon interests in the South to keep the Southern masses divided and Southern labor the cheapest in the land."
Did you know there was a period after the Civil War ended where blacks and whites lived together peacefully in the South? Yeah, I didn't, either. It wasn't until the early part of 20th century that the white population -- following the lead of their Northern countrymen -- began enacting laws to restrict the movement of the African American population.
This book was eye opening. It's short -- barely over two hundred pages -- and easy to read. It's well worth your time to peruse. It debunked about everything I learned in history class in elementary and middle school.
Martin Luther spoke to a crowd in Montgomery on the 25th of March, 1965, and said the following:
"Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of the hatred between the races immediately after the Civil War .... As the noted historian, C. Vann Woodward, in his book The Strange Career of Jim Crow, clearly points out, the segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging Bourbon interests in the South to keep the Southern masses divided and Southern labor the cheapest in the land."
January 1, 2022
Published in 1955, Woodward provides a detailed overview of the emergence of segregation of Blacks in America after Reconstruction and the failed efforts to counteract it by legislation (Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act 0f 1965) ... Now, 75 years later, we are still dealing with the same issues as Republican white supremacists use every opportunity they can invent to restrict Black voting rights. How can American presume to stand as a beacon of democracy when our own record is so pitiful?
May 15, 2019
This version of The Strange Career of Jim Crow represents four different editions: the original 1955 edition, a revised 1957 paperback, the second edition of 1966 and the third edition of 1974. As a work of history, each of these editions is flawed: the later parts of the book deal in then-current events and in writing about them the author is does not have available some of the important tools of a historian’s discipline such as examination of private or otherwise hidden documents or the revelations brought about by the passage of time. Most of the material on the 1950s and later was written at the time the events were unfolding or shortly after and are more like journalism, history written on deadline.
It would seem that the flaws are greater in each subsequent edition as the main changes made were to add accounts of events that took place since the previous editions and, as the author himself notes, the pace of events in the area of civil rights was dizzying and varied in the years from 1955 and 1974. However, in my reading I found that the accumulation of flaws became a kind of virtue in the final version of the book: as the author swings between welcoming the promise of the mid-1960s and despairing at the violence and retrenchments of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the book becomes a kind of object lesson in the limitations of what historical understanding can provide for interpretation of the present. History can provide context and parallels, but all situations have novel and unprecedented elements that put severe restrictions of the utility of the predictions and prescriptions of historians.
Vann Woodward’s primary message in the earlier parts of the book is that Draconian racial segregation in the South, rather than being a manifestation of a long established “folkway” resistant or impossible to change by legislation, is the result of specific actions taken around the turn of the century, two decades after the end of Reconstruction. In this short work the author does not go very deeply into the causes of this change, which seem inspired by a widespread white vindictiveness of obscure motivation. I hope to learn more from this author’s much longer Origins of the New South, 1877-1913, which is focused on the period in question.
The nature of the change in white perceptions of the logic behind and need for widespread segregation can be summed up by two editorials the author quotes from the Charleston News and Courier. The first is from 1898, against a proposed law mandating segregated railroad cars:
It would seem that the flaws are greater in each subsequent edition as the main changes made were to add accounts of events that took place since the previous editions and, as the author himself notes, the pace of events in the area of civil rights was dizzying and varied in the years from 1955 and 1974. However, in my reading I found that the accumulation of flaws became a kind of virtue in the final version of the book: as the author swings between welcoming the promise of the mid-1960s and despairing at the violence and retrenchments of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the book becomes a kind of object lesson in the limitations of what historical understanding can provide for interpretation of the present. History can provide context and parallels, but all situations have novel and unprecedented elements that put severe restrictions of the utility of the predictions and prescriptions of historians.
Vann Woodward’s primary message in the earlier parts of the book is that Draconian racial segregation in the South, rather than being a manifestation of a long established “folkway” resistant or impossible to change by legislation, is the result of specific actions taken around the turn of the century, two decades after the end of Reconstruction. In this short work the author does not go very deeply into the causes of this change, which seem inspired by a widespread white vindictiveness of obscure motivation. I hope to learn more from this author’s much longer Origins of the New South, 1877-1913, which is focused on the period in question.
