Stateways: Public Administration in the Jim Crow South, 1930-1954

FAIN: FT-52730-04

Kimberley Stephanie Johnson
Barnard College (New York, NY 10027-6909)

This project explores the tension between the modernization of state governments in the American South and the maintenance of the Jim Crow system. Instead of strengthening Jim Crow, the modernization of state governments undertaken by white civic elites ultimately undermined Jim Crow’s organizational logic. I will explore the impact of bureaucrats, universities, foundations, professional organizations and networks on southern institutions and society. By untangling the intersection of Jim Crow and bureaucratic modernization, I will be able to answer a number of questions about the role of nationalization, modernization, culture and agency in American politics and history.