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Antebellum Natchez
Antebellum Natchez is most often associated with the grand and romantic aspects of the Old South and its landed gentry. Yet there was, as this book so amply illustrates, another Natchez―the Natchez of ordinary citizens, small businessmen, and free Negroes, and the Natchez under-the-Hill of brawling boatmen, professional gamblers, and bold-faced strumpets.
Antebellum Natchez not only takes a critical look at the town’s aristocracy but also examines the depth of its commercial activities and the life of its middle- and lower-class elements. Author D. Clayton James brings the political, economic, and social aspects of antebellum Natchez into perspective and debunks a number of myths and illusions, including the notion that the town was a stronghold of Federalism and Whiggery.
Starting with the Natchez Indians and their “Sun God” culture, James traces the development of the town from the native village through the plotting and intrigue of the changing regimes of the French, Spanish, British, and Americans.
James makes a perceptive analysis of the aristocrats’ role in restricting the growth of the town, which in 1800 appeared likely to become the largest city in the transmontane region. “The attitudes and behavior of the aristocrats of Natchez during the final three decades of the antebellum period were characterized by escapism and exclusiveness,” says James. “With the aristocrats sullenly withdrawing into their world...Natchez lost forever the opportunity to become a major metropolis, and Mississippi was led to ruin.”
Quoting generously from diaries, journals, and other records, the author gives the reader a valuable insight into what life in a Southern town was like before the Civil War.
Antebellum Natchez is an important account of the role of Natchez and its colorful figures―John Quitman, Robert Walker, Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, William C. C. Claiborne, and a host of others―in the colonial affairs of the Lower Mississippi Valley and the growth of the Old Southwest.
Antebellum Natchez not only takes a critical look at the town’s aristocracy but also examines the depth of its commercial activities and the life of its middle- and lower-class elements. Author D. Clayton James brings the political, economic, and social aspects of antebellum Natchez into perspective and debunks a number of myths and illusions, including the notion that the town was a stronghold of Federalism and Whiggery.
Starting with the Natchez Indians and their “Sun God” culture, James traces the development of the town from the native village through the plotting and intrigue of the changing regimes of the French, Spanish, British, and Americans.
James makes a perceptive analysis of the aristocrats’ role in restricting the growth of the town, which in 1800 appeared likely to become the largest city in the transmontane region. “The attitudes and behavior of the aristocrats of Natchez during the final three decades of the antebellum period were characterized by escapism and exclusiveness,” says James. “With the aristocrats sullenly withdrawing into their world...Natchez lost forever the opportunity to become a major metropolis, and Mississippi was led to ruin.”
Quoting generously from diaries, journals, and other records, the author gives the reader a valuable insight into what life in a Southern town was like before the Civil War.
Antebellum Natchez is an important account of the role of Natchez and its colorful figures―John Quitman, Robert Walker, Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, William C. C. Claiborne, and a host of others―in the colonial affairs of the Lower Mississippi Valley and the growth of the Old Southwest.
- GenresHistory
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
About the author
D. Clayton James
16 books2 followersDorris Clayton James was born on February 13, 1931, in Winchester, Kentucky, to Dorris Clayton (b.1890) and Opal Vashti Shetter James (1896-1932). In early childhood he moved to Natchez, Mississippi, and lived with his relatives, Newell and Daisy Bankston. In 1953 he married Erlene Downs and they had four children: Dorris Sherrod (1955- ), Newell Edmund (1956- ), Judith Erlene (1960- ), and Allie Brady (1964- ).
After graduating from Natchez High School in 1949, James attended Southwestern at Memphis and graduated in 1953. He went on to receive a B.D. degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1956 and served in churches in Union, Kentucky, and Cameron, Texas, between 1954 and 1960 as well as being a Naval Reserve chaplain. Beginning graduate work at the University of Cincinnati from 1956 to 1957, James moved to the University of Texas at Austin to complete an M.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1964. He began teaching history at Louisiana State University at Alexandria in 1961 before accepting an assistant professorship at Mankato State College, Minnesota, in 1964. Returning to Mississippi in 1965, James began a 23-year association with Mississippi State University as a professor of history, becoming a Distinguished Professor in 1978. He also held the Harold K. Johnson Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania and the John F. Morrison Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas. In addition, James was a Harmon Lecturer at the U.S. Air Force Academy in those years. In 1988 he moved to Lexington, Virginia, to become the John Biggs Chair in Military History at the Virginia Military Institute until his retirement in 1996.