The nature of the change in white perceptions of the logic behind and need for widespread segregation can be summed up by two editorials the author quotes from the Charleston News and Courier. The first is from 1898, against a proposed law mandating segregated railroad cars:
’As we have got on fairly well for a third of century, including a long period of reconstruction, without such a measure,’ wrote the editor, ‘we can probably get on as well hereafter without it, and certainly so extreme a measure should not be adopted and enforced without added and urgent cause.’ He then called attention to what he considered the absurd consequences to which such a law might lead once the principle of the thing were conceded. ‘If there must be Jim Crow cars on the railroads, there should be Jim Crow cars on the street railways. Also on all passenger boats … If there are to be Jim Crow cars, moreover, there should be Jim Crow waiting saloons at all stations, and Jim Crow eating houses … There should be Jim Crow sections of a jury box, and a separate Jim crow dock and witness stand in every court – and a Jim Crow Bible for colored witnesses to kiss. It would be advisable also to have a Jim Crow section in county auditors’ and treasurers’ offices for the accommodation of colored taxpayers. The two races are dreadfully mixed in these offices for weeks every year, especially about Christmas … There should be a Jim Crow department for making returns and paying for the privileges and blessings of citizenship. Perhaps the best plan would be, after all, to take the short cut to the general end … by establishing two or three Jim Crow counties at once, and turning them over to our colored citizens for their special and exclusive accommodation.’Of course, “in a very short time,” as Vann Woodward notes,
Apart from the Jim Crow counties and Jim Crow witness stand, all the improbable applications of the principle suggested by the editor in derision had been put into practice – down to and including the Jim Crow Bible.The second editorial, quoted more briefly, is from 1906 and represents an almost incomprehensible change in attitude:
’The “problem” is worse now than it was ten years ago,’ wrote the editor. Far from being ridiculous, segregation did not now seem sufficient. Mass deportation was the remedy. ‘Separation of the races is the only radical solution of the negro problem in this country … There is no room for them [the Negroes] here,’ declared the paper.
January 8, 2012
Ack I wrote a long review of this and it promptly disappeared. OK, I'll make this one short.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow is a classic and a great introduction to Jim Crow. I imagine some readers will be surprised to learn the Jim Crow was born in the North and only moved to the South years later
Woodward begins his study with pre-war race relations then moves to Reconstruction, Redemption, and the repudiation of racial accommodation in the late 1800s which allowed Jim Crow and racial disenfranchisement to flourish. Woodward explores the nuances of race relations before and after the war and into the Civil Rights era and the tension between integration and black separatism/nationalism.
The first half of the book is much more informative than the second part which at points seems more of a recitation of facts than analysis. At the time it was written, though, there was not enough history between the latter events.
Woodward real holds a mirror up to the North, too. I lived in the South at the height of the Civil Rights movement and came back home convinced that the liberal smirk of superiority needed to be wiped off the faces of the pretensions North.
People prefer myths to fact, and The Strange History of Jim Crow lifts the veil of myth--or more succinctly, what many people think is history.
The only drawback is the lack of footnotes and bibliography, which may have been the publisher's decision. There is, however, a reading list. For that reason I toyed with the idea of giving the book 3 srtars, but it is such an important study, 'm giving it 4.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow is a classic and a great introduction to Jim Crow. I imagine some readers will be surprised to learn the Jim Crow was born in the North and only moved to the South years later
Woodward begins his study with pre-war race relations then moves to Reconstruction, Redemption, and the repudiation of racial accommodation in the late 1800s which allowed Jim Crow and racial disenfranchisement to flourish. Woodward explores the nuances of race relations before and after the war and into the Civil Rights era and the tension between integration and black separatism/nationalism.
The first half of the book is much more informative than the second part which at points seems more of a recitation of facts than analysis. At the time it was written, though, there was not enough history between the latter events.
Woodward real holds a mirror up to the North, too. I lived in the South at the height of the Civil Rights movement and came back home convinced that the liberal smirk of superiority needed to be wiped off the faces of the pretensions North.
People prefer myths to fact, and The Strange History of Jim Crow lifts the veil of myth--or more succinctly, what many people think is history.
The only drawback is the lack of footnotes and bibliography, which may have been the publisher's decision. There is, however, a reading list. For that reason I toyed with the idea of giving the book 3 srtars, but it is such an important study, 'm giving it 4.
