The Southern League

To the Editors:

In my review of three works by Eugene D. Genovese [NYR, October 5], I included a footnote on the Southern League, which contains the following statement, based on an article in Southern Partisan: “In an interview Professor [Michael] Hill claims that the League welcomes members of all races as long as they support ‘limited government, states’ rights, and the right to local self rule.’ ” I am both surprised and sorry to learn from Eugene Genovese that Clyde Wilson and Grady McWhiney, whom I mentioned as members of the League, thought that I was implying that they were racists. That was certainly not my intent. I should also add that Michael Hill is not a professor of history at the University of Alabama, as Southern Partisan reported. He is a “Part-Time Temporary Instructor,” and is clearly a controversial figure at the university.

David Brion Davis
Sterling Professor of History Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut