A reassessment of the vigilante bands that sought to force small, independent-minded tobacco growers to adhere to practices that would benefit the larger farmers in areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and Missouri. Argues that they were not against modernization, but wanted to maintain their elite status by engaging in the national market while keeping their black workers cheap and dependent. The chapters have been published previously as articles. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

For centuries before Europeans came to the New World, tobacco had an important role in the religious and social life of the early peoples of Kentucky. W.F. Axton describes the various forms in which tobacco has been used, its quick adoption by the Old World, and its gradual development into the forms common today, especially the blended cigarette. Little has been written about the place occupied by Burley leaf in the economic life of the Commonwealth, where tobacco is still the most important crop. Tobacco in Kentucky is accompanied by charts and maps illustrating the many aspects of tobacco production.