Before Jim Crow

“A nicely written and sharply observed study, which adds theoretical precision and empirical substance to the growing body of scholarship that treats race as a socially constructed, rather than a 'natural,' category of historical analysis.” — Journal of American Studies

“Impressive. . . . A sophisticated and complex analysis. . . . A provocative and important work, one that should influence the study of race for years to come.” — Journal of Southern History

“[A] fine book.” — Journal of American History

“The narrative of the rise and fall of the Readjuster Party provides a mere backdrop against which Dailey explores several fascinating issues . . . . An important addition to the growing literature about race in the late nineteenth-century South.” — American Historical Review

“This study aids in developing a more complete picture of race relations and the struggle for equality in nineteenth century America.” — Civil War Book Review

“Before Jim Crow is an elegant, often sardonic study of the Readjuster movement.” — Times Literary Supplement

“Brimming with theoretical insights and intellectual wit.” — Law and History Review

“This is a fine book — an elegant blend of political and cultural history, and a model of what state-level political history ought to look like in the wake of recent advances in our understanding of identity.” — Suzanne Lebsock, University of Washington

“Before Jim Crow is one of the most exciting books on the South I've read in years. Dailey not only recasts the history of post-Reconstruction southern politics by recovering the virtually forgotten history of the Readjusters (and the critical role black people played in the movement), but she reminds us that nothing is inevitable. Southerners might have taken another path, and only violence, intimidation, and a realignment of race undermined a more democratic future.” — Robin D. G. Kelley, New York University

“In Before Jim Crow, Jane Dailey brilliantly recreates the world of the Readjusters in late nineteenth-century Virginia. Emphasizing the fluidity of southern politics after the Civil War, Dailey makes clear that the emergence of segregation and disfranchisement was not preordained. An indispensable book for anyone who wants to understand the opportunities and challenges involved in building an interracial democracy in the South.” — Peter Bardaglio, Goucher College