Issued as Narrative report of accomplishment, Project no. G-43-61

McMath, Robert Carroll

English

Scholarly Materials And Research @ Georgia Tech

Project Director Division Chief (EES) School/Laboratory Director Dean/Director—EES Accounting Office Procurement Office ti 	Security Coordinator COCA)"." Reports Coordinator (OCA) Library, Technical Reports Section EES information Office EES Reports & Procedures Project File (OCA) Project Code (GTRO Other 	  GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OFFICE OF CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION SPONSORED PROJECT INITIATION Project Title: 	Conference on Nineteenth Century Southern Communities Date: 	 8/ 21/78 - 	(46/ Project No: 	G-43-614 Project Director: Dr . Robert C . McMath Sponsor: 	National Endowment for the Humanities; Washington, D.C. 20506 /..5- ina4n 10/31/78 (Grant Term) Type Agreement: Grant No. RD-31855-78-1140 Amount: 	$10,260 NEH Funds (G-43-614) 3,845 GIT Contribution (G-43,318) $14,045 TOTAL Funds Reports Required: Final Financial Report, Final Performance Report Sponsor Contact Person (s):  Technical Matters  Contractual Matters  (thnODCA) Ms. Joyce Wendell Mail Stop 200 Phone (202) 724-0384 Dr. John Bruce Cantrell Mail Stop 350 Phone (202) 724-0226 National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Research Grants Washington, D.C.- 20506 Defense Priority Rating: N/A Assigned to: 	Department of Social Sciences COPIES TO:  (School/Laboratory)  Agreement Period: From 	7/1/78 	Until GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OFFICE OF CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION SPONSORED PROJECT TERMINATION , Date: October 10, 1979   Project Title: 	Conference on Nineteenth Century Southern Communities Project No: 	G-43-614 Project Director: Dr. Robert C. McMath Sponsor: 	National Endowment for the Humanities; Washington, D. C. 20506 Effective Termination Date: 	mArch 15, 1979 (Grant Period) Ricamatoccodzoincixtitmediugx 	  Grant/Contract Closeout Actions Remaining: Final Invoice and Closing Documents Final Fiscal Report Final Report of Inventions X X31XX Property Inventory dotteintadditcOM (List) — if applicable Classified Material Certificate Other Assigned to:  Social Sciences COPIES TO: Project Director Division Chief (EES) School/Laboratory Director Dean/Director—EES Accounting Office Procurement Office Security Coordinator COCA) ‘‘ports Coordinator IOCA) Property Coordinator (OCT) CA-4 (1/79) (School/Laboratory) Library, Technical Reports Section EES Information Office Project File IOCA) Project Code (GTRI) Other GEDRGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NARRATIVE REPORT OF ACCOMPLISHMENT NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES GRANT # RD-31855-78-1140 (1 JULY 1978615 MARCH 1979) "CONFERENCE ON NINETEENTH CENTURY SOUTHERN COMMUNITIES" ROBERT C. McMATH PROJECT DIRECTOR REPORT SU3MITTED 25 JUNE 1979 BACKGROUND The project grew out of the need for some form of communi-cation and interaction between scholars engaged in southern community studies. The conference which was a central feature of the project was intended to bring together historians currently at work on such studies and other interested scholars for the purposes of (1) general discussion of theory, methodology, and source materials, and (2) critique of papers on specific com-munities which are to appear in a volume edited by Vernon Burton of the University of Illinois and the project director. RESULTS Selection and preparation of papers for the conference was conducted according to the review process described in the grant proposal, which included screening by a panel of senior scholars. The selection process had begun before the grant was awarded, with a call for proposals being issued in September, 1977. Selections and most of the revisions of papers had been completed by early September of 1978. 3y that time the organ-izers of the conference, 3urton and myself, had conducted at least three separate evaluations of each paper in various stages of development, and each had been read by at least one outside referee. The conference was held on October 19-21, 1978, at the Newberry Library in Chicago. (See attached schedule.) Twenty-three papers Is- re presented by scholars representing nineteen 2 institutions of higher learning in thirteen states, plus the District of Columbia and Australia. Two of the authors were unable to attend, including the gentleman from Australia. Approximately sixty other scholars took part in all or part of the conference. Most of them were from the Chicago area, but others came from as far away as Oxford, Mississippi, and Washington, D. C. Copies of the papers were circulated to conference participants prior to the meeting. In addition, copies were mailed to approximately twenty other scholars who could not attend the meeting. Nany of them communicated their comments on the papers either to the authors or to the organizers of the conference. The conference was divided into seven working sessions, beginning on Thursday evening and ending on Saturday afternoon. Papers were grouped topically for the various sessions. 