Radical Protest and Social Structure: Southern Farmer's Alliance and Cotton Tenancy, 1880-90 (Studies in social discontinuity) [Hardcover]

Michael Schwartz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Studies in social discontinuity | Publication Date: February 1977

"Michael Schwartz's book is really three books in one—an analysis of the structural changes that produced one of the most oppressive social systems the world has known (the one-crop cotton tenancy economy and the system of institutionalized racism and authoritarian one-party politics that was required to preserve the fragile economic arrangement); a theoretical analysis of the origins, mobilization, and outcome of insurgent challenges; and a meticulous application of that theory to the rise and collapse of the Populist movement."—Craig Jenkins, Theory and Society

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Schwartz, professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is the coauthor of The Business Elite as a Ruling Class and The Power Structure of American Business, the latter of which is also published by the University of Chicago Press.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 313 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press Inc (February 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0126328501
• ISBN-13: 978-0126328509
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,905,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, January 9, 2008

By 

James D. Doyle - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Protest and Social Structure: The Southern Farmers' Alliance and Cotton Tenancy, 1880-1890 (Paperback)

I agree with Michael from NY. Schwartz's sudy is a superb analysis of farm tennancy and the dynamics of protest in late 19th century South. Schwartz's methodology and thesis have been assailed by many historians of this era in southern history but no one can deny that his analysis is grounded in the primary sources and offers an insight into the tennancy system that few studies of this phenomenon can match.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Neglected Classic, May 6, 2007

By 

Michael A. Mccarthy (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Protest and Social Structure: The Southern Farmers' Alliance and Cotton Tenancy, 1880-1890 (Paperback)

After reading this, I could not help but scratch my head and ask myself why it is that this isn't more prominant in social movement theory / political sociology. The book provides an excellent framework for thinking about collective action and the logic of the emergence, and rise or decline of movements for radical change from below. This should be standard reading for undergrad/graduate students studying social movements and/or political processes.