An American Insurrection: James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962 Paperback – January 7, 2003

This is a book that tells, in great detail, the story of one of the least well-known, but most important events in American history, the integration of the University of Mississippi, in 1962, which was accomplished amid rioting and two deaths.James H. Meredith, a determined young Air Force veteran, challenged Ole Miss's segregationist policies, and defeated them in Federal Court. Segregationist Governor Ross Barnett, a dead ringer for a stereotype undertaker, vowed to oppose that publicly, while playing games with the Kennedy Administration to avoid disaster, privately. The Kennedys in turn wanted the "Civil Rights mess" off their desks, but they had to act. Amid all this, the wildly crazy Brig. Gen. Edwin Walker became the mouthpiece and symbolic leader of Mississippi racists and segregationists, and he and they converged on the university, in Oxford, to stop Meredith, hoping to re-create Pickett's Charge, but presumably with a better outcome.Barnett used his state police, came up with state legislation and court orders, and stood in the University's doorway, to try to prevent Meredith and the federal Marshals escorting him from entering the campus. Meredith finally got on the campus, but didn't register. That night, the racists attacked the marshals, and nearly overran them. The police stood by and allowed the riot to happen. Mississippi seemed to stand on the brink of a second secession.An infuriated President Kennedy federalized the Mississippi National Guard, and sent them in to restore order and protect Meredith. This is the core of the book - the experiences of the military men who put aside their personal feelings (one was Barnett's own son) and did their duty in this grave constitutional crisis to uphold federal law and court orders against segregationists. They did their duty, broke up the riot, protected Meredith, saved the Marshals, and next morning, Mr. Meredith became Ole Miss's first black student (and later first black alumnus).The writing is superb, the research even better. William Doyle explores the role played by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, the state's "thought police," the white people who dropped their segregationist views then or later, the students and faculty on campus, and the bizarre taped phone negotiations between the Kennedys and Barnett.What emerges is a fascinating portrait of a major pivotal moment in American history, a story of military men and federal law enforcement officers who put duty before personal feelings, successful efforts to create positive change, and people struggling to cope with those changes. It is extremely well-written.The book ends on a positive note -- showing that Ole Miss is now a high-tech institution that has moved away from its bitter past. The book was written before the university dropped "Colonel Rebel" as its sports mascot in favor of the Mississippi Black Bear, but makes clear that the school now has a considerable and powerful African-American presence in the student body, faculty, and administration.Highly recommended for students of American history.

This is a riveting account of a turning point in 20th Century America-the 1962 riot on the campus of the University of Mississippi to prevent the enrollment of James Meredith. I don't have much to offer that has not been said in the other reviews, but I did want to comment on some things that I found particularly interesting. In particular, I was shocked to learn that the State of Mississippi effectively operated a police state within its borders under the guise of the so-called "Sovereignty Commission." This Commission was essentially designed to stifle dissent against the racial apartheid being practiced in the states through spying and intimidation of both white and black citizens who objected. Those who defend "states' rights" as a guard against "federal tyranny" should ponder how Mississippi subverted the essence of democracy in order to preserve its "way of life." James Meredith, himself, was apparently preternaturally calm about the whole thing and, according to the book, specifically devised a strategy of forcing the federal government to integrate Ole Miss at the point of a gun. Neither Governor Ross Barnett or the Kennedys come off looking particularly good-the Kennedys were clearly not prepared to deal with such a devious politician as Barnett, who was trying to save his political career by promising one thing to the right-wing extremists and another thing to the Kennedys. Barnett was clearly a racist, yet one of the more bizaare points in the book was that Barnett had made a legal career bringing lawsuits on behalf of poor black clients and did so again after he left office.

Deep dive historically correct

I spent the night of September 30-October 1 in the middle of the Ole Miss Campus. There were four of us who were barricaded in the Student Union Building. We watched the fightining swirl below through the night, but I did not know -- until I read this book -- how close to the abyss we really were. I think this a very balanced account that is basically accurate. There were no bars in Oxford in 1962 for Mississippi was legally dry until 1966! A few other slips like that do not detract from the totality of the book. This is the third or fourth book I have read on the subject and the first that really places the blame for what happened on both sides. It has always seemed to me -- and I have said so -- that the most foolish thing one could have done was what the Federal Government did by surrounding the Lyceum Building late on Sunday afternoon, thus giving a focal point for returning students and invading strangers . . . and the oncoming cover of darkness. In hindsight, it would have been so much better to lay low until early Monday, slip onto the campus and register James Merideth in the early morning, and face the daylight hours rather than the night. However, the men in the field had to deal with the situation that the Governor and the President had permitted to be created . . . and they cannot really be blamed for lack of foresight when those in a much higher position had shown the same lack of foresight.An excellent book . . . that scares the wits out of someone who was really there!

I gave this book to my Dad who attended Ole Miss at the same time Meredith was there. He felt the book was an accurate depiction of the events and has throughly enjoyed reading it.