3urton and I alternated in chairing the sessions. Each author made a very brief statement about his or her paper. The discussion which followed in each session focused both on the individual papers and on the common themes and research problems which each set of papers raised. Critiques of the various papers were lively and useful. In addition to comments from all of the authors, at one time or another almost all of the other scholars in attendance contributed to the conversation. The discussions provided concrete suggestions for revisions of the papers prior to publication and also helped bring into focus sor.e difficult decisions on final selections of essays for the 3 published collection. Discussion of the conference papers as a whole and of southern community studies in general provided many useful ideas for the introduction to the published col-lection, to be written by 3urton and myself, which describes the current state of the art in this field and suggests an agenda for further research. The conference sessions went smoothly, although they seemed inevitably to stretch beyond the allotted time. Many conference participants expressed the opinion that the level of discussion sustained throughout the conference far exceeded that usually found at meetings or symposia. All of us, however, found the schedule to be grueling. Future conferences of this sort should either include fewer papers or be extended over a longer period of time. Remarkably, we were all on speaking terms at the end of the conference, and each of the authors, including the two editors, went away with specific suggestions for revisions to be made prior to publication. The tasks remaining in the project after the conference included (1) final revision of essays,(2) editorial decisions on several essays w,ich had been presented at the conference but had not been guaranteed publi-cation, (3) writing of the introduction to the collection, and (4) compilation of a - bibliography of southern community studies, based in part on su:-Testions made by conference participants. Completion of these tasks took more time than anticipated, and so 1 requested a no-cost exterition of the grant until 15 4 March 1979. The extension allowed the use of budgeted funds which had not been expended on the conference itself in preparing the revised collection of essays for publication. Most of the editorial consultation between Burton and myself was conducted by letter or telephone, as was all of the consultation with the various authors. Additionally, we held a three day meeting in Urbana, Illinois, to complete various editorial tasks. All of the tasks which were budgeted under the terms of the extended grant were completed within the tine allotted. Final editorial revisions are now virtually completed, and the final manuscript is to be delivered to Greenwood Press by July 1. The manuscript now includes twenty of the twenty-three essays presented at the conference. STATUS The original proposal for this project indicated that in addition to the tasks to be funded by the grant, we had a long tern objective of establishing a research center to facilitate cooperative and multidisciplinary research on the history of southern communities. Two developments related to the conference have confirmed and strengthened our interest in such a center. First, despite the abundance of excellent studies which we found dealin.: with one aspect or another of community life, we were struck by the scarcity of holistic, comprehensive studies of southern con-,unities. Such studies may well reauire resources and nxpertise greater than those available to any 5 single scholar. This kind of center may therefore be essential for the further development of this field of study. Secondly, the conference brought us into contact with representatives of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. The group at that center is already beginning to establish the kind of research capability which we envisioned, although it is not clear to us whether or not their efforts will focus primarily on Mississippi rather than the entire South. In any event, we are anxious to cooperate•with the staff of that center. In the introduction to our published volume of essays we call for more cooperative, multidisciplinary research on southern communities. We still hope to be directly involved in such efforts, and among the agencies which we plan to approach for funding is the NEH. ANTICIPATED DISS2EINATION OF RESULTS Greenwood Press indicates that the collection of essays will be published around the end of 1979. Support from the NH is duly noted in the introduction, and two copies of the book will be forwarded to the Endowment when they are available from the publisher. ADJITIMAL 	 CO..TRI3UTIONS T. THE :.AT1GNAL LAThrt:ST IN STRLITHEI:INT ALL ASPECTS OF TIE EUMANITIES Participants in the project believe that it is contributing,-  significantly to the enhancement of huiAanistic scholarship, and 6 that with publication of the collected essays by a major commercial publishing firm the contribution will extend to a larger public audience. Among specialists in this field the project has been particularly useful in bringing together case studies employing a varietyAfrom the humanities and social sciences. Thus, the collection of these studies not only adds to our factual know-ledge of the particular communities involved but also expands the range of methodological options available to students of community history. The published collection of essays, while intended primarily for the use of scholars and advanced students of history, will also be accessible and understandable to citizens interested in pursuing community history on their own, either for antiquarian or personal reasons, or for use in'present day decision-making on community development. Several of the papers presented at the conference evolved out of just such citizen-based community history projects, and we hope that publication of the collection will stimulate other such projects and encourage the application of humanistic scholarship to community needs and problems. SPECIAL NOTE ON BOOK ROYALTIES An advance against royalties of *500 from Greenwood Press was used to pay external referees who evaluated all essays submitted. Additional royalties, if any, will be similarly applied to ongoing