Stephen Cresswell – författare

In the decades immediately following the Civil War, the United States expanded rapidly. As the nation grew, so too did federal law, moving into areas of citizens’ lives previously regulated by local custom and state and territorial statutes.   Drawing on contemporary accounts and the letters that flowed between the Washington office of the Justice Department and its attorneys and marshals throughout the states and territories, Cresswell uses a case-study approach to explore the enforcement of federal law in four regions. In northern Mississippi, the rights of freedmen to vote clashed with established rules of relations between blacks and whites. In Utah Territory, Mormon polygamy and economic dominance challenged the aspirations of non-Mormon settlers. In eastern Tennessee, desperate poverty lent enchantment to the easy money of moonshining. In Arizona Territory, frontier greed and violence threatened the lives of people and the chances of early admission to the Union of states.   Mormons and Cowboys, Moonshiners and Klansmen moves beyond these local case studies to illuminate larger questions, including the evolution of the American criminal justice system, the relationship of the South and the West to the rest of the nation, the workings of the 19th-century American bureaucracy, and conflict of the local, state, and federal governments.   Out of the efforts of these early federal marshals came the modern federal justice system, with its firm policy guidelines, its Federal Bureau of Investigation, and its broader powers over the country as a whole.

Add some fizzy sparkle to your life and discover the delicious and refreshing world of homemade soft drinks. Drawing on centuries-old traditions from American general stores and pharmacy soda fountains, this fun and informative guide has recipes for perennial favorites like birch beer and ginger beer, as well as more adventurous concoctions like Molasses Switchel and Dandelion Champagne. Stephen Cresswell provides easy-to-follow directions that cover everything from extracting the earthy undertones of sassafras for an exciting root beer to whipping up a caffeine-charged Coffee Whizzer.

Mississippi saw great change in the four decades after Reconstruction. Between 1877 and 1917 the state transformed. Its cities increased rapidly in size and saw the advent of electric lights, streetcars, and moving pictures. Farmers diversified their operations, sharply increasing their production of corn, sweet potatoes, and dairy products. Mississippians built large textile mills in a number of cities and increased the number of manufacturing workers tenfold. But many things did not change. In 1917 as in 1877, Mississippi was a top cotton producer and relied more heavily on cotton than on any other product. In 1917 as in 1877 the state had troubled race relations and was all too often the site of lynchings and race riots. Compared with other states in 1917, Mississippi was near the bottom of the list for length of the school year, for percentage of farms that boasted tractors, and for the number of miles of paved or gravel roads. Mississippi was the least urban and most agricultural state in the nation. Rednecks, Redeemers, and Race: Mississippi after Reconstruction, 1877-1917 examines the paradox of significant change alongside many unbroken continuities. It explores the reasons Mississippi was not more successful in urbanizing, in industrializing, and in reducing its reliance on cotton. The volume closes by looking at events that would move Mississippi closer to the national mainstream.