Freedom's Dominion

Freedom’s Dominion Study Guide:
Freedom’s Dominion is a deep dive into one county in Alabama—this county, Barbour County, is home to Governor George Wallace. Governor Wallace came to office in 1963 giving a speech where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy, famously saying “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” Wallace ran for president as a pro-segregation populist candidate in 1968. He will run in the Democratic primary in 1972 before he is shot and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He retained the governorship until 1987. Given Wallace’s ability to mix an anti-government and anti-elitist sentiment with overt racist rhetoric that appealed to many Southern white working- and middle-class voters, Cowie wants to dig into the background of his home county to determine where this came from. Make sure to review the maps before the introduction.

  1. In the introduction, what is the central theme Cowie plans on exploring regarding federal vs state powers? What does he see as the core of that theme?

    1. Main Idea:

      1. Cowie explores how white Americans have historically used the idea of "freedom" to resist federal authority — especially when federal power aimed to protect the rights of others (e.g., Indigenous peoples, African Americans).

    2. Core Concept:

      1. "Freedom" often meant the freedom to dominate — to control land, labor, and racial hierarchy without outside interference.

  2. Chapter 1 focuses on the issues of the Creek tribe and its relations with white settlers. How would you describe those relations? What did the settlers want?

    1. Creek–Settler Relations:

      1. Tense and hostile — white settlers squatted illegally on Creek lands protected by federal treaties.

    2. Settler Goals:

      1. Desired land for cotton farming; believed they had a right to it under the banner of “freedom” and self-rule.

  3. Chapters 2-4 deal with how Andrew Jackson was unable to secure the rights from the treaty signed with the Creek in the face of white settler pressure. This eventually ends in the Second Creek War and the removal of the Creek to Oklahoma. Why was President Jackson—one of the strongest presidents in US history—unable to control the situation? What was Francis Scott Key’s role?

    1. Why Jackson Failed:

      1. Despite his strong presidency, Jackson couldn’t overcome local settler resistance backed by state authorities. Federal enforcement collapsed under local defiance.

    2. Francis Scott Key’s Role:

      1. Sent by Jackson to mediate; negotiated a compromise that let settlers keep seized land, undermining federal treaties.

    3. Result: Second Creek War and forced Creek removal to Oklahoma.

  4. Chapter 5 discusses the context of slavery and the Civil War in Barbour Co. (which did not see any action during the war). Chapter 6 discusses Barbour Co during Reconstruction. What did the county look like during Reconstruction? How did whites respond to it? How did African-Americans?

    1. Barbour Co. During Civil War:

      1. No battles, but deeply invested in slavery; supported secession to protect the slave economy.

    2. Reconstruction Period:

      1. African American Response:

        1. Organized politically — voted, ran for office, sought full citizenship.

      2. White Response:

        1. Violent backlash — Election Massacre of 1874, voter suppression, rise of paramilitary groups (e.g., White League). Federal forces stood by, leading to collapse of Black political power.

  5. Chapter 8 details the election of 1872 in Alabama. What happened? What were the sides?

    1. What Happened:

      1. Barbour County’s white Democratic elites attempted to void or block ballot boxes filled with Black Republican votes. They filed injunctions to prevent certification and to overturn legitimately elected officials.

    2. The Sides:

      1. Black and Republican voters: Gained local and federal support; elected Black officials including Congressman James T. Rapier.

      2. White Democratic elites: Sought to suppress Black political participation through legal chicanery—initiating dual legislatures and contesting electoral outcomes.

      3. The outcome temporarily upheld Black representation, but foreshadowed the backlash to come.

  6. Chapters 9 and 10 relate the violence of the redemptorist whites in during Reconstruction. What were they afraid of? What was the result of the violence?

    1. What Whites Feared:

      1. That Black enfranchisement and Republican governance threatened their traditional power, land control, and social hierarchy.

    2. The Result of the Violence:

      1. On Election Day 1874 in Eufaula, a white militia ambushed and opened fire on Black voters in the polling line. Estimates say about 80 were shot and several killed; nearly 500 fled. Federal troops, present but ordered to stand down, did not intervene—effectively allowing the massacre to disrupt Black political power.

