The name Ulrich Bonnell Phillips is indelibly imprinted in the annals of American and Southern history. Not only was he the author or editor of nine major historical works but he also contributed numerous articles to professional journals, biographical-encyclopedic collections, and multi-volume histories. It would not be incorrect to state that Phillips deserves to be considered as the founding father of modern Southern history by virtue of his pioneering researches into such subjects as politics, transportation, and slavery and of his herculean efforts to uncover primary source materials and to bring them to light in the form of documentary publications.

In his own lifetime Phillips came to be regarded as the preeminent authority on the Old South, particularly with respect to slavery and the plantation system. Although a few scholars voiced early criticisms of his works, most notably Carter G. Woodson, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Frederic...