DOCSLIB.ORG

Red, White, and Shades of Gray: the Development And

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Red, White, and Shades of Gray: the Development And RED, WHITE, AND SHADES OF GRAY: THE DEVELOPMENT AND ENTRENCHMENT OF CONFEDERATE IDEOLOGY IN AMERICA, 1865-1939 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY December 2002 By Kevin Tom Thesis Committee: Robert E. McGlone, Chairperson Marcus L. Daniel Margot A. Henriksen TABLE OF CONTENTS List ofFigures iv Introduction. ..................................................... 1 Chapter I: The Establishment ofa Confederate Tradition: The Lost Cause in the Postwar South, 1865-1877 7 Southern Honor 10 Southern Masculinity Under Siege and the Capture ofJefferson Davis 15 Lee, Longstreet, and the Confederate Elites .31 The Virginians 33 The Apotheosis ofRobert E. Lee 34 The Vilification ofLongstreet .45 Attempts to Reassert White Rille and Early Commemorative Activities 64 Chapter 2: Commemoration and Sectional Reconciliation: The Expansion ofSouthern Civil War Memory, 1877·1907 76 Challenges to Identity and Social Cohesion in the North and South. ........ .. 80 Northern and Southern Uncertainties 80 Responding to the Challenges 83 Northern and Southern Commemoration 95 Commemoration in the North 97 Commemoration in the South .106 The Spanish-American War and Its Role in Reconciliation 119 Civil War History and the Advent ofProfessional Historians 124 Chapter 3: Popu1ar Cu1ture and the Spread ofConfederate Ideology in America, 1905·1939 133 The Clansman and Birth ofa Nation 135 Thomas Dixon's The Clansman 136 D. W. Griffith's BirthofaNation .149 Gone With The Wind 172 Gone With The Wind: The Novel. ...... .. .. ..... .. .. ...... .. 173 Gone With The Wmd: The Movie 185 Epilogue. .......................................................... .. .. 193 Bibliography ................................................ .. 195 iii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Jefferson Davis Memorial, Richmond, Virginia 77 2. Freedman's Memorial to Abraham Lincoln 100 3. Shaw Memorial, Boston .I03 4. Abraham Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C. 105 5. Confederate Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial, Richmond, Virginia .....110 IV 1 INTRODUCTION On July 1,2000, the state ofSouth Carolina removed the Confederate battle flag from atop the dome ofits Capitol building. The move followed a six month economic boycott ofthe state led by the NAACP, which sought to have the flag banned from flying on public grounds. To the NAACP and those siding with it in the flag controversy, the Confederate banner represents a legacy ofslavery and hate, and displaying it in public is highly offensive. Defenders ofthe flag, however, maintain that it stands as a symbol of their history, and removing it is akin to a repudiation ofpart oftheir heritage. The economic boycott cost South Carolina as much as $20 million in lost tourism revenue, pressuring business interests to call for the flag's removal. Ultimately, it was decided that the flag should come down, but the victory ofthose who wanted the flag gone from the Capitol dome was bittersweet. Opponents ofthe flag attained only a partial triumph, since instead ofcompletely banning the display ofthe Confederate flag on public grounds, a compromise solution was worked out in the state legislature. Under the compromise, in exchange for the removal ofthe flag from atop the Capitol dome a slightly similar flag was allowed to fly at a nearby Confederate memorial located just in front ofthe building. Thus, despite the efforts ofthe state legislature to bring an end to the controversy, the compromise solution was unsatisfactory to many on both sides ofthe issue. l (Brian Cabell, "Hundreds protest as Confi:derate battle flag comes down in South Carolina," CNN.com, 1 July, 2000, http://www.cnn.c0m/2000IUS/07/Ol/scflag.02/index.h1ml (4 November 2002). 2 The flag controversy highlights the continued pervasiveness ofthe Confederate legacy in America, which continues to make its presence felt, even though it has been almost a century and a halfafter the Confederacy's demise. My thesis traces the establishment ofConfederate legacy: first, as a collective memory held by Southerners ofthe generation who fought the war and lived through Reconstruction; and secondly, as an ideological force that spread outward beyond the South, eventually becoming accepted and entrenched as a legitimate part ofhistorical and popular interpretations ofthe Civil War era that have proven difficult to uproot. The work ofFrench sociologist Maurice Halbwachs on collective memory offers a central rationale behind the formation and establishment ofa Confederate collective memory within the post-war South. For Halbwachs, recalling the past depends upon the social