The author of this work argues that if one is to understand who southerners were and are today, southern dissent of the 19th century must be understood and appreciated, since those years shaped southern ideas, customs, and values.

Carl Degler argues that if one is to understand who southerners were and are today, southern dissent of the 19th century must be understood and appreciated, since those years shaped southern ideas, customs, and values. The Other South highlights white men and women of the 19th century who challenged the domination of slavery in the region, objected to the disruption of the American Union, strove to change the politics and economy of the South during Reconstruction, and worked to displace the dominant Democratic party with the Populist party.

Drawing on extensive historical literature, Degler shows the diversity of southern experience in the 19th century and explores who the dissenters were. He examines the grounds for their opposition and points to patterns of opinion far different from the long-held image of a monolithic Old South.