Book Review The Other South Essay, Research Paper

Degler, Carl N. The Other South: Southern Dissenters in the 19th century. Harper &Row. 1974

Carl Degler brings out an different side of the southern part of the United States in his book “The Other South”. Degler argues that if one is to understand the south as it really was it is important to dis regard the terribly common misconception that all southerners supported slavery or were indifferent to the suffering induced upon the blacks by slavery. Where common American history eludes to the fact that there were only a handful of southerners who openly opposed slavery, Degler’s book shows that southern dissenters were, of course always the minority but were certainly greater in numbers than a mere handful. Also, the sheer complexity of a seemingly simple southern society has played a huge role in the historical path the south has followed in American history. Within the complex southern society socioeconomic and of course racial classes solely dictated most all southern views on the slavery issue. Degler also touches on the ever present black influence on society in the south during this time period that was produced simply by their presence. In the middle of this moral conflict and fueling much of the conflict were groups of southern dissenters who risked much of their livelihood to fight against slavery.

It is said that southerners have a “double history “1 a history as southerners and a history as Americans. One of the main points that reinforces this idea of double history is that of all Americans, the white upper class in the south are the only ones who have been defeated in war and occupied by the enemy2 . This is what gives southerners their double history, no other part of the country has had such conflict between their local and national loyalties3. The southern dissenters however, had what could be called a triple history. It is this idea of a triple history that Degler places at the heart of his sympathetic stand on the position of the southern dissenter. The southern dissenters were also in the middle of a serious identity conflict. From the perspective of a northerner they were southerners, from a majority southern perspective they were defiantly not southern at least as far as values and ideals were concerned. So, in laymens terms they were between a rock and a hard place, they were too southern to be accepted in the north and too much like a northerner to be accepted in the south.

Degler illustrates the position of the southern dissenters quite well and in essence believes that they have not received any of their well deserved credit. In the writing of this book Degler brings to light the importance of the southern dissenters both in the history of the south and more specifically what their presence says about the south as a whole. Degler seems to be defending the south throughout the course of the book attempting to rationalize the south in a way quite contrary to how it is portrayed in main stream American history.

The influence of blacks in the south is an aspect that Degler casts great amount of importance to. The black influence was not directly political but had vast inadvertent effects on politics in the south. It subtlety influenced every waking moment of all southerners but was rarely spoken of on a public forum of any kind. This great influence as Degler portrays it, stemmed from the mere presence of the blacks in the south. Basically, their presence effected every part of southern society and the central conductor for this influence was fear. Degler’s primary support for this claim starts with a slave uprising in 1831 initiated by a black preacher named Nat Turner4. Nat Turner had a handful of followers who, in the early morning hours of August 22 went from farm house to farm house in Southhamton County Va killing all whites they encountered. They moved unopposed thru the country side for the first day of their insurrection. By the time militia patrols arrived over sixty whites lay dead. Although the uprising was a brutal bloodshed Degler makes it clear that the true impact of the uprising was felt in the aftermath. As news of the uprising spread extreme paranoia set in thruought the south. Subsequently, many blacks were killed in the frenzy following the insurrection before federal troops arrived to calm the fury. The paranoia was not necessarily unjustified, in 1830 the black population in Virginia outnumbered the white population by 81,0005 so, if in fact the black population did unite as a whole they very well could take over Virginia and if the slave insurrection spread the whole south would be in jeopardy . Degler emphasizes this event because it is at the heart of the black influence in the early south. In essence Degler is showing that blacks and whites had an equal influence on each other. The black influence was driven by fear and suspicion and the white influence was driven by power and control. Also, Degler eludes to a common theme thruought southern history in that the primary goal of the whites was to prevent interaction between themselves and the blacks. In doing so they keep the blacks alienated from normal societal interactions which in turn reduces the number of whites that sympathize with the black position. That is why Degler gives so much credit to the southern dissenters in this book. Because they crossed those lines.

Degler is obviously very partial to the southern dissenters and rightfully so. Degler argues that if one is to understand the south it is important to understand the role the dissenters played in the south and what they had to endure in order to do so. The book sheds much light on the sheer complexity of the southern dissenters situation. The dissenters faced a monumental task in that they were pushing to change the economy and politics of south. Unfortunately for the dissenters politics and economy were the most rock solid institutions in the southern way of life. At the root of this complex situation were the slaves whom the economy revolved around and politics of course were heavily influenced by the economy. While main stream American history hints at only a few individual southern dissenters Degler broadens the spectrum to include a variety of groups and individuals who played an extremely important role in the history of the south. By linking and comparing the various groups and individuals Degler shows the values and beliefs that motivated the dissenters to deviate from the values of the majority. In doing so Degler dispels the common mis conception that the south thinks as a whole unit.

As an author Degler does an excellent job of presenting accurate historical information in such a way truly shows the diversify and complexity of the southern experience. However, the book seems to lack any kind or literary dynamics. The book is a steady flow of facts and events that are quite interesting but do not seem to have a destination or direction. If Degler were writing about something that was not such a relatively unheard of topic the book would not hold water and would certainly leave a dry taste in the readers mouth. Granted his ultimate goal is to enlighten the reader on the role and experience of the southern dissenters but the method he uses to do so could definitely be modified to drive the content of the book home with the reader. The insightful ness of the book is extremely impressive to say the least. Degler draws from what seems to be an incredibly vast supply of historical literature. He leaves no claims unsubstantiated and provides proof for all of his theories. Upon examining the location of manuscript collections cited all of his sources are quite reputable, most are from the southern historical society and written by professors and notable historians. Degler does justice to his sources and upon reading the book his credentials come thru in his word choice and writing style. Degler also does a fine job of making his thesis clear to the reader and wastes no time proving it logically and in such a manner that leaves no questions left unanswered. Due to the ample amount of information relayed in the book there seem to be no outstanding inconsistencies that threaten the validity of the monograph itself. My negative criticism of the book is minimal it was long but a relatively enjoyable read for a non fiction book. Degler’s only weakness in the writing of this book was his rather dry presentation of the material, however, the inherent interest the material itself sparks in readers negates this potentially damaging flaw. In this book Degler has created an impressive, insightful and interesting literary work.