The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era
The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era
Select a format:
Publisher's Hardcover ©2014--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Bloomsbury
Annotation: A history of the Reconstruction years, which marked the United States' most progressive moment prior to the Civil Rights movement, tells the stories of the African-American activists and office holders who risked their lives for equality after the Civil War.
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #94125
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Copyright Date: 2014
Edition Date: 2014 Release Date: 01/21/14
Pages: 438 pages
ISBN: 1-608-19566-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-608-19566-4
Dewey: 973.8
LCCN: 2013009595
Dimensions: 25 cm.
Language: English
Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Library Journal
Bibliography Index/Note: Includes bibliographical references (pages [363]-420) and index.
Reading Level: 9.0
Interest Level: 9+

By 1870, just five years after Confederate surrender and thirteen years after the Dred Scott decision ruled blacks ineligible for citizenship, Congressional action had ended slavery and given the vote to black men. That same year, Hiram Revels and Joseph Hayne Rainey became the first African-American U.S. senator and congressman respectively. In South Carolina, only twenty years after the death of arch-secessionist John C. Calhoun, a black man, Jasper J. Wright, took a seat on the state's Supreme Court. Not even the most optimistic abolitionists had thought such milestones would occur in their lifetimes. The brief years of Reconstruction marked the United States' most progressive moment prior to the civil rights movement. Previous histories of Reconstruction have focused on Washington politics. But in this sweeping, prodigiously researched narrative, Douglas Egerton brings a much bigger, even more dramatic story into view, exploring state and local politics and tracing the struggles of some fifteen hundred African-American officeholders, in both the North and South, who fought entrenched white resistance. Tragically, their movement was met by ruthless violence-not just riotous mobs, but also targeted assassination. With stark evidence, Egerton shows that Reconstruction, often cast as a "failure" or a doomed experiment, was rolled back by murderous force. The Wars of Reconstruction is a major and provocative contribution to American history.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.