The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 74, July 1970 - April, 1971 Page: 129

Book Reviews

Negrophobia which elsewhere was usually attributed to ignorant poor
whites."
Extreme financial conservatism and white supremacy in all matters
became the overriding characteristic of bourbonism in Louisiana dur-
ing the period. Internal dissatisfaction with bourbon rule resulted not
only in various agrarian protest movements, but also in the "Kansas
Fever" or "Exodus" of the late 1870's and early 188o's, when many
Louisiana Negroes attempted to find relief from political and eco-
nomic repression upon the newly opened homesteads of the Kansas
prairies.
Bourbonism in Louisiana "faced no serious challenge" from the
end of Reconstruction until the rise of Populism in the 1890o's. Al-
though the Populists gained a sizable following in the rural sections
of the state, and various fusion attempts with the Republicans were
undertaken, bourbonism emerged triumphant throughout the decade
of the 189o's. The appeal of white superiority overcame all opposition.
By 190o, Hair tells us, "bourbonism once again ruled serenely. The
Negro had been removed as a direct political factor [and] white
agrarianism had been crushed."
Professor Hair writes with considerable skill, so that his book
presents a highly readable, yet scholarly, account of Louisiana politics
between 1877 and 90oo. It is well footnoted and contains an adequate
index. The Louisiana State University Press, as usual, has done an
excellent job of mechanical production.
West Virginia State College PAUL D. CASDORPH
The Sword of the Republic. By Francis Paul Prucha. (New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1969. Pp. xvii + 442. Illustrations,
bibliography, index. $12.50.)
The growth-maturation process of the United States Army during
its first years, a period usually regarded as a void, is the subject of this
new book by the respected military historian, Francis Paul Prucha.
It is part of a major history of the army under the general editorship
of Louis Morton. Like most treatments of the American military it
argues strongly for the overall value of the army to an expanding
nation. In previous writings the author has made the point that the
aid of the army was not limited to fighting; indeed, perhaps its greater
contribution was as policeman, farmer, roadbuilder, scientist, lumber-

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