August 28, 2015
If you read one book about race and america, this should probably be it. It is short and so well done. I was asked by my law school to pick one of the most influential books I've ever read about the law to share with some law students and I picked this one. It was written long ago and it's a classic. It's an easier read than you would expect given the reputation of the writer and the name.
August 4, 2014
Brilliant for its time, and even for this time as I'd always believed Jim Crow started right after the pact that ended reconstruction when in fact it only really came into its own turn of the century...turn of this god damned century! It's crazy I didn't know that, or how it came into being, and this book was pivotal in reclaiming that recent history against those who see segregation as just the natural way of things.
Of course, being written in the heat of the civil rights movement it's one of those books for King as against Malcolm, it doesn't understand what was happening in SNCC or what Carmichael and the Panthers were talking about. But I forgive it that...
Of course, being written in the heat of the civil rights movement it's one of those books for King as against Malcolm, it doesn't understand what was happening in SNCC or what Carmichael and the Panthers were talking about. But I forgive it that...
August 7, 2014
C Vann Woodward’s The Strange Career of Jim Crow was first published in 1955. The book was based on three James W. Richard lectures given by Woodward at the University of Virginia in 1954. He argued in those lectures that there was considerable economic and political interaction in the South between the races during reconstruction. In the 1957 paperback edition Woodward attempted to counter criticism that he had ignored the strength of racism that existed in the South prior to the codification of the Jim Crow laws.
Second and third revised editions followed in 1965 and 1973. Each new edition added a new concluding chapter in which Woodward struggled to make sense of contemporary events. The commemorative edition I read, published in 2002, concludes with an afterword by historian and Pulitzer Prize winner William S. McFeely.
Woodward is often linked with Richard Hofstadter as being one the two of the most prominent historians of the mid twentieth century. While Hofstadter’s works remain relevant today The Strange Career of Jim Crow does not. The concluding chapters of the second and third editions clearly show that Woodward simply did not comprehend contemporary events well enough to present cogent analysis.
Woodward’s book is best read as historiography of reconstruction. Its significance in 1955 was that a southern historian was writing a positive nonracist history the post-civil war South.
Second and third revised editions followed in 1965 and 1973. Each new edition added a new concluding chapter in which Woodward struggled to make sense of contemporary events. The commemorative edition I read, published in 2002, concludes with an afterword by historian and Pulitzer Prize winner William S. McFeely.
Woodward is often linked with Richard Hofstadter as being one the two of the most prominent historians of the mid twentieth century. While Hofstadter’s works remain relevant today The Strange Career of Jim Crow does not. The concluding chapters of the second and third editions clearly show that Woodward simply did not comprehend contemporary events well enough to present cogent analysis.
Woodward’s book is best read as historiography of reconstruction. Its significance in 1955 was that a southern historian was writing a positive nonracist history the post-civil war South.
April 4, 2012
"[T]hings have not always been the same in the South. In a time when the Negroes formed a much larger proportion of the population than they did later, when slavery was a live memory in the minds of both races, and when the memory of the hardships and bitterness of Reconstruction was still fresh, the race policies accepted and pursued in the South were sometimes milder than they became later." (47)
"No real relief was in sight from the long cyclical depression of the 'nineties, an acute period of suffering that had only intensified the distress of the much longer agricultural depression. Hopes for reform and the political means employed in defiance of tradition and at great cost to emotional attachments to effect reform had likewise met with cruel disappointments and frustration. There had to be a scapegoat. And all along the line signals were going up to indicate that the Negro was an approved object of aggression." (64)
"A search of the statute books fails to disclose any state law or city ordinance specifying separate Bibles and separate elevators. Right here it is well to admit, and even to emphasize, that laws are not an adequate index of the extent and prevalence of segregation and discriminatory practices in the South. The practices often anticipated and sometimes exceeded the laws. It may be confidently assumed -- and it could be verified by present observation -- that there is more Jim Crowism practiced in the South than there are Jim Crow laws on the books." (87)
"No real relief was in sight from the long cyclical depression of the 'nineties, an acute period of suffering that had only intensified the distress of the much longer agricultural depression. Hopes for reform and the political means employed in defiance of tradition and at great cost to emotional attachments to effect reform had likewise met with cruel disappointments and frustration. There had to be a scapegoat. And all along the line signals were going up to indicate that the Negro was an approved object of aggression." (64)
"A search of the statute books fails to disclose any state law or city ordinance specifying separate Bibles and separate elevators. Right here it is well to admit, and even to emphasize, that laws are not an adequate index of the extent and prevalence of segregation and discriminatory practices in the South. The practices often anticipated and sometimes exceeded the laws. It may be confidently assumed -- and it could be verified by present observation -- that there is more Jim Crowism practiced in the South than there are Jim Crow laws on the books." (87)
May 19, 2023
First published in 1955, a year after Brown v Board of Education and based upon a series of lectures the author delivered prior at U of Virginia, Dr. Martin Luther King endorsed it as “the historical Bible of the Civil Rghts movement.”
