Mule South to tractor South: Mules, machines, agriculture, and culture in the cotton South, 1850-1950

Between 1850 and 1950, mules performed their monotonous duties as the principal draft animals of southern agriculture. Americans had little contact with mules before the Revolution. But by the time of the Civil War, mules had risen to a prominent, if not always respected, position in the southern regions of the nation. Mules became the predominant work stock on plantations late in the antebellum period, and nearly universal adoption of the animal characterized southern agriculture during the post-Civil War years. Ascendant for decades, mules rapidly disappeared from the southern landscape in the 1950s and became little more than curious icons of a past era. Because of its central place in southern agriculture, the mule became an integral part of the South's regional fabric and was closely identified with the South.;This dissertation focuses on mules, their role in southern agriculture, their replacement by tractors and other machinery, and their place in southern culture. It examines the unique relationship between the South and mules, and explores the symbolic role the mule has assumed in southern history. The mule played several roles at once in the South-draft animal, work partner, family pet, medium of exchange, symbol. This study examines the mule's various roles by using diverse sources. Apart from secondary works, this study also relies upon newspapers, agricultural journals, government records, and oral histories.;The dissertation is arranged topically. Chapter One examines the rise of the mule during the antebellum era and dominant position that the mule held in southern agriculture after the Civil War. Chapter Two treats both mule breeding and mule marketing, focusing on the Deep South's dependence on outside mule supplies and attempts to have southern farmers raise their own mules. Chapter Three focuses on the debate between tractor and draft animal proponents and their relationship to the United States Department of Agriculture. Chapter Four examines the rise of the tractor and cotton picker, and the impact these machines had on mule use in the cotton South. Chapter Five treats the cultural and symbolic significance of mules and how southerners, black and white, viewed the animals.