Pulitzer Prize History Winner
Freedom's Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power
by Jefferson Cowie
Summary
Jefferson Cowie traces nearly two centuries of history in Barbour County, Alabama, where white residents repeatedly framed their resistance to federal authority as a fight for freedom. He shows how that idea of liberty justified dispossessing Native people, defending slavery, enforcing Jim Crow, and battling civil rights enforcement. The book argues that this local story explains a powerful and enduring strain in American political culture that still shapes conflicts over states rights today.
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Historical Context & Significance
The book won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for History and centers on Barbour County, Alabama, the home county of segregationist governor George Wallace.