When I first read this MLK quote, it was really all I needed as an incentive to read this book. While much of the book was really no surprise to me because of prior exposure to points made, I did find it enlightening to have an author point out that Jim Crow wasn’t just practiced in the Deep South but in the North I grew up in. I experienced it reading/watching in the news the efforts to integrate the Boston School system through busing in the early 70’s. I saw and felt the distrust (Jim Crow) of many of my relatives and neighbors in Michigan as Detroit broke out in riots in 1967 and as Governor George Wallace won a large amount of Michigan votes in the 1968 General Election and won the 1972 Michigan Democratic Primary. I witnessed the derogatory/belittling comments of some of my relatives during this epoch. So Jim Crow was practiced in Michigan and many northern states and cities into the 1970’s and beyond.
When I first read this MLK quote, it was really all I needed as an incentive to read this book. While much of the book was really no surprise to me because of prior exposure to points made, I did find it enlightening to have an author point out that Jim Crow wasn’t just practiced in the Deep South but in the North I grew up in. I experienced it reading/watching in the news the efforts to integrate the Boston School system through busing in the early 70’s. I saw and felt the distrust (Jim Crow) of many of my relatives and neighbors in Michigan as Detroit broke out in riots in 1967 and as Governor George Wallace won a large amount of Michigan votes in the 1968 General Election and won the 1972 Michigan Democratic Primary. I witnessed the derogatory/belittling comments of some of my relatives during this epoch. So Jim Crow was practiced in Michigan and many northern states and cities into the 1970’s and beyond.
April 15, 2024
Loved this book. One of those books where you feel your brain straining to expand and understand the full implication of everything being said.
"The policies of proscription, segregation, and disenfranchisement that are often described as the immutable 'folkways' of the South, impervious alike to legislative reform and armed intervention, are of a more recent origin."
"The standard devices for accomplishing disenfranchisement on a racial basis and evading the restrictions of the Constitution... The plan set up certain barriers such as property or literay qualifications for voting, and then cut certain loopholes in the barrier through which only white men could squeeze."
"You are made to hate each other because upon that hatred is rested the keystone of the arch of financial despotism which enslaves you both. You are deceived and blinded that you may not see how this race antagonism perpetuates a monetary system which beggars you both." - Tom Watson
"The policies of proscription, segregation, and disenfranchisement that are often described as the immutable 'folkways' of the South, impervious alike to legislative reform and armed intervention, are of a more recent origin."
"The standard devices for accomplishing disenfranchisement on a racial basis and evading the restrictions of the Constitution... The plan set up certain barriers such as property or literay qualifications for voting, and then cut certain loopholes in the barrier through which only white men could squeeze."
"You are made to hate each other because upon that hatred is rested the keystone of the arch of financial despotism which enslaves you both. You are deceived and blinded that you may not see how this race antagonism perpetuates a monetary system which beggars you both." - Tom Watson
July 16, 2024
Cited by Martin Luther King Jr., and considered a classic in the field of Southern history, this book is an excellent work of revisionist history on Jim Crow. As a system that was created in the North, exported to the South, and only came into vogue during the 1920s—after nearly 30-50 years of now inconceivable racial socialization, if not integration—Woodward lays waste to the notion that Jim Crow was an ancient institution that reigned supreme in the South since time immemorial. His last few chapters on the sad aftermath of Jim Crow and the problems that came about in the later civil rights movement is a tragic, yet necessary part of the history that is included. An excellent resource, it earned every bit of the 5 stars I’m giving it.