research in this area, in compliance with Section IV.A. of the attachment to the grant letter. ' ATTACHMENT. This schedule does not include all last minute changes. CCNFERENCE ON SOUTHERN CCEMUNITIES IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY* OCTOBER 19-21, 1978 THE FAMILY AND COMMUNITY HISTORY CENTER THE NBEERRY LIBRARY, CHICAGO THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19  4:00-6:00 REGISTRATION 7:30-9:30 SESSION I 	COMMUNITTES AND SOCIAL CONTROL "The Christ-Craze of 1889: A Millenial Response to Economic and Social Strain in Liberty County, Georgia" Thomas F. Armstrong, Georgia College/Northwestern University "Making Mississippi Safe for Slavery: The Insurrection Panic of 1835" Laurence Shore, Johns Hopkins University "The Social Order of the Old South and Slave Insurrections Panics: The Albemarle Sound Region of North Carolina, 1802" John Scott Strickland, University of North Carolina "Wife-Murder and Lynch-Law in Mississippi, 1834-35: Honor, Shame, and Kinship in and Old South Community" Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Case-Western Reserve University 9:30 LIBATIONS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20  9:30-10:45 SESSION II 	MORE SOCIAL CONTROL "Marriage Supervision for Slaves: A Church Function in Antebellum. Georgia" Janet Cornelius, Danville Junior College "Plantation and Power: Emancipation on the David Barrow Plantation" William Harris "Paternalism in a Late Nineteenth Century Southern Community" Crandall A. Shifflett, University of Texas at San Antonio 10:45-11:15 	COrrhE *The conference is being supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by Thc- Family and Community History Center of the Newberry Library, Georgia Institute of Technology, Greenwood Press, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign FRIDAY, CCTOBER 20 (CONTINUED) 11:15-1:00 	SESSION III 	RURAL CCWEINITIES "Towards the Civil War: The Dynamics of Community in a Black Belt County" William L. Barney, University of North Carolina zThe-Black-Household-in-DoughertyCounty,-Georgia--,---1870-1900" Edmund-t:Drago-T-The College -of -Charleston- -- "" tL 111,A,,,ter "The 'Social Economy' of an Upper South Community: Orange and Green Counties, Virginia, 1815 to 1860" John T. Schlotterbeck, DePauw University 1:00-2:30 	LUNCH 2:30-5:30 	SESSION IV 	URBAN CCMMUNITTRS (AND A MILL VILLAGE) "Profile of a Model City: Anniston, Alabama, 1880-1900" Grace Hooten Gates, Gadsden State Junior College "Muxeler--irr-Graniteville" yof-Scuth-Carolina "The Black Church and Community Development in Atlanta, Georgia, 1865-1885" Jerry Thornbery, University of Maryland "Together in Egypt: A Forgotten Chapter in Race Relations in Cairo, Illinois" Joanne Wheeler, Champaign, Illinois /74) 	4 140 5:30-8:00 	DINNER 8:00-10:00 	SESSION V 	URBAN ELITES "'Birds of Passage' in a Cotton Port: Northerners and Foreigners Among the Urban Leaders of Nbbile, 1820-1860" Harriet E. Amos, University of Alabama in Birmingham "Urbanization and Southern Culture: Economic Elites in Four New South Cities (Atlanta, Nashville, Charleston, Mobile) c1865-1910 Don Harrison Doyle, Vanderbilt University "Antebellum Charleston: Anatomy of an Economic Failure" Fredrerick Cople Jaher, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "The Systematic Study of Power in the Nineteenth-Century South" Gail W. O'Brien, North Carolina State University "Elites and Municipal Politics and Government in Atlanta, 1847 to 1890" James M. Russell, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 2 3 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21  9:00-10:45 	SESSION VI 	ET CETERA "Town and Country in Edgefield County, South Carolina" Vernon Burton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Seethern-earounity-Studies-and-Southesn_Regionalism:ScreThoughts7en Systematic- Analysis" Robert-Yritiath-i-Geo 	Po; NI • — • ” ■ 	l°gY- p "The Squad System on Postbellum Cotton Plantations: The Economic and Social Organization of a Collective Crop-Sharing Labor Arrangement" Ralph Shlomowitz, The Flinders University of South Australia 10:45-11:15 	Cakhh 11:15-1:00 	SESSION VII Reflections on the papers as a whole and discussion of possible future activities of the Southern Community Studies Group 1:00 	ADJOURNMENT Copies of the papers are being circulated prior to the conference. If you will not have time to look at all of them, please indicate which ones you would like to see. Unless otherwise instructed, we shall send each participant the entire set of papers (probably in installments over the next 2-2 1/2 weeks). There will be no charge for the papers. The papers are arranged in sessions which possess at least some thematic unity. At the beginning of each session the various authors may, if they wish, make a five minute statement about their paper. We shall then proceed to round-table discussion of the papers and of related issues which may arise (e.g., comparison between these and other studies, general questions of source material, methodology, or theory, etc.). If in addition to participating in the general discussion you would care to pass along any notes or written comments to the authors and/or editors, we would certainly appreciate your doing so. The conference schedule dictates a buS'y two days. On Friday the work day even extends beyond the customary period of labor from "can see to can't see." We feel that the potential benefits for all of us warrant this kind of concentrated effort. We hope you will agree. . Vernon Burton Bob McMath 

Conference on nineteenth century Southern communities

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Conference on nineteenth century Southern communities

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