The South in the 1950s

American History -- 1950s

Precis Summary on "Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s" by Pete Daniel

American history has developed, over time, into a multitude of events prompted by direct and indirect causes: revolutions as a result of an altogether different conflict. This is the scenario that best describes the events surrounding the period of 1950s as depicted and illustrated in Pete Daniel's "Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s." More than just a book about the evolution of the Southern society and black American community in the 1950s, Daniel's analysis puts into fore the other, "lost revolutions" that came about as a result of the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement as the primary precursor of the different social movements developed prevalently in the 1960s has been the 'main revolution' that the South has been fighting for, centering only on black and white American relations. The term "lost" appropriately described the nature of Daniel's discussion of America in the 1950s: society was misguided, yes, but these misguided objectives and movements led to surprising yet significant social movements that did not only alter American history and society, but world history and societies as well. This precis summary of "Lost Revolutions" puts into its central discussion the development of social movements from the Civil Rights Movement, focusing specifically on the middle class social movement, a movement that stemmed from the crisis of the South that is black American discrimination and black American-white American animosity.

Among the social movements that strongly developed from the developing civil rights movement in the South was the emergence of a strong and dominant middle class in American society. The emergence of a strong and dominant middle class became both a benefit and detriment to the civil rights cause because of the conflicting social interests that this particular socio-demographic sector has in American society. The middle class as a social sector and movement in the society is a benefit because of its ability to mobilize and incite action among people, both socially and legally -- as Daniel explicated, "...explored a legal path to equal rights." The middle class was also a detriment for the civil rights cause because most of the middle class people are white Americans, an ironic situation considering that these very people fought for equal rights in their society. Because of their predominantly white American membership, the middle class impeded on the development of the civil rights movement; however, as far as social mobility is concerned, the middle class had significantly contributed to the development of a more egalitarian society in America -- at least, primarily among white Americans.