G. Wayne Dowdy's Books

On This Day in Memphis History

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

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On This Day in Memphis History

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

Far more than blues and barbecue, Memphis culture has evolved one day at a time. Author G. Wayne Dowdy pins an exact date to a host of important, quirky and forgotten events in the history of Tennessee's largest city--an entertaining footnote for each day of the year. Earth, Wind and Fire founder Maurice White entered the world in a Memphis hospital on December 19, 1941. On January 15, 1877, a severe thunderstorm mysteriously left the city covered in snakes. On December 31, 1902, a resident was murdered on Main Street after taunting a Native American named Creeping Bear. A day or a month at a time, enjoy a year of entertaining River City blasts from the past.

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Page Count

402

Publisher

History Press Library Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

154020880X

ISBN 13

9781540208804

Mayor Crump Don't Like It

Machine Politics in Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

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Mayor Crump Don't Like It

Machine Politics in Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

In the 1930s thousands of African Americans abandoned their long-standing allegiance to the party of Abraham Lincoln and began voting for Democratic Party candidates. This new voting pattern remapped the nation's political landscape and altered the relationship between citizen and government. One of the forgotten builders of this modern Democratic Party was Memphis mayor and congressman Edward Hull Crump (1874-1954). Crump created a biracial, multiethnic coalition within the segregated South that transformed the Mississippi Delta's largest city into a modern southern metropolis. Crump expanded city regulatory power, increased government efficiency and established a publicly owned electric utility. In addition, he secured a comprehensive flood control system for portions of the lower Mississippi River Valley. G. Wayne Dowdy cataloged the personal papers of Crump for the Memphis Public Library and brings southern political history to life in this biography. In the 1930s Crump emerged as a national leader who influenced the direction of American politics. In 1936 Time described Crump as one of the South's most remarkable politicians. A political advisor to Franklin Roosevelt, Crump convinced a large number of blacks to abandon their allegiance to the Republicans for the party of FDR. Ironically, Crump's power and influence ebbed over the course of the 1940s in large part due to the increasing independence of black voters seeking to desegregate Memphis and the South. Determined to maintain segregation, Crump abandoned the Democrats in 1948 for the States' Rights Party and experienced a crushing political defeat. G. Wayne Dowdy is a senior librarian and archivist at the Memphis Public Library and Information Center. His work has appeared in the "Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies," "CrossRoads: A Southern Culture Annual," "Journal of Negro History," "Tennessee Historical Quarterly," and other publications.

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159

Publisher

Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published Date

ISBN 10

1604730765

ISBN 13

9781604730760

Enslavement in Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

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Enslavement in Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

During the first forty-five years of the city's existence, slavery dominated the cultural and economic life of Memphis. The lives of enslaved people reveal the brutality, and their perseverance contributed greatly to the city's growth. Henry Davidson played a crucial role in the development of the city's first Methodist church and worship services for slaves. Mary Herndon was purchased by Nathan Bedford Forrest and sold to Louis Fortner, for whom she was put to work in the field, where she "chopped cotton, plowed it and did everything any other slave done." Thomas Bland secretly learned to read and write from a skilled slave and later used that knowledge to escape to Canada. Author G. Wayne Dowdy uncovers the forgotten people who built Memphis and the American South.

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Page Count

128

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1467150142

ISBN 13

9781467150149

Hidden History of Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

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Hidden History of Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

A tour of the Tennessee city filled with famous faces, fascinating trivia, and forgotten lore—plus a former mayor’s previously unpublished private papers. Step inside the fascinating annals of the Bluff City's history and discover the Memphis that only few know. G. Wayne Dowdy, longtime archivist for the Memphis Public Library, examines the history and culture of the Mid-South during its most important decades. Well-known faces like Clarence Saunders, Elvis Presley, and W.C. Handy are joined by some of the more obscure characters from the past, like the Memphis gangster who inspired one of William Faulkner's most famous novels; the local Boy Scout who captured German spies during World War I; the Memphis radio station that pioneered wireless broadcasting; and so many more. Also included are the previously unpublished private papers and correspondence of former mayor E.H. Crump, giving us new insight and a front-row seat to the machine that shaped Tennessee politics in the twentieth century. Includes photos

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Page Count

125

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

161423194X

ISBN 13

9781614231943

Crusades for Freedom

Memphis and the Political Transformation of the American South

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

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Crusades for Freedom

Memphis and the Political Transformation of the American South

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

During the first half of the twentieth century, the city of Memphis was governed by the Shelby County Democratic Party controlled by Edward Hull Crump, described by Time magazine as “the most absolute political boss in the US.” Crusades for Freedom chronicles the demise of the Crump political machine and the corresponding rise to power of the South’s two minorities, African Americans and Republicans. Between the years 1948 and 1968, Memphis emerged as a battleground in the struggle to create a strong two-party South. For the first time in its history, both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates campaigned vigorously for the Bluff City's votes. Closely tied to these changing political fortunes was the struggle of African Americans to overturn two centuries of discrimination. At the same time, many believed that the city needed a more modern political structure to meet the challenges of the 1950s and 1960s, preferably a mayor–city council governmental structure. By 1968 the segregated social order had collapsed, Black politicians were firmly entrenched within the Democratic Party, southern whites had swelled the ranks of the GOP, and Memphis had adopted a new city charter.

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Page Count

200

Publisher

Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published Date

ISBN 10

1604734248

ISBN 13

9781604734249

A Brief History of Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

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A Brief History of Memphis

By: G. Wayne Dowdy

The story of Memphis, Tennessee—from raucous river town to major Southern metropolis—with photos included. No other southern city has a history quite like Memphis. First purchased in the early 1800s from natives to serve as a vital port for the emerging American river trade, the city flourished until the tumultuous years of the Civil War brought chaos and uncertainty. Yet the city survived. Through the triumphs and tragedies of the civil rights movement and beyond, Memphis endured it all. Despite its compelling story, no concise history of this home of soulful music and unmistakable flavor is available to modern readers. Thankfully, local historian and Memphis archivist G. Wayne Dowdy has filled this gap with a history of Memphis that is as vibrant and welcoming as the city itself.

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Page Count

159

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1625842023

ISBN 13

9781625842022

Book's by G. Wayne Dowdy

On This Day in Memphis History

On This Day in Memphis History

Mayor Crump Don't Like It

Mayor Crump Don't Like It

Enslavement in Memphis

Enslavement in Memphis

Hidden History of Memphis

Hidden History of Memphis

Crusades for Freedom

Crusades for Freedom

A Brief History of Memphis

A Brief History of Memphis

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