Kurzbeschreibung
In Delta Empire Jeannie Whayne employs the fascinating history of a powerful plantation owner in the Arkansas delta to recount the evolution of southern agriculture from the late nineteenth century through World War II. From a small inheritance, Robert E. ôLeeö Wilson built a 50,000-acre lumbering and cotton plantation in Mississippi County, Arkansas. From early on, Wilson saw an opportunity in the swampy terrain, which sold for as little as fifty cents an acre, to build a lumber business that met the regionÆs growing need for lumber. This foresight provided the foundation for his vast agricultural empire. A consummate manager but of contradictory personal character, Wilson employed the tenancy and sharecropping system to his best advantage while earning a reputation for fair treatment of laborers, a reputationùas Whayne suggestsùnot entirely deserved. He cultivated a cadre of relatives and employees whom he sponsored, expecting absolute devotion. Leveraging every asset during his life, Wilson died having saved his company from bankruptcy several times, leaving it to the next generation to move the business successfully through the continuing challenges of the 1930s and World War II. Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Southern Agriculture provides a compelling case study of both one manÆs strategic innovation and the changing economy of South.
