Reconstruction: People and Perspectives (Perspectives in American Social History)

This entry in the Perspectives in Social History series examines the course and consequences of Reconstruction on the former Confederate states by focusing on the everyday people who lived through it.Reconstruction: People and Perspectives is a fascinating collection of essays and documents that illuminates the experiences of ordinary Americans across all levels of society in the southern United States during Reconstruction.Reconstruction: People and Perspectives describes in vivid detail the experiences of a diverse group of people caught up in the Civil War's aftermath in the South. Chapters focus on Civil War veterans, former slaveholders, farmers and city residents, Northerners in the South, and African American men and women (both those who stayed in the South and those who migrated). It also reports on groups similar studies often overlook, such as Native Americans and white women. Looking at Reconstruction from a social historian's point of view, this revealing work adds a much needed new voice to studies of the era. Cover......Page 1 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Series Introduction......Page 8 Introduction......Page 12 The Civil War, Abolition, and the South......Page 13 The Course of Reconstruction......Page 14 The Historiography of Reconstruction......Page 19 References and Further Reading......Page 23 About the Editors and Contributors......Page 26 Chronology......Page 28 1. The Meaning of Freedom for African American Men......Page 42 Experiencing a Sea of Change......Page 43 Defining Freedom......Page 45 Labor Issues......Page 51 Land Ownership......Page 53 Other Social Barriers to Freedom......Page 55 Conclusion......Page 59 References and Further Reading......Page 60 2. White Women in Reconstruction......Page 62 The World the War Wrought: A Hopeless Future?......Page 63 White Women’s Changing Labors, In and Out of the Household......Page 69 White Women and the Transformation of White Supremacy......Page 76 Southern White Women, Voluntary Associations, and a Growing Public Sphere......Page 80 References and Further Reading......Page 84 3. African Americans in Southern Cities......Page 86 Population Growth in the Urban South: From Slavery to Freedom......Page 88 The Course of Reconstruction in Southern Cities......Page 92 Work and Labor Organizations......Page 96 Urban Living Conditions......Page 99 Religion and Education......Page 100 Conclusion......Page 105 References and Further Reading......Page 106 4. Northerners in the Reconstruction South......Page 108 Wartime Beginnings......Page 112 Northerners in the Postwar South......Page 115 Carpetbagger Politics......Page 119 A Fool’s Errand?......Page 122 References and Further Reading......Page 126 5. American Indian Issues during Reconstruction......Page 130 Indian Territory and the Civil War......Page 131 The Reconstruction Settlement......Page 135 Railways Arrive in the Indian Territory......Page 137 Reconstruction and the Muskogee-Creek Nation......Page 140 Reconstruction and the Cherokee Nation......Page 143 The Freedpersons of Indian Territory......Page 146 Conclusion......Page 150 References and Further Reading......Page 151 6. Former Slaveholders and the Planter Class......Page 154 War and Confederate Defeat......Page 156 Southern Landowners and the Postwar Economy......Page 160 The Planter Class, Black Labor, and Racial Violence......Page 165 Conclusion......Page 171 References and Further Reading......Page 174 7. Black Women, Work, and Freedom......Page 176 Black Women and Work during Slavery......Page 177 The Reconstruction of Work......Page 178 The Work of Reconstruction: Building Black Businesses and Communities......Page 191 Jim Crow and New Work Opportunities......Page 192 Conclusion......Page 197 References and Further Reading......Page 199 8. Former Confederate and Union Soldiers in Reconstruction......Page 202 Coming Home......Page 206 Coming to Terms with Peace......Page 215 Conclusion......Page 222 References and Further Reading......Page 226 Richard Taylor Discusses the Impact of the South’s Military Collapse......Page 230 Freedmen on the Plantations......Page 232 “Domestic Relations of the Freedmen”......Page 235 Jonathan Trowbridge on Black Life and Labor in Chattanooga, 1866......Page 237 “Juhl” on Black Protest and Economic Conditions in South Carolina......Page 238 Extracts from Letters Written by Margaret Newbold Thorpe, a Northern Teacher in Virginia, 1866......Page 240 Letter from Rosa Buchanan Lunday to President Andrew Johnson......Page 242 ”Another Social Difficulty—A Colored Man Ejected from Railway Cars”......Page 244 Testimony of Charlotte Fowler before the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States......Page 245 Freedmen’s Bureau Agents Report from Demopolis, Alabama......Page 248 Interview with African American Rev. Frank T. Boone, Little Rock, Arkansas, c. 1936–1938......Page 250 Eleventh Annual Report of the Commission of Home Missions to Colored People, Protestant Episcopal Church, A.D. 1875–1876. St. Mark’s Church, Wilmington, North Carolina, Rev. C. O. Brady......Page 252 “Postwar Notes”......Page 254 Address Delivered before the South Carolina Historical Society on Their Twenty-First Anniversary, May 19, 1876, by William J. Rivers......Page 255 Oliver Wendell Holmes Memorial Day Address at Keene, New Hampshire, 1884......Page 257 Reference......Page 260 Bibliography......Page 284 Index......Page 306 "Reconstruction: People and Perspectives" is a fascinating collection of essays and documents that illuminates the experiences of ordinary Americans across all levels of society in the southern United States during Reconstruction. "Reconstruction: People and Perspectives" describes in vivid detail the experiences of a diverse group of people caught up in the Civil War's aftermath in the South. Chapters focus on Civil War veterans, former slaveholders, farmers and city residents, Northerners in the South, and African American men and women (both those who stayed in the South and those who migrated). It also reports on groups similar studies often overlook, such as Native Americans and white women. Looking at Reconstruction from a social historian's point of view, this revealing work adds a much needed new voice to studies of the era. Reconstruction: People and Perspectives describes in vivid detail the experiences of a diverse group of people caught up in the Civil War's aftermath in the South. Chapters focus on Civil War veterans, former slaveholders, farmers and city residents, Northerners in the South, and African American men and women (both those who stayed in the South and those who migrated). It also reports on groups similar studies often overlook, such as Native Americans and white women. --from publisher description The meaning of freedom for African American men / Rebecca Fraser White women in Reconstruction / Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz African Americans in southern cities / James Campbell Northerners in the Reconstruction South / Nichola Clayton American Indian issues during Reconstruction / Gabriella Treglia Former slaveholders and the planter class / David Deverick Black women, work, and freedom / Kate Dossett Former Confederate and Union soldiers in Reconstruction / Susan-Mary Grant.