January 9, 2016
I don't know why I'd never heard of this book until now. A fascinating and beautifully-written history of Jim Crow segregation in the South from the end of the Civil War to the early 1970s.
The most interesting part was what happened during the fifty years after the Civil War, when segregation as we know it did not yet exist and did not have to be invented. And yet it was. Why? Woodward offers an answer.
The most interesting part was what happened during the fifty years after the Civil War, when segregation as we know it did not yet exist and did not have to be invented. And yet it was. Why? Woodward offers an answer.
May 15, 2012
One of the classics of history. It is thought provoking, challenging, and written with fine prose.
September 19, 2017
Had to read this for a class, so didn't have as much time to invest into it as I would have liked to. Nonetheless, learned a lot I wouldn't have otherwise! Will possibly revisit this one in the future when I have more time.
June 4, 2018
I enjoyed this book because it gave a perspective of segregation you don't normally read about. I only gave the book 3 stars, and I would've given it more, but a lot of it I didn't understand. The language is advanced and at this age it's hard to understand. I think if I read it later in life I would like it and understand it more
February 19, 2018
***100% my opinion on MLK***
the soft tone of this book speaks of one aspect of the approach MLK took to the Civil Rights Movement, that being non-violent resistance... the book in most places feels like someone trying to pummel you into submission with a pillow... the fact MLK calls this book the "bible of the CRM" is something i find disturbing in 2018, as it has such a paternalistic tone... Woodward details the myriad ways all three branches of government conspired to deny rights to blacks, all this after abolishing slavery, passing the Reconstruction Acts, overturning Plessy v Ferguson, passing the Voting Rights & Civil Rights Acts... the institution of the Black Codes, the South's resistance to following the rule of law by claiming "states' rights" over federal jurisdiction (when it suited their racist programs/pogroms), the formation and savagery of the KKK are all spoken of as if they are mere incidents of annoyance, not legalized examples of racism and disregard for the government... he writes about Jim Crow laws rather sedately too, sadly... not entirely sure how MLK sees this book as even worth noting, let alone following... Woodward eventually turned from his (in my mind weak, paternalistic) support of civil rights to become a member of the right wing of his party, seeing the rights of oppressed groups as asking for "too much too soon"... this phrase also pops up repeatedly in this book, too often for it to be anything but something he saw as an accurate label for blacks and the CRM... the book speaks of too many awful things in such a diluted manner it ceases to lend strength to any aspect of civil rights besides the Southern/racist approach to denying blacks anything but death... sad...
the soft tone of this book speaks of one aspect of the approach MLK took to the Civil Rights Movement, that being non-violent resistance... the book in most places feels like someone trying to pummel you into submission with a pillow... the fact MLK calls this book the "bible of the CRM" is something i find disturbing in 2018, as it has such a paternalistic tone... Woodward details the myriad ways all three branches of government conspired to deny rights to blacks, all this after abolishing slavery, passing the Reconstruction Acts, overturning Plessy v Ferguson, passing the Voting Rights & Civil Rights Acts... the institution of the Black Codes, the South's resistance to following the rule of law by claiming "states' rights" over federal jurisdiction (when it suited their racist programs/pogroms), the formation and savagery of the KKK are all spoken of as if they are mere incidents of annoyance, not legalized examples of racism and disregard for the government... he writes about Jim Crow laws rather sedately too, sadly... not entirely sure how MLK sees this book as even worth noting, let alone following... Woodward eventually turned from his (in my mind weak, paternalistic) support of civil rights to become a member of the right wing of his party, seeing the rights of oppressed groups as asking for "too much too soon"... this phrase also pops up repeatedly in this book, too often for it to be anything but something he saw as an accurate label for blacks and the CRM... the book speaks of too many awful things in such a diluted manner it ceases to lend strength to any aspect of civil rights besides the Southern/racist approach to denying blacks anything but death... sad...
February 17, 2019
This is the third edition of a book I've had in my sights since hearing about it in high school. Published in the mid-seventies, Woodward covers the period from the conclusion of the Civil War through Nixon's 'southern strategy'. The best parts, however, are those of the first edition, exploding as they do many common misconceptions about the 'tradition' of segregation in the South. According to Woodward, the segregation laws really only began to be instituted around 1900 after a series of political realignments in the region, one of which, the early Populist movement, had actually allied poor blacks and whites around their common, class interests.
