Nashville in the 1890s

Book excerpt: Derived from first-hand accounts and oral histories collected and stored at Vanderbilt University as well as newspapers and other local history sources, this collection is an invaluable look at the “Gay Nineties” in Nashvillians’ own words. It is, however, not a complete insight into Nashville in the 1890s. Readers should take note that the book focuses almost exclusively on the experiences and worldviews of white Nashvillians. These stories have incredible value for local historians and anyone interested in Nashville history, but the book’s failure to deal with race—as evidenced by Waller’s belief that “the social order was thought to be providential,” which was clearly not true for Nashville’s Black residents who struggled against the unjust systems designed to oppress them—is a grave shortcoming.