"Our Country First, Then Greenville"

A New South City during the Progressive Era and World War I

Courtney L. Tollison Hartness

• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781643364162, 9781643364155
• eBook ISBN: 9781643364179
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Places Greenville's experience during World War I within the context of the progressive era to better understand the rise of this New South city

Greenville, South Carolina has become an attractive destination, frequently included in lists of the "Best Small Cities" in America. While Greenville's twenty-first-century Renaissance has been impressive, in "Our Country First, Then Greenville, " Courtney L. Tollison Hartness explores an earlier period, revealing how Greenville's experience during World War I served to generate massive development in the city and the region. It was this moment that catalyzed Greenville's development into a modern city, setting the stage for the continued growth that persists into the present-day.

"Our Country First, Then Greenville" explores Greenville's home-front experience of race relations, dramatic population growth (the number of Greenville residents nearly tripled between 1900 and 1930s), the women's suffrage movement, and the contributions of African Americans and women to Greenville's history. This important work features photos of Greenville, found in archival collections throughout the country and dating back over one hundred years.

Table of contents

• Cover
• “Our Country First, Then Greenville”
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• CHAPTER ONE The Politics of Race and Gender in the “Pearl of the Piedmont”
• CHAPTER TWO Greenville and the Nation Respond to War “Over There,” 1914–1917
• CHAPTER THREE The Impact of Camp Sevier: Mobilization, Nationalization, and Economic Boom
• CHAPTER FOUR “For Liberty and Humanity”: Camp and Community on the Home Front, 1917–1918
• CHAPTER FIVE “They Have Responded to Every Call”: Race Relations on the Home Front
• CHAPTER SIX “What American will have the heart or the hardihood to say him nay?”: African Americans’ Service in the Great War
• CHAPTER SEVEN “A University or a Training Camp”: Furman University and the Student Army Training Corps
• CHAPTER EIGHT Chaos and Confusion in 1918: The Influenza Pandemic in Greenville
• CHAPTER NINE “Grow with Greenville”: Progressivism in the Postwar Era, 1919–1929
• Epilogue: Memorialization of the Great War: The Politics of Race and Remembrance
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index