The additions to the original book cover the mid-fifties to the mid-seventies and deal, therefore, with the advent of black separatist movements which, in his view, become profitably exploited by the racist Right. This tendency, so prominent during the news cycles of the sixties and seventies, is profoundly disturbing to Woodward, himself a liberal integrationist, as it was to my contemporaries at the time, torn as we were between King and Malcolm, the old NAACP and the youthful Panthers. Being reminded of this conflict and the emotional tensions it engendered may be a factor in why I didn't so much like the additions to the original text.
The additions to the original book cover the mid-fifties to the mid-seventies and deal, therefore, with the advent of black separatist movements which, in his view, become profitably exploited by the racist Right. This tendency, so prominent during the news cycles of the sixties and seventies, is profoundly disturbing to Woodward, himself a liberal integrationist, as it was to my contemporaries at the time, torn as we were between King and Malcolm, the old NAACP and the youthful Panthers. Being reminded of this conflict and the emotional tensions it engendered may be a factor in why I didn't so much like the additions to the original text.
March 9, 2018
Martin Luther King considered this classic book as a Bible of Civil Rights. I agree. Written in the 1950's, it has never been out of print.
For a nonfiction book, that's remarkable. The book is based on a series of lectures, given by C. Vann Woodward, at the University of Virginia, around the time of the landmark Brown V. Board of Education decision. The words are potent, and powerful. At the time he lectured, I daresay he was likely threatened for airing such stark truths. I could not read it quickly--warning, you will not be able to read parts of it without seeing the parallels to today's struggles with race in America.
Civil War historians I know kept recommending this book in their talks. Now I know why.
For a nonfiction book, that's remarkable. The book is based on a series of lectures, given by C. Vann Woodward, at the University of Virginia, around the time of the landmark Brown V. Board of Education decision. The words are potent, and powerful. At the time he lectured, I daresay he was likely threatened for airing such stark truths. I could not read it quickly--warning, you will not be able to read parts of it without seeing the parallels to today's struggles with race in America.
Civil War historians I know kept recommending this book in their talks. Now I know why.
February 3, 2018
The Strange Career of Jim Crow is an absolutely classic history book that deserves to be read now, more than 60 years after its first publication. First published in 1955, the short book is a collection of lectures by Woodward which he then updated twice in the 1960sw and 1970s. But don't let the word "lecture" scare you off. This is an eye-opening history of black and white relations immediately after the civil war to the late twentieth century. It reads easily and will probably take you by surprise.
February 20, 2023
A short, but powerful book chronicling the rise and fall of Jim Crow society in America. Martin Luther King Jr. called it, "the historical Bible of the Civil Rights Movement." Is any other review or recommendation even necessary? Five stars.
October 28, 2007
Another one of those mind-bending history books that makes you re-think American history.
October 31, 2014
Every American should read this book.
August 20, 2025
The first 2/3 of this book - basically the discussion of reconstruction through the creation of Jim Crow segregation - are really quite good. Woodward does a fair job at showing that segregation in the south emerged only at the end of the 19th century, as the most virulent racist whites sought to distinguish themselves from freedmen and preserve their economic, social, and political power by excluding them. These were originally delivered as lectures, however, and the scanty quotes leave a lot to be desired in this day and age. There are doubtless much better studies of the formation of Jim Crow on offer today.
I can see why the first edition of this book in 1955 would have been so powerful. By showing how Jim Crow was created as an instrument of white power in the 1890s, Woodward rebuts the argument of segregationists of the mid-20th century that Jim Crow was a fundamental aspect of southern life.
This edition from 1974 has a tacked-on final chapter about black separatism which feels like an afterthought. Woodward feels too close in time to the material from the 1960s and 1970s to address them with the same candor with which he treats the earlier period. Or perhaps it’s just that I feel more comfortable hearing his historically-informed condemnation of segregation than reading him struggling with the contemporary politics of black nationalism. While the 1955 edition was probably revolutionary, I have a hard time thinking the chapters about the civil rights struggles of the 60s and 70s were ever particularly pathbreaking. In this case, I would probably have liked the book better if I had read the earlier edition.
