Ten years of in-depth research has resulted in another book by West Virginia Wesleyan history professor Dr. Stephen Cresswell.  Rednecks, Redeemers, and Race is one of 15 volumes commissioned by the Mississippi Historical Society.

Dr. Cresswell reviews the changes that occurred in Mississippi between 1877 and 1917 after Reconstruction.  “The book takes a look at why Mississippi has endured persistent challenges with race and poverty,” notes Dr. Cresswell.  “Mississippi had traditionally been a one crop economy-cotton.  While the state did see an expansion in the size of its cities and some diversification in farming, Mississippi 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.  My book examines the paradox of significant change alongside these continuities.  It explores the reasons Mississippi was not more successful in urbanizing, in industrializing, and in reducing its reliance on cotton.”

“Stephen Cresswell may be the most diligent researcher and lively writer among active historians of Mississippi,” says Bradley G. Bond, editor of Mississippi:  A Documentary History.  “Without a doubt the present volume and his previous work establish him as the authority on late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century Mississippi.  Readers interested in the transformation of Mississippi in the post-Reconstruction epoch will find the volume not only compelling, but flawless in conception, argument, and execution.”

Dr. Cresswell has written several historical books and has researched Mississippi history since graduate school.  More recently, he released “Stalking the Vesper Bluets,” a book that reflects his life-long passion for the outdoors.  That 108-page book includes stunning photography of insects, birds, mammals, fish, and reptiles.

His previous works include Opposition Parties in a One-party State, Mormons and Cowboys, Moonshiners and Klansmen, and Homemade Root Beer and Soda Pop.  In addition, he edited and wrote the introduction for We Will Know What War Is-The Civil War Diary of Sirene Bunten.

To learn more about the author’s books, please contact Dr. Cresswell at Cresswell@wvwc.edu.