Dr. James published nine books and authored many articles and chapters, primarily on World War II, the Korean War and their strategists. His first book—based on his dissertation—was Antebellum Natchez (1968), followed by the diary of General William Brougher, South to Bataan, North to Mukden (1971). He is best known for his three-volume biography of General Douglas MacArthur, published between 1974 and 1985; the definitive work on the man. The third volume of The Years of MacArthur earned the Truman Book Award in 1986 and nominations for both the Pulitzer and Parkman prizes.
As the authority on MacArthur, James became the chief technical adviser for the 1976 Universal movie “MacArthur”, starring Gregory Peck, which required several months in California. He also consulted on the BBC television series “The Commanders” (1973-1974). He appeared on NBC’s ‘Today’ show in 1970 and was interviewed on Voice of America in 1985.
James wrote four books with his assistant, Anne Sharp Wells: A Time for Giants (1987), Refighting the Last War (1992), From Pearl Harbor to V-J Day (1995), and America and the Great War, 1914-1920 (1998).
Dr. James was involved with a number of American and military history organizations. He served on the Historical Advisory Board of the Normandy Battle Museum and Archives, and on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Centennial Advisory Committee. He was a fellow of the Society of American Historians, a trustee of the Society of Military History, and a director and secretary of the World War Two Studies Association. In 1996 he was awarded the Commander’s Award for Public Service by the Center of Military History, Department of the Army.
Dr. James was living in Moneta, Virginia, when he died after a long illness on August 4, 2004.
Sources:
D. Clayton James papers.
Who’s Who in America, 1997. Vol. 1, A-K. New Providence, NJ: Marquis, 1996, pp.2109-2110.
Obituary. Natchez Democrat, 2004 August 7.
After graduating from Natchez High School in 1949, James attended Southwestern at Memphis and graduated in 1953. He went on to receive a B.D. degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1956 and served in churches in Union, Kentucky, and Cameron, Texas, between 1954 and 1960 as well as being a Naval Reserve chaplain. Beginning graduate work at the University of Cincinnati from 1956 to 1957, James moved to the University of Texas at Austin to complete an M.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1964. He began teaching history at Louisiana State University at Alexandria in 1961 before accepting an assistant professorship at Mankato State College, Minnesota, in 1964. Returning to Mississippi in 1965, James began a 23-year association with Mississippi State University as a professor of history, becoming a Distinguished Professor in 1978. He also held the Harold K. Johnson Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania and the John F. Morrison Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas. In addition, James was a Harmon Lecturer at the U.S. Air Force Academy in those years. In 1988 he moved to Lexington, Virginia, to become the John Biggs Chair in Military History at the Virginia Military Institute until his retirement in 1996.
Dr. James published nine books and authored many articles and chapters, primarily on World War II, the Korean War and their strategists. His first book—based on his dissertation—was Antebellum Natchez (1968), followed by the diary of General William Brougher, South to Bataan, North to Mukden (1971). He is best known for his three-volume biography of General Douglas MacArthur, published between 1974 and 1985; the definitive work on the man. The third volume of The Years of MacArthur earned the Truman Book Award in 1986 and nominations for both the Pulitzer and Parkman prizes.
As the authority on MacArthur, James became the chief technical adviser for the 1976 Universal movie “MacArthur”, starring Gregory Peck, which required several months in California. He also consulted on the BBC television series “The Commanders” (1973-1974). He appeared on NBC’s ‘Today’ show in 1970 and was interviewed on Voice of America in 1985.
James wrote four books with his assistant, Anne Sharp Wells: A Time for Giants (1987), Refighting the Last War (1992), From Pearl Harbor to V-J Day (1995), and America and the Great War, 1914-1920 (1998).
Dr. James was involved with a number of American and military history organizations. He served on the Historical Advisory Board of the Normandy Battle Museum and Archives, and on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Centennial Advisory Committee. He was a fellow of the Society of American Historians, a trustee of the Society of Military History, and a director and secretary of the World War Two Studies Association. In 1996 he was awarded the Commander’s Award for Public Service by the Center of Military History, Department of the Army.
Dr. James was living in Moneta, Virginia, when he died after a long illness on August 4, 2004.
Sources:
D. Clayton James papers.
Who’s Who in America, 1997. Vol. 1, A-K. New Providence, NJ: Marquis, 1996, pp.2109-2110.
Obituary. Natchez Democrat, 2004 August 7.
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