Mechanical Freak

In part one of this two parter, we discuss the early labor movement and how the implementation of Jim Crow was used to enact a counter-revolution against Reconstruction. We also answer the question, “How did American towns and suburbs get to be so white?”

For a short history of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, go here

For a history of lynching in the American South, read Leon Litwack’s “Hellhounds”

For a discussion of the creation of sundown towns, see James Loewen’s “How Sundown Towns Were Created”

And listen to our episode from Texas Sucks on Vidor, TX and Sundown Towns

Visit the Ending the Myth page for updates, sources, and suggested readings

Up Next: We will be discussing Chapter 9, “Fortress on the Frontier” in Grandin’s End of the Myth

Show music by Bjorn/Fleksor

Show art by Carl