Delaying the Dream - (Making the Modern South) by Keith M Finley (Paperback)

About the Book

Few historical events lend themselves to such a sharp delineation between right and wrong as does the civil rights struggle. Consequently, many historical accounts of white resistance to civil rights legislation emphasize the ferocity of the opposition, from the Ole Miss riots to the depredations of Eugene "Bull" Conner's Birmingham police force to George Wallace's stand on the schoolhouse steps. While such hostile episodes frequently occurred in the Jim Crow South, civil rights adversaries also employed other, less confrontational but remarkably successful, tactics to deny equal rights to black Americans. In Delaying the Dream, Keith M. Finley explores gradations in the opposition by examining how the region's principal national spokesmen -- its United States senators -- addressed themselves to the civil rights question and developed a concerted plan of action to thwart legislation: the use of strategic delay.

Book Synopsis

Few historical events lend themselves to such a sharp delineation between right and wrong as does the civil rights struggle. Consequently, many historical accounts of white resistance to civil rights legislation emphasize the ferocity of the opposition, from the Ole Miss riots to the depredations of Eugene "Bull" Conner's Birmingham police force to George Wallace's stand on the schoolhouse steps. While such hostile episodes frequently occurred in the Jim Crow South, civil rights adversaries also employed other, less confrontational but remarkably successful, tactics to deny equal rights to black Americans. In Delaying the Dream, Keith M. Finley explores gradations in the opposition by examining how the region's principal national spokesmen--its United States senators--addressed themselves to the civil rights question and developed a concerted plan of action to thwart legislation: the use of strategic delay.

Review Quotes

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of academic interest in white southern opposition to the civil rights movement. Keith M. Finley adds a new dimension to this scholarship in his fine study of southern senators' efforts to curtail federal civil rights legislation.-- "Journal of American History"

Should be considered required reading for those interested in the histories of the twentieth-century South, the civil rights movement, [and] American politics.-- "Arkansas Historical Quarterly"

About the Author

Keith M. Finley is assistant director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies and an instructor of history at Southeastern Louisiana University.