The Reading Warehouse

In Women in the Texas Populist Movement, Marion K. Barthelme presents more than a hundred letters from Texas farm women, who were becoming ever more alert to the political and economic forces impacting their lives. The agrarian reform movement was a major element of political life in Texas, and women's letters to the Texas Farmers' Alliance newspaper became increasingly passionate and forthright in expressing their concerns. The women discover a camaraderie through their letters--a recognition of their common aspirations and frustrations with a system that dismisses their experiences. Through the medium of writing, they express vibrant personalities and a pungent sense of humor.

Barthelme makes this lively correspondence accessible for the first time and brings these admirable women into a historical framework to give a more complete picture of Southern history.