The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 71, July 1967 - April, 1968 Page: 656
686 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
reactions of rural-minded (but not necessarily rural) Americans
against the accelerating urbanization of the nation, Jackson argues
that internal factors provided the main impetus for the success of
the Klan in American cities. "Not a reaction against the rise of the
city to dominance in American life," he concludes, "the Invisible
Empire was rather a reaction against the aspirations of certain ele-
ments within the city" (p. 245).
He sees the average Klansman as a member of the lower middle
class who felt threatened by the proximity of predominantly Negro
or eastern and southern European immigrant neighborhoods and by
increasing economic competition from these racial and ethnic minor-
ities. Jackson's thesis is fully convincing when applied to Chicago,
Detroit, and even Indianapolis. For southern, southwestern, and
western cities, however, his analysis is superficial and highly dubious.
Cities like Atlanta, Memphis, or Dallas, for example, had inconse-
quential numbers of "new" immigrants, while their Negro popula-
tions were rigidly segregated and effectively suppressed. On the other
hand, San Antonio, which would have been a fine case study in ethnic
neighborhood tensions, was slighted, and New Orleans, an even more
heterogeneous urban community, was virtually ignored.
Although serious objections can be raised regarding Jackson's as-
sumptions, methodology, and findings, he has provided a challenging
new interpretation. His work should shatter what remains of the
traditional image of the Klan as a collection of village rednecks.
University of Georgia CHARLES C. ALEXANDER
Thomas P. Gore: The Blind Senator from Oklahoma. By Monroe
Lee Billington. Lawrence (University of Kansas Press), 1967.
Pp. viii+ 9go. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $5.50.
To most students of American history the name of Thomas P. Gore
brings to mind only the so-called "Gore-McLemore" Resolution of
1916, which sought to warn Americans against traveling on armed
belligerent passenger vessels during World War I. Now, in this well-
written and concise biography Monroe Billington has explored the
rather long career of the Oklahoma senator and has effectively set
him in his times. The volume is well-designed, attractively printed,
and the documentation, though inconveniently placed at the end of
the book, adds depth to the narrative.
Born in post Civil War Mississippi, young Gore studied for a legal656
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 71, July 1967 - April, 1968, periodical, 1968; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117145/m1/722/?rotate=270: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.