Hog Meat and Hoecake

When historical geographer Sam B. Hilliard’s book Hog Meat and Hoecake was published in 1972, it was ahead of its time. It was one of the first scholarly examinations of the important role food played in a region’s history, culture, and politics, and it has since become a landmark in foodways scholarship.

In the book Hilliard examines the food supply, dietary habits, and agricultural choices of the antebellum American South, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. He explores the major southern food sources at the time, the regional production of commodity crops, and the role of those products in the subsistence economy.

Far from being primarily a plantation system concentrating on cash crops such as cotton and tobacco, Hilliard demonstrates that the South produced huge amounts of foodstuffs for regional consumption. In fact, the South produced so abundantly that, except for wines and cordials, southern tables were not only stocked with the essentials but amply laden with veritable delicacies as well.

?An interesting, well-written, and valuable reference.'
—Agricultural History

?The author handles his evidence—drawn from travel diaries, plantation records, the agricultural and commercial press, and the census—with skill and imagination, and his interpretations are sound. . . . A pleasure to read.'
—American Historical Review

?A significant addition to the literature on southern history. Hilliard says what he means in clear, simple prose. . . . Fills an honest need and should stand for some time as one of the most authoritative works on this particular subject.'
—Journal of Southern History

?A significant treatment of the geography of diet and food supply in the antebellum South. . . . A well-documented and uniquely conceived work. It deserves the attention of all scholars concerned with the history and culture of the South.'
—Geographical Review

?Scholarly and informative, recommended for both professionals and amateurs interested in the South, in ‘potlikker,’ corn pone, and roast ‘possum.'
—Southwestern Historical Quarterly

?Presents a fresh interpretation that, despite some exceptions, the Old South was largely feeding itself.'
—Florida Historical Quarterly

?An important book; it must not be neglected by anyone interested in the antebellum South. . . . By relating diet and eating habits of the people to geography, Hilliard has used the skill of a geographer to add to his skill equally as a historical researcher and has made a distinct contribution to the history of the Old South.'
—Georgia Historical Quarterly

SAM BOWERS HILLIARD was professor emeritus in geography and anthropology at Louisiana State University. He taught there from 1971 to 1993.

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The University of Georgia Press
Athens, Georgia 30602
www.ugapress.org

ISBN 978-0-8203-4676-2