I can see why the first edition of this book in 1955 would have been so powerful. By showing how Jim Crow was created as an instrument of white power in the 1890s, Woodward rebuts the argument of segregationists of the mid-20th century that Jim Crow was a fundamental aspect of southern life.
This edition from 1974 has a tacked-on final chapter about black separatism which feels like an afterthought. Woodward feels too close in time to the material from the 1960s and 1970s to address them with the same candor with which he treats the earlier period. Or perhaps it’s just that I feel more comfortable hearing his historically-informed condemnation of segregation than reading him struggling with the contemporary politics of black nationalism. While the 1955 edition was probably revolutionary, I have a hard time thinking the chapters about the civil rights struggles of the 60s and 70s were ever particularly pathbreaking. In this case, I would probably have liked the book better if I had read the earlier edition.
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February 12, 2018This book opened my eyes to the real truth about the efforts, successes, failures and back slides of the civil rights effort across the history of our Unites States. The revelation to me that the history we learned in high school and college was woefully incomplete is astounding. Its tragic that the history in this volume (which was first published in 1954 and last revised in 1974) is essentially (for the most part) still ignored by those teaching civil rights history today. The rise in attained rights and then their decline is presented as a sign wave of hope. Unfortunately after each step forward there is a predictable back slide and suppression of that progress. White Privilege will not rest until we change this culture! The Strange Career of Jim Crow is a must read for anyone interested in social justice and civil rights. We can use the lessons it teaches to push back against the populist rise brought on by the presidential ambitions of the current administration. Read It!
January 10, 2018
This is a seminal book that's useful for anyone to get an accurate picture of the scope of Jim crow from it's origins to how it played out until the early 70's. Of particular interest is the last few sub-chapters wherein Woodward juxtaposes the more radical voices of Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael VS Martin Luther King Jr. I see a similar split in the political left between so-called neo-liberals like Clinton and the seemingly more progressive voices like Bernie Sanders.
December 4, 2020
Not just a highly informative account of the Jim Crow era, but a text that actively played a part in disassembling it. I think Woodward would be classed more as an assimilationist than an anti-racist, by Ibram X. Kendi's classification, particularly in his later criticisms of the more militant black movements. But this is a history book that itself made history and which still aids the understanding of a complex period in America's past.
February 11, 2021
A good read if you want to know more about political and social-historical events that shaped the Jim Crow era and beyond. A big emphasis on the political forces, even over social, so be ready for that. Dated somewhat (written in 1955, with updates), it was at times harder to read. The end of the book ended on a down note and was for me a little depressing. But there are enough gems in the book for me to give it four stars.
July 4, 2020
The Strange Career of Jim Crow is the most famous book I had never heard of. It came in a box of books purchased en bloc for a nominal price from an online auction house.
The ideas behind Jim Crow while associated with the South were actually first manifested and defended in the North. The Northern Republican waging a war of imperialism in 1898 justified and supported the solidification of Jim Crow in the South. This history, first published in 1955 and written by a white southerner, is fascinating if somewhat pedantic.
This 3rd edition, published in 1973 after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 juxtaposed with the Watts riots and Black Power Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s, details the continued oscillation between Reconstruction and the reaction to it that was Jim Crow. I found this particularly interesting not only because of my memories of growing up in this time but also in light of recent events in the continued fight against the power structure and unrelenting white nationalism.
The ideas behind Jim Crow while associated with the South were actually first manifested and defended in the North. The Northern Republican waging a war of imperialism in 1898 justified and supported the solidification of Jim Crow in the South. This history, first published in 1955 and written by a white southerner, is fascinating if somewhat pedantic.
This 3rd edition, published in 1973 after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 juxtaposed with the Watts riots and Black Power Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s, details the continued oscillation between Reconstruction and the reaction to it that was Jim Crow. I found this particularly interesting not only because of my memories of growing up in this time but also in light of recent events in the continued fight against the power structure and unrelenting white nationalism.
July 5, 2017
This is a fascinating book. Woodward presents a clear, thoughtful argument about the emergence of Jim Crow laws. I learned a lot about the Reconstruction, then emerging Progressive period when these laws surfaced. Woodrow Wilson's position on race makes much more sense. A standard work.
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