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{Replace with the Title of Your Dissertation} Political Economy of Agriculture in the Yazoo Delta: How Federal Policies Shape Environmental Quality, Livelihood Possibilities and Social Justice A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Moira Therese Mcdonald IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Eric Sheppard January, 2010 © Moira Therese Mcdonald 2010 Acknowledgements As with any project like this, the list of people to thank is long and yet incomplete. The idea for the project emerged out of many trips to the Delta and countless hours of conversations with my colleagues in conservation at the time. Most important among these were Charles Baxter, Ron Nassar and Bill Uihlein at the Vicksburg office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to whom I am very grateful. Without them, this project would never have materialized. Several people were very helpful during the research phase of the project. I am indebted to Charles Camillo, the historian of the Mississippi Valley Division of the Corps of Engineers who was instrumental in helping me navigate the archives and make initial contact at the Corps. Charles also let me hone my interview skills practicing on him, which was very kind. Ray Aycock and others at the Jackson Office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service were helpful in providing contacts, logistical help and hours of intellectual and emotional support throughout the process. Fish and Wildlife Service employees Helen Whiffen, Dale Yocum and others were extremely generous in helping with technical issues. Several conservation colleagues including James Cummins, Bruce Reid, Meg Cooper and Trey Cook were very kind to share their contacts and their own time and ideas with me. Finally, Tom Pullens was wonderfully generous with his own time and providing on-going feedback on my ideas as well as a wealth of knowledge and contacts. Many of my colleagues at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided me with wonderful support before and during the dissertation process. In particular, I could not have possibly completed the dissertation without Neal Feeken to provide emergency proofreading services and Donn Waage to provide intellectual support. So many of my fellow graduate students made contributions to this effort, I am sure that I will inadvertently overlook some. In particular Anant Maringanti, Ryan Holifield, Kristin Sziatro, Raj Reddy, Tom Buller, Annette Watson, Libby Lundstrum, Marion Traub-Werner, Tiffany Muller-Myrdahl, Tim Mennel and Jeff Young provided comments, insights and friendly ears at key times in the process. Of course this work would not have been possible without the help on my advisor and friend Eric Sheppard who was endlessly patient and generous. My other committee members, Helga Leitner, Bruce Braun and Michael Goldman were also critical to making the project happen, each playing an important role intellectually in developing parts of the dissertation and each being generous with their time, energy and insights. I am deeply indebted to my family members who helped with child care and logistical support throughout the research and writing of the dissertation. In particular, my father, Joe McDonald helped watch my kids, even coming with me and my infant son on a research trip. My mother Joyce McDonald and mother-in-law Suzanne Greenwald also took turns helping with the kids. Finally, I am grateful to my immediate family and close friends who helped see the project through. Tracey Deutsch and David Chang were super stars in every way from helping with kids to proposals and everything in between. My children were patient and kind always offering to help me with my work and always offering themselves as i object lessons in what is really important. My partner Debra always believed that I could finish, especially when I did not. ii Dedication To Debra, Naomi, and Jonah iii Abstract This dissertation examines the environmental, social and economic consequences of federal flood control and agricultural policy in the Yazoo Delta, that portion of the Mississippi alluvial valley located in the state of Mississippi. It traces the history and development of the regional economy and explores its implications for economic and social justice and environmental restoration, using an approach that integrates political economy, natural resource analysis, and public policy. It contributes to several current geographic debates. First, this work brings renewed attention to the state‘s role in regulating agricultural production by suggesting that federal policy and practices have played important roles in determining not only what crops are planted, which plots of land they are planted on and how they will be cultivated (industrialization), but also in selecting who would farm. Second, this work addresses recent scholarship on neoliberalism and the environment. In contrast to scholarship that highlights the transformative effect of neoliberalization, this research documents a more nuanced and unpredictable dynamic. On the one hand, this work suggests that programs designed to transform nature, like the civil works program of the Army Corps of Engineers, may be less affected by neoliberal practices than those designed to regulate nature. On the other hand, this dissertation examines how and under what circumstances environmentalists deploy neoliberal rhetoric to advance their goals of creating more ―public goods,‖ like improved water quality and expanded wildlife habitat, whereas farmers use rhetoric associated with state-led regulation to argue that an entitlement approach will make them more globally competitive. Finally, this work contributes to the literature on the iv environment and justice by examining the ramification of the political success of environmental justice movement. Specifically, this research details how advocates of flood control policies that would primarily benefit wealthy landowners have mobilized discourses of racial equality to suggest that federal funds should be used to support flood control rather than other measures that might more directly address racial and economic inequality. v Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter I: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Situating the Dissertation ................................................................................................ 4 Theoretical Conceptualizations at Work in the Dissertation .......................................... 6 Personal Background ...................................................................................................... 8 Summary of the Dissertation .......................................................................................... 9 Chapter II: The Leaching of African American Farmers in the Yazoo Delta .................. 12 Federal Policies, State-Related Practices and Race in American Agriculture .............. 13 Early Settlement Through Reconstruction .................................................................... 20 Federal Intervention and the Rise of King Cotton ........................................................ 34 Intervention in Agricultural Markets – The Agricultural Adjustment Act ................... 38 Wartime Labor Management and Post-War Restructuring .......................................... 46 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter III: The Development of the Regional Flood Control Infrastructure .................. 54 Regional Background.................................................................................................... 57 Early Attempts at Flood Control ................................................................................... 60 The Onset of Federal Involvement ............................................................................... 69 The Beginning of Change: The Great Flood and its Aftermath.................................... 73 The Federal Era in the MAV ........................................................................................ 78 East vs. West the Development of the Modern MR&T Project ................................... 82 Changes in Atmosphere: The Emergence of Environmental Governance ................... 91 Flood Protection for the Upper Yazoo Delta in the Age of Environmental Concern ... 93 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 98 Chapter IV: Cotton or Cottonwood the Battle for the Future of the Yazoo Delta ......... 102 Background – flood control in the Yazoo Delta ......................................................... 104 The Debate .................................................................................................................. 116 The Debate .................................................................................................................. 122 Analysis of Key Elements of the Debate .................................................................... 127 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 131 Chapter V: The Corps
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