Pursuit of Unity: A Political History of the American South

This book covers southern political history from Jefferson to Clinton. Surveying the entire span of southern political history, Michael Perman takes a revealing and wide-ranging approach to the region's politics. During the nineteenth century, the South experienced nearly continuous political crisis from nullification through secession, war, and Reconstruction, concluding with the disfranchisement campaigns at century's end. The struggle for power took a different form in the twentieth century, as the South's political class forged the Solid South and then maneuvered to perpetuate its control within the region and its influence within the nation. But there was also continuity within this pattern of discord and crisis. First, southern politics generated - to a degree not found elsewhere in the United States - a remarkable array of unusual and colorful politicians, such as John C. Calhoun, William Mahone, James K. Vardaman, Huey Long, George Wallace, and Lyndon Johnson. Even more significant was the lack of a competitive, two-party politics for the better part of the more than two centuries since the nation's founding. For most of the nineteenth century, the South's political system was characterized by the dominance of one party, the Democrats, and in the twentieth, by the one-party monopoly known as the Solid South. This propensity toward one-party politics differentiated the South and its political history from the rest of the country. But since the passage of the momentous Voting Rights Act in 1965, one-party politics has all but disappeared and, along with it, the South's pursuit of unity.

About the Author :
MICHAEL PERMAN is professor of history and research professor in the humanities at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author or editor of seven books, most recently Struggle for Mastery: Disfranchisement in the South, 1888-1908 (UNC Press) and Emancipation and Reconstruction.

Review :

"A clear, sound synthesis of a crucial subject. . . . Readers at every level should applaud his invaluable contribution." -- Civil War Book Review

"A striking achievement that will be of interest to all students of southern history." -- American Nineteenth Century History

"A welcome addition to the literature. . . .Perman should be applauded for undertaking such an ambitious synthesis. Those looking to refresh their knowledge of the southern political past, or those who lack such knowledge in the first place, will do well to consult this book." -- The Journal of Southern History

"An important new study." -- Journal of American History

"Michael Perman has written a masterful introduction to the complexities of southern political history. Pursuit of Unity identifies and explains the main themes of southern political life over two centuries. This remarkable achievement, a model of clear writing about matters of consequence, should be of great interest to general readers and scholars interested in the impact of the South on American politics." -- Merle Black, coauthor of Divided America: The Ferocious Power Struggle in American Politics

"Perman has filled a pressing need for a modern, comprehensive survey of southern political history. . . . Perman has skillfully and cogently illuminated its past, tying the regional experience together with an effective, coherent theme. Students and fans of southern politics will enjoy this first-rate study." -- North Carolina Historical Review

"Perman's new political history of the South is the first of its kind....No other volume synthesizes the region's political history from the earliest years of the new nation ot the present. With its fine balance of generalization and detail and its clear prose, the book seems certain to attract both scholarly and general readers." -- Georgia Historical Quarterly

"Recommended." -- CHOICE

"Well written and accessible." -- Southwestern Historical Quarterly