Spirit of Rebellion: Labor and Religion in the New Cotton South

289 Pages·2010·2.198 MB·English

by  Jarod Roll

Spirit of
Rebellion
labor and religion in
the new cotton south
jarod roll
Spirit of Rebellion
the working class
in american history
Editorial Advisors
James R. Barrett
Alice Kessler-Harris
Nelson Lichtenstein
David Montgomery
A list of books in the series
appears at the end of this book.
Spirit of Rebellion
Labor and Religion in the
New Cotton South
Jarod roll
UNiveRSity of iLLiNoiS PReSS
Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield
© 2010 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roll, Jarod.
Spirit of rebellion : labor and religion in the new cotton South /
Jarod Roll.
p. cm. — (The working class in American history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-252-03519-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-252-07703-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Tenant farmers—Missouri—History. 2. African American
farmers—Missouri—History. 3. Labor movement—Missouri—
History. 4. Working class—Religious life—Missouri—History.
I. Title.
hd1511.u6m876 2010
305.9'6309778909041—dc22 2010005641
For T. L. B., in memory,
and
M. S. R., with hope

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1. A Modern Promised Land 11
2. Jerusalem 27
3. Saviors of Agriculture 52
4. No More Mourning 76
5. Bear Our Burdens Together 103
6. On Jordan’s Stormy Banks 132
Epilogue 173
Notes 181
Bibliography 233
Index 253

illustrations
Maps
1. The Missouri Bootheel and the New Cotton South—12
2. The Bootheel, 1910: Land of Canaan—15
3. The UNIA in the Bootheel, 1925—55
4. The STFU and NAACP in the Bootheel, 1938—126
figures
1. Logging Camp, Pemiscot County, ca. 1910—20
2. Landless farming families gathered along the highway,
January 1939—133
3. More than 200 white farmers joined the protest in
January 1939—134
4. The demonstrators demanded the opportunity
to work—135
5. Many entire families joined the protest—140
6. Demonstrators being removed from the Lilbourn camp,
January 15, 1939—145