  7. Chapter 11 is about the brutal realities African-Americans faced with re-enslavement. If there’s any chapter to really focus on, this is it.

    1. Focus:

      1. After Reconstruction’s collapse, the region transitioned into a system of neo‑slavery:

      2. Convict leasing became a brutal exploitative system, with Black prisoners—often charged under trumped-up vagrancy or loitering laws—leased to private industries like mining. Mortality rates were high, with little incentive to treat laborers humanely.

  8. Chapter 12 deals with late 19th and early 20th century agrarian populism in Barbour Co. How were the issues framed?

    1. How Issues Were Framed:

      1. Agrarian populists, led by figures like Reuben Kolb, framed struggles against economic elites as a fight for Jeffersonian democracy. They pitched agrarian reform and inclusive politics—but ultimately, entrenched white elites manipulated systems to maintain both racial hierarchy and economic control.

  9. Chapter 13 deals with lynching, which was widespread throughout the South. Why was it used? Explain the chapter title, “Lynching as an Act of Freedom.”

    1. Why It Was Used:

      1. Used as a tool of racial terrorism—to punish, control, and terrorize Black people who threatened white dominance.

    2. Meaning of the Title:

      1. Cowie provocatively frames lynching as a twisted expression of white freedom: the freedom to kill with impunity, reinforcing racial dominance through fear and violence, all while local authorities looked the other way.


  1. Chapters 14 and 15 cover the Depression and the New Deal. How did the New Deal help Barbour Co’s residents? Did it reinforce segregation?

    1. How the New Deal Helped:

      1. Barbour County benefited from New Deal infrastructure and federal spending.
        But to preserve white supremacy, Southern political leaders demanded and secured exemptions: agricultural and domestic workers were excluded from protections like minimum wage and union rights.

    2. Did It Reinforce Segregation?

      1. Yes the New Deal bolstered governance and economic relief but preserved racial hierarchies.

  2. Chapters 16-21 relate the rise of George Wallace and the efforts of the Civil Rights movement to bring change to Alabama. What was Wallace’s background? What were the ideas he espoused? What did the Civil Rights movement hope to achieve in Barbour Co and Alabama? How did Wallace oppose these efforts? What reception did Wallace get when he ran for president in 1968?

    1. Wallace’s Background & Ideas:

      1. Born in Barbour County (1919), Wallace rose politically advocating segregation, states’ rights, and resistance to federal integration. He famously declared, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

    2. Civil Rights Movement Goals:

      1. Activists aimed to enforce federal civil rights laws—especially voting, education, and equality—through local organizing and legal challenges (like those led by Fred Gray and the NAACP).

    3. Wallace’s Opposition:

      1. He used populist rhetoric (us vs them, "average white man”) to frame federal actions as tyranny, positioning himself as a guardian of white “freedom,” and used his political influence to block integration.

    4. 1968 Presidential Reception:

      1. Wallace’s segregationist populism resonated far beyond the South; his presidential campaign garnered substantial support nationally, signaling the appeal of racially coded anti-statist freedom talk.

  3. In the conclusion, Cowie looks to link what had happened in Barbour Co. with the modern GOP that has its base in the South. How does he do this? Cowie asks at the end, “Can Americans ever liberate themselves from the burden of their freedom?” What does he mean? How would you answer that question?

    1. How Cowie Does This:
      He traces how the local narrative of “white freedom” from federal overreach morphed into national political strategy. George Wallace exported racialized anti-statism, which later became foundational to Southern realignment in the Republican Party.

    2. “Can Americans ever liberate themselves from the burden of their freedom?”

      1. Cowie is asking whether a nation so rooted in a freedom defined by domination can reimagine it as freedom for all rather than freedom over others.

    3. Possible Answer:

      1. Real liberation requires systemic redefinition: embracing federal protection of rights, redistributing power equitably, and resisting nostalgia for liberty when it has historically enabled oppression.