Copyright 2011 Ian Christian Hartman FROM DANIEL BOONE TO THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES: TALES OF A “FALLEN” RACE, 1873-1968 BY IAN CHRISTIAN HARTMAN DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor James R. Barrett, Co-Chair Professor David R. Roediger, Co-Chair Professor Antoinette Burton Associate Professor Augusto Espiritu Associate Professor Kathryn Oberdeck • • ii Abstract Since the earliest days of European settlement, the Appalachian Mountains emerged in lore as the manly frontier setting where such figures as Daniel Boone, Davy Crocket, Kit Carson, Andrew Jackson, and others carved out the wilderness and forged a nation. Theodore Roosevelt went so far as to proclaim that these men and their progeny comprised a “Kentucky race” and a “backwoods race” that at once embodied the allegedly supreme biology of the Anglo‐Saxon coupled with the cultural exigencies that accompanied frontier life, notably the masculine and violent subjugation of Native lands and people. The formation of this uniquely pure American identity then evolved from an Anglo‐Saxon racial identity that encompassed the valor and violence of frontier masculinity. But just as the Southern Mountains or according to some, the first Western Frontier, was celebrated for its racially desirable descendants it also emerged in the cultural imaginary as an impoverished breeding ground of “hillbillies” and “white trash.” Today, the word “Appalachia” conjures the competing and irreconcilable images of manly, frontier independence on the one hand, and unrivaled levels of poverty and deprivation on the other. This dissertation thus poses one rather deceptively simple question: what happens when the nation’s supposedly strongest and most biologically advanced race fail to live up to a set of cultural expectations? Chapter 1 explores the cultural and racial identity that developed in Appalachia while Chapter 2 argues that the world’s first sterilizations laws – passed in Indiana in 1907 – responded to the pervasive fear of poor white Kentuckians who had migrated to the state. • • iii In chapter 3, I examine Virginia’s infamous Racial Integrity Act in the 1920s and 1930s as a means to secure the purity of the state’s Appalachian people. Chapter 4 reconsiders 1960s liberalism as still another movement rooted in white uplift. Finally, the dissertation’s final chapter and conclusion details the transition from white uplift to Black incarceration. The study thus displays several attempts at salvaging Daniel Boone out of the biological detritus and devolution of an impoverished and allegedly morally troubled population of hillbillies. When it becomes clear that these attempts are no longer viable, a new strategy emerges that brings to bear the force of the state as a regime of carceral control. • • iv Acknowledgements I could not have written this dissertation without the crucial assistance and support of many people. When I arrived at the University of Illinois in 2005, I was lucky to join a cohort of like‐minded scholars who have provided an atmosphere where I have been able to grow professionally and personally. I will forever regard my experience in graduate school as the most formative period in my life. Without the friendship of many people here, it is certain that this project would not have come to fruition, and that my career as a graduate student would have been rocky and short. Among my cohort, I would like to thank Nathan Chio, Andy Eisen, Janine Giordano‐Drake, Kerry Pimblott, Emily Skidmore, Troy Smith, and Martin Smith. Sarah Frohardt‐Lane and Kwame Holmes were two of my first friends in Urbana‐Champaign, and they made the transition to a new town infinitely easier. Anna Kurhajec’s friendship and generosity knows no bounds, and I am grateful for both. Over the past several years, I have been blessed to work and share ideas with many wonderful historians and wish to recognize them as well. Gracious thanks to Stephanie Seawell, Alonzo Ward, Dave Bates, Ashley Howard, Zack Poppel, David Greenstein, and Emily Pope‐Obeda for your friendship. As much as I love historians, I have found that it is always useful to make friends beyond my home department. Our graduate employee’s union, the GEO provided a space that at once protected my job, but also allowed me to meet many wonderful people. Thanks to John Gergely Natalie Havlin, Peter Campbell, Katie Walkiewicz, Ingbert Floyd, and so many others who have worked diligently on behalf of public education. Without the friendship of physicist Matthew Delgado, my time at Illinois would have perhaps been more • • v productive though infinitely more dull. Mike