Two-party Politics in the One-party South : title: Alabama's Hill Country, 1874-1920 author: Webb, Samuel L. publisher: University of Alabama Press isbn10 | asin: 0817308954 print isbn13: 9780817308957 ebook isbn13: 9780585212944 language: English Alabama--Politics and government--1865- 1950, Political culture--Alabama--History- -19th century, Political culture--Alabama-- subject History--20th century, Political parties-- Alabama--History--19th century, Political parties--Alabama--History--20th century. publication date: 1997 lcc: F326.W43 1997eb ddc: 306.2/09761 Alabama--Politics and government--1865- 1950, Political culture--Alabama--History- -19th century, Political culture--Alabama-- subject: History--20th century, Political parties-- Alabama--History--19th century, Political parties--Alabama--History--20th century. Page i Two-Party Politics in the One-Party South Page ii Page iii Two-Party Politics in the One-Party South Alabama's Hill Country, 18741920 Samuel L., Webb The Universe of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa and London Page iv Copyright © 1997 The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Science- Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Webb, Samuel L., 1946 Two-party politics in the one-party South : Alabama's hill country, 18741920 / Samuel L. Webb. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index ISBN 0-8173-0895-4 (alk. paper) 1. AlabamaPolitics and government18651950. 2. Political cultureAlabamaHistory19th century. 3. Political culture AlabamaHistory20th century. 4. Political PartiesAlabama History19th century. 5. Political partiesAlabama History20th century. I. Title. F326.W43 1997 306.2'09761dc21 97-20596 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available Frontispiece: Shelby County, ca. 1900 (courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama) Page v To the memory of my mother, Ruby Jones Webb, whose honesty, sincerity, sense of humor, and courage in the face of adversity impressed all who knew her. She played her music, and people listened. Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. The Old Guard and the Populists 11 2. James Lawrence Sheffield and the Roots of Hill 31 Country Independence 3. The Growth of Dissent: Anti-Democrats, 18761887 59 4. Alliancemen, Populists, and Republicans, 18881892 86 5. Who Were the Populists, and What Did They Believe? 114 6. Triumph, Tragedy, and Disillusionment, 18931898 131 7. What Happened to the Upcountry Populists? 18981904 155 8. From Populists to Progressive Republicans, 19041912 185 Conclusion 213 Notes 221 Bibliography 263 Index 275 Page ix Acknowledgments All of the people mentioned below have been helpful to me, and if these acknowledgments sound a bit sentimental, I hope that the reader will forgive. My fascination with the history of American politics began even before I entered elementary school, and no dinner table conversation in my parents' home neglected the subject. My father, Samuel L. Webb, Sr., was a local politician who taught me about the drama and significance of elections at the county level and about the important connections local politicians establish with state and national leaders. When I was seven he took me with him while he campaigned, and it was an experience I will never forget. Some of the most exciting nights of my life were spent with my father at the Sumter County courthouse waiting for election returns. My maternal grandfather, Robert Sanders Jones, cast his first vote for William Jennings Bryan in 1908 and his last for George McGovern in 1972. He was living history, and he brought the past alive for me. His colorful storytelling ability and rhetorical flair grew from the great oral tradition that so many southerners of his generation shared. I never spent a dull moment with him. His house was strewn with magazines, newspapers, and good books, and no day passed that I did not find him propped on the side of his bed immersed in some dog- eared volume. I was very lucky that he lived next door while I was growing up, and the true origins of this book were the always wonderful times I spent with him. Many teachers have helped me, and although some of them are now deceased, I must acknowledge their exceptional ability. My history teacher at Sumter County High School, Miss Vermelle Jones, inspired me and hundreds of other students. In the 1960s a group of dedicated English teachers gathered at Livingston University, including Robert Gilbert, Lynn Smith, Nathaniel Reed, Beverly Smith, and John Craiger. They were tough, thorough, and unrelenting in their battles against my ignorance, but they were also generous and decent gentlemen. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ed Harrell, Tennant S. McWilliams, Virginia Hamilton, Dan Bjork, and Harriet Amos Doss all helped and encouraged me. Ed, Tennant, and Harriet (now my colleague) did their best to make