Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South (American Ways Ser.)

By: Michael W. Fitzgerald

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: Since the civil rights era of the 1960s, revisionist historians have been sympathetic to the racial justice motivations of the Radical Republican Reconstruction policies that followed the Civil War. But this emphasis on positive goals and accomplishments has obscured the role of the Republicans in the overthrow of their own program. Rich with insight, Michael W. Fitzgerald's new interpretation of Reconstruction shows how the internal dynamics of this first freedom movement played into the hands of white racist reactionaries in the South. Splendid Failure recounts how postwar financial missteps and other governance problems quickly soured idealistic Northerners on the practical consequences of the Radical Republican plan, and set the stage for the explosion that swept Southern Republicans from power and resulted in Northern acquiescence to the bloody repression of voting rights. The failed strategy offers a chastening example to present-day proponents of racial equality.

Book Quality:: Excellent
Book Size:: 260 Pages
ISBN-13:: 9781566637398
Publisher:: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
Date of Addition:: 11/29/23
Copyrighted By:: Michael W. Fitzgerald
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Business and Finance, Politics and Government, Sociology
Submitted By:: Worth Trust
Proofread By:: Worth Trust
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.