Brady and Dennis Gump have been close friends for many years, and since I have moved away from Pittsburgh our friendships have only grown in the face of distance. During my research trip in Washington D.C. I received the honor to meet and develop a friendship with Seda Kirdar. I am deeply humbled and privileged to call you all friends and colleagues. As anyone who has completed a dissertation will attest, one’s committee and advisor play an integral role. I am extremely fortunate to have chosen (and even more fortunate that they accepted my request to be on this dissertation committee) a brilliant group with whom to share my work, garner feedback, and engage the process of writing a dissertation. I owe a deep gratitude to Augusto Espiritu, Kathy Oberdeck, and Antoinette Burton for their generosity and wisdom. All brought diverse methodologies to bear upon my research, asked probing questions, and pushed me as a writer. Their insight has enriched my education and scholarly outlook to a degree that only now am I beginning to fully understand. Dave Roediger has been a gracious co‐advisor whose ideas and influence are embedded within this work in more ways than I can count. His passion for teaching and research has been an inspiration throughout, and our many conversations on race, class, and power provide much of the backdrop from which this study emerged. Jim Barrett has been instrumental in this project, and words cannot capture how much I appreciate and have benefitted from his time and mentorship. Jim’s guidance, patience, and flexibility truly exemplify the very best qualities of an advisor, a scholar, and a human being. Collectively, to the degree that this project succeeds, much credit belongs to them. Finally, without the love, encouragement, and support that I have always received from my parents, Donna and Larry Hartman and my grandparents, Marge and Warren • • vi Leonhardt, I would not have had the courage and belief in myself to follow my dreams, whatever they are, wherever they lead. Their care and wisdom has ignited my belief in humanity, and my love and admiration for them transcends all else. To each of them, I dedicate this dissertation. • • vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: GHOSTS OF DANIEL BOONE: ANGLO‐RACIAL FAILURE AND THE PROGRESSIVE TRADITION ........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. A PARADOX OF PURITY: THE PROBLEM WITH FAILURE IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS AND BEYOND, 1873‐1901 ........................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 2. FROM CHARITY TO SCIENCE: THE STRANGE CAREER OF OSCAR MCCULLOCH AND THE INDIANA BIRTH OF THE UNITED STATES EUGENICS MOVEMENT, 1877‐1914. ................................................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 3. A PIONEER DANCE: CONSTRUCTING RACIAL AND CULTURAL PURITY IN VIRGINIA, 1923‐1940 .................................................................................................................................122 CHAPTER 4. WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS, KENTUCKY FRONTIERSMEN, AND BEVERLY HILLBILLIES: RECONSIDERING THE WAR ON POVERTY, 1960‐1964 ..................166 CHAPTER 5. THE LIMITS OF LIBERALISM: THE KENNEDY‐JOHNSON COALITION IN AN ERA OF BLACK POWER, URBAN REBELLION, AND WAR, 1964‐1968 ..........................210 CONCLUSION: WHITE RESTORATION AND BLACK INCARCERATION: MANUFACTURING CONTROL IN A “COLOR BLIND” SOCIETY ........................................................252 BIBIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................................276 • • 1 INTRODUCTION Ghosts of Daniel Boone: Anglo­Racial Failure and the Progressive Tradition The vast movement by which this continent was conquered and peopled cannot be rightly understood if considered solely by itself. It was the crowning and greatest achievement of a series of mighty movements, and it must be taken in connection with them. Its true significance will be lost unless we grasp, however roughly, the past race­history of the nations who took part herein.1 – Theodore Roosevelt, 1889 During the winter of 1887, Theodore Roosevelt returned to his opulent Manhattan home fresh from a two‐year sojourn in the Badlands where he spent the days hunting big game, living off of the land, and engaging in “manly outdoor sports.” In the rugged North American wilderness, the blue‐blooded New York aristocrat believed he had effectively channeled the pioneer spirit of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. So formative was the experience that the twenty‐nine year old immediately convened a group of his closest