A Fierce and Fractious Frontier - by Samuel C Hyde (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Tales of Cajuns, Creoles, and New Orleans decadence dominate both popular and professional impressions of Louisiana and have undoubtedly distracted attention from the region that arguably experienced the most dramatic pattern of development in Louisiana, if not the entire Gulf South. Louisiana's Florida Parishes, located in the southeastern part of the state, have endured a tumultuous evolution, including domination by every major power that invaded North America, exclusion from the Louisiana Purchase, insurrection and the establishment of the original Lone Star Republic, and some of the highest rates of rural homicide recorded in American history. The area was long neglected by scholars until some of its foremost experts came together to explore and recognize its singular identity. This volume is a result of that collaboration and consists of ten essays on the history and culture of this unique territory.

In tracing the progress of Louisiana's Florida Parishes, the book begins with an eye-opening ethnographic history of the territory during its days as a French colony, the brief era of British rule, and slavery as it was practiced under the Spanish regime. A revealing look at the region during the War of 1812 provides a dynamic account of the only major naval battle in the South during that conflict. Subsequent essays give lucid and insightful examination to the area's guerrilla tactics during the Civil War, credit crisis of the postbellum era, and ecological transformation through pine forest harvesting. The final third of the book considers the demographic changes wrought by black labor employed in the lumber mills of the early twentieth century, the challenges confronting a rural, depression-era black community, and recent environmental changes in the parishes that impact ongoing economic development.

A Fierce and Fractious Frontier employs a comprehensive approach supported by provocative groundbreaking research to explain the difficulties of the past and suggest considerations for the future of Louisiana's Florida Parishes. It will stand as a model for the emerging field of southern subregional studies.

Review Quotes

A Fierce and Fractious Frontier provides a helpful introduction to the diverse peoples and distinctive history of a little-studied region, and at the same time addresses important topics in the history of the South--race and labor relations and environmental problems in particular.--Gaines Foster, author of Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South, 1865-1913

A Fierce and Fractious Frontier, skillfully edited by Sam Hyde, draws together an impressive body of scholarship on one of the American South's most unique and intriguing subregions. This highly readable volume covers aspects of the history of Louisiana's Florida parishes from the time of French and Spanish influence through the Civil War and Reconstruction and down to the modern civil rights movement and environmental controversies. It is an important book, especially for those interested in untangling the complex mystery of the many Souths that together form America's most self-conscious region.--Lacy K. Ford, author of Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800-1860

This thought-provoking collection turns a revealing light on a neglected corner of the South. Louisiana's Florida parishes have a long and fascinating history whose uniqueness stands as a challenge to historians. This book will force us to re-think generalizations about the South's historical experience that we have always accepted as gospel. It should be read and pondered by everyone with a serious interest in the South as it was and is.--Stephen V. Ash, author of When the Yankees Came: Conflict and Chaos in the Occupied South, 1861-1865

About the Author

Samuel C. Hyde, Jr., is the Leon Ford Endowed Chair in Regional Studies at Southeastern Louisiana University and director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies. He is the author or editor of numerous books about the history of Louisiana's Florida Parishes, including Pistols and Politics: Feuds, Factions, and the Struggle for Order in Louisiana's Florida Parishes, 1810-1935.