The Other Missouri History: Populists, Prostitutes, and Regular Folk

by Thomas M. Spencer

Overview

The essays in The Other Missouri History explore a wide range of topics in Missouri social history. By dealing with the lives of ordinary Missourians, these pieces examine the effects of significant social and economic change at all levels of society. With a broader scope in Missouri history than previous studies, this book demonstrates how Missourians have been affected by issues of race, class, and gender.
Gregg Andrews's essay, “The Racial Politics of Reconstruction in Ralls County, 1865-1870,” examines how race shaped the political culture in Ralls County during the Reconstruction Era. Andrews argues that race-baiting was used prominently by editors of the Ralls County Record to discredit Radicals in the county and was perhaps the most powerful political weapon that conservatives and later Democrats could use to gain the allegiance of voters.
Farmers are another popular topic for those practicing the “other Missouri history.” Michael J. Steiner's “The Failure of Alliance/Populism in Northern Missouri” provides insight into the economic and rhetorical reasons for the failure of Populism in Missouri. Steiner contends that white farmers in northern Missouri were happy with the status quo and rejected calls for radical reform and major change in the agricultural economy.
Women began to become active in public life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Janice Brandon-Falcone's “Constance Runcie and the Runcie Club of St. Joseph” examines the first two decades of an important women's club that still exists in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Also included in The Other Missouri History are essays by Deborah J. Henry, Daniel A. Graff, Bonnie Stepenoff, Robert Faust, and Amber R. Clifford.
Because of the diverse issues addressed, this volume will appeal to general readers of Missouri and Midwestern history, as well as to those who teach courses in history and have sought a supplemental text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826215659
Publisher:	University of Missouri Press
Publication date:	01/30/2005
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas M. Spencer is Director of Honors Student Affairs, The Sandra and Jack Pine Honors College at Eastern Illinois University. He is the author of The St. Louis Veiled Prophet Celebration: Power on Parade, 1877-1995 (University of Missouri Press).

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vii
	The Many Acts of the Small: An Introduction to the Other Missouri History	1
	The Racial Politics of Reconstruction in Ralls County, 1865-1870	8
	The Bald Knobbers, the Anti-Bald Knobbers, Politics, and the Culture of Violence in the Ozarks, 1860-1890	31
	Race, Citizenship, and the Origins of Organized Labor in Antebellum St. Louis	50
	Race, Power, and the Building Trades Industry in Postwar St. Louis	81
	The Failure of Alliance/Populism in Northern Missouri	115
	Survival Strategies of Farm Laborers in the Missouri Bootheel, 1900-1958	142
	Constance Runcie and the Runcie Club of St. Joseph	165
	Women, Identity, and Reform in Missouri's Lead Belt, 1900-1923	185
	Prostitution and Reform in Kansas City, 1880-1930	214
	Contributors	237
	Index	239

What People are Saying About This

Jeffrey S. Adler

The Other Missouri History is an interesting volume, and it makes an important scholarly contribution. Based on sound research, the essays provide new perspectives on the history of Missouri.

Katharine T. Corbet

The book contains some extremely well-researched and convincingly argued essays that make a significant contribution to the scholarship in Missouri history.

Editorial Reviews

"The book contains some extremely well-researched and convincingly argued essays that make a significant contribution to the scholarship in Missouri history."—Katharine T. Corbett

"The Other Missouri History is an interesting volume, and it makes an important scholarly contribution. Based on sound research, the essays provide new perspectives on the history of Missouri."—Jeffrey S. Adler

From the Publisher