Ben Tillman and the Reconstruction of White Supremacy

“Kantrowitz’s major achievements [are] in relocating Tillman in the southern social structure, and in underscoring the violence that he and his ilk used to regain political ascendency after the Civil War.” — American Historical Review

“Kantrowitz has written an interesting, elequent, and important study of Ben Tillman and his vision of white supremacy. . . . When other scholars revisit the other architects of postbellum white supremacy, they necessarily will begin with Kantrowitz’s impressive study.” — Journal of Southern History

“Kantrowitz’s excellent new book is a study of Tillman’s thinking on white supremacy and patriarchy. It is also a look at the environment that spawned such ideas: the South Carolina of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.” — Review of Politics

“This is state-of-the-art political history. . . . Kantrowitz’s biography of South Carolina’s leading political figure in the age of populism, disfranchisement, and lynching is exceptional for the depth of its understanding of the period, its ever more nuanced interpretations, and especially its intricate narrative about the changing meanings of white supremacy. . . . If this book is indeed state-of-the-art, the art of political history today is in good shape.” — North Carolina Historical Review

“Stephen Kantrowitz’s new book merits serious attention. Based on broad research in primary sources, including an impressive array of manuscript collections, it has immense strengths. Most important, Kantrowitz takes Tillman seriously, recognizing that he was far more than some country rube and race baiter. . . . I commend Professor Kantrowitz for giving us a first-rate book.” — Journal of American History

“A thoughtful biography of one of the archracists and pillars of Jim Crow in the post-Reconstruction South.” — New York Times Book Review

“Mr. Kantrowitz writes well, argues coherently, and has a strong point of view.” — Washington Times

“Kantrowitz has not written a conventional biography. . . . In describing Tillman’s political maneuvers, Kantrowitz thoughtfully deals with many of the issues that concern historians today: the ideological construction of whiteness with all its privileges, the importance of gender and the complex nature of class relations in a biracial society less than a generation removed from slavery. Remarkably, he manages to do so without retreating into the mind-numbing jargon that often accompanies such studies.” — Washington Post Book World

“Well researched. It shows how demagogues in a leadership role can manipulate the public’s mind in such a twisted manner so as to cause havoc throughout an entire area.” — Rapport

“[A] thoughtful biography. . . . Thoroughly researched, brilliantly argued. . . . A rich and insightful dissection of the rise of American racism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kantrowitz has given us the best study we have of Benjamin Tillman, but he has also given us a way to understand how racism took hold in the post–Civil War South and gradually spread its tentacles to the rest of the country.” — Charles B. Dew, New York Times Book Review