The Texas Left

by Cullen, David O'Donald

• ISBN13: 9781603441896
• ISBN10: 1603441891
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-05
• Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr

Summary

The Texas Left. Some would say the phrase is an oxymoron. For most of the twentieth century, the popular perception of Texas politics has been that of dominant conservatism, punctuated by images of cowboys, oil barons, and party bosses intent on preserving a decidedly capitalist status quo. In fact, poor farmers and laborers who were disenfranchised, segregated, and, depending on their ethnicity and gender, confronted with varying levels of hostility and discrimination, have long composed the "other" political heritage of Texas. InThe Texas Left, fourteen scholars examine this heritage. Though largely ignored by historians of previous decades who focused instead on telling the stories of the Alamo, the Civil War, the cattle drives, and the oilfield wildcatters, this parallel narrative of those who sought to resist repression reveals themes important to the unfolding history of Texas and the Southwest. Volume editors David O'Donald Cullen and Kyle G. Wilkison have assembled a collection of pioneering studies that provide the broad outlines for future research on liberal and radical social and political causes in the state and region. Among the topics explored in this book are early efforts of women, blacks, Tejanos, labor organizers, and political activists to claim rights of citizenship, livelihood, and recognition, from the Reconstruction era until recent times.

Author Biography

David O'Donald Cullen is a professor of history at Collin College in Plano. He teaches Texas history and is the author of a number of articles and essays on American political and social history. His PhD is from the University of North Texas. Kyle G. Wilkison is also a professor of history at Collin College. Wilkison's Yeomen, Sharecroppers, and Socialists: Plain Folk Protest in Texas, 1870-1914, was published by Texas AM University Press and received the Texas Historical Commission's T. R. Fehrenbach Book Award in 2008.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
"The Right to Work, to Starve, to Die": The Forgotten Radical Heritage of Texas	p. 1
"Texas Out-radicals My Radicalism": Roots of Radical Republicanism in Reconstruction Texas	p. 13
Rebel Farmers: The Texas Farmers' Alliance	p. 36
"A Host of Sturdy Patriots": The Texas Populists	p. 53
The Texas Socialist Party	p. 74
Texas à Unions à Time: Unions in Texas from the Time of the Republic through the Great War, 1838-1919	p. 92
Looking for Lefty: Liberal/Left Activism and Texas Labor, 1920s-1960s	p. 112
Not Whistling Dixie: Women's Movements and Feminist Politics	p. 133
Confronting White Supremacy: The African American Left in Texas, 1874-1974	p. 157
More Than a Somnolent Type: Tejanos Resist the Rule of Dominance	p. 191
A Modern Liberal Tradition in Texas?	p. 209
About the Contributors	p. 225
Index	p. 229
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.