Posted in Civil War Memory of Reconstruction Monuments White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics

Letter to National Park Service from Historian Critical of “Militia” Occupation of Gettysburg

Photo of peaceful anti-racism procession at Gettysburg on July 19, 2020. h/t Jake Wynn Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is Professor of History at Oklahoma State…

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Posted in Ku Klux Klan Memory of Reconstruction White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics White Terror

On the Use of the Word “Terrorism” to Describe Violence During Reconstruction: Anachronism?

I am sometimes asked if my using the word “terrorism” to describe racial or political violence during the Reconstruction Era is anachronistic. It isn’t. I…

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Posted in Civil War USCT Veterans

The 26th United States Colored Troops-A Black Regiment from New York

Today I am starting a new feature, brief looks at African American regiments that served in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Nearly 180,000 African Americans…

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Posted in Lost Cause Memory of Reconstruction Monuments

New Poll Shows Growing Opposition to Symbols of the Confederacy

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows growing opposition to the display of Lost Cause relics like the statues of Confederate leaders. They also now view…

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Posted in Book Reviews

How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America Kindle by Heather Cox Richardson

How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America by Heather Cox Richardson published by oxford…

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Posted in Book Reviews

Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America by Fergus M. Bordewich

Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America by Fergus M. Bordewich published by Knopf, 480…

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Posted in Memory of Reconstruction Monuments Native Americans White Supremacy

Historian Megan Kate Nelson Questions “Union” Statues in the Southwest

Historian Megan Kate Nelson has a new article in the Atlantic on the ambiguous “Union” statues in the Southwest that now face removal. According to…

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Posted in Land Reform Memory of Reconstruction White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics

Reconstruction and “The Limits of Black Forgiveness”

I like to link readers of The Reconstruction Era Blog to scholars writing online. Scott Hancock is a professor of History and Africana Studies at…

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Posted in Memory of Reconstruction Monuments White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics

Scholar of German Holocaust Memory Discusses How Confederacy Is Remembered Today

The New Yorker brought in philosopher Susan Neiman this week to answer questions about the commemoration of the Confederacy in the modern United States. A…

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Posted in Civil War Lost Cause Memory of Reconstruction

What Can We Learn from the Germans About Remembering the Civil War and Reconstruction

The New Yorker interviewed philosopher Susan Neiman about what Americans can learn from the post-World War II Germans about remembering and commemorating slavery, the Civil…

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