conditions which currently influence the person remembering, as well as the environment in which the memory originally occurred. Collective memory is a reconstruction ofthe past, not merely a recollection ofevents. Even for people experiencing events as they occurred, individual memories become fragmented over time and are rebuilt within the framework ofpresent social contexts, and the memories of individuals and groups are shaped by the social environment in which they live and interact with one another. To an extent, the past does shape the present, at least in terms ofthe perception ofcontinuity. Halbwachs postulates, however, that the present social context is what exerts the definitive influence upon what is remembered about the past, and the remembered past is reconstructed to fit into the social frameworks ofthose living 3 in the present. It is only in relation to ideas held in the social setting ofthe present that memories ofthe past are called forth and are able to take shape in organized and meaningful ways. 2 Chapter I focuses on the reestablishment ofsouthern identity and the development ofa new collective memory within the South centered around the defeated Confederacy. Using Halbwachs, the social contexts surrounding Southerners, especially relating to (in terms ofthe Confederate legacy) white southern males, helped shape and direct the collective memories held by Southerners regarding the Confederacy following the war. White southern males needed a way to respond to the challenges confronting them in the face ofpost-war disillusionment and Reconstruction. With women stepping beyond their traditional roles, blacks seemingly holding the positions ofauthority, and Northerners belittling their masculinity, white males in the South needed to reestablish a sense ofidentity, and ultimately sought to reassert their dominance atop the social order. The development ofthe Lost Cause by elite Southerners was one way to respond to northern claims ofsouthern inferiority. Early commemorative activities and even direct action through violence by vigilante organizations like the Ku Klux Klan also aided white southern males in reestablishing a sense ofplace, and these activities also helped to link Southerners together around a shared Confederate past. Thus, the social conditions and southern responses to them contributed to shape the collective memories ofSoutherners, 2 Maurice Halbwachs, On Collo;ctiye Memory. trans. Lewis A. Coser (Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1992). 4 and Southerners used these memories to rebuild a sense ofcommonality and identity against the social and environmental uncertainties ofthe times. Chapter 2 deals with the celebration ofthe Confederacy, which intensified as Reconstruction came to an end in the South and Southerners sought vindication for their cause. During this period, the collective memories ofSoutherners began to coalesce into a shared Confederate tradition that began to move from the realm ofactual memory toward ideology. Southerners started to appropriate the Confederate legacy to build and reinforce their society in ways that bolstered their traditional values against the continued tensions brought on by economic and social changes. They increasingly linked the Confederate tradition with masculinity and white supremacy, and they used that tradition to help unify different classes ofsouthern white males against potentially contentious issues within their own ranks, such as economic disparities. For example, elite whites aimed to undermine dissent from those in the lower classes by playing up the example of the Confederate soldier, who carried on without complaint in the :fuce ofadversity. Further, the Confederate tradition was modified to fit an ideological position more conducive to sectional reconciliation. Instead ofthe previously harsh rhetoric put forward by the first Lost Cause advocates, Southerners increasingly used a softer, more conciliatory tone as they sought to reestablish their place as equals within a reunited nation. Additionally, both Northerners and Southerners began to reconstruct the remembrance ofthe Civil War in ways that removed the most contentious issues from the picture. For example, in commemorative events, the design ofmonuments, and historical 5 writings, the issue ofslavery as the central reason for the South seceding was denied in favor ofconstitutional justifications. Even the veterans themselves began to blot out the more horrific or shameful actions they experienced during the war in favor ofa glorified recollection ofthe period. This kind offorgetfulness was especially evident at reunions where former adversaries were in attendance. At these events, in a climate of conciliation, common hardships and camaraderie began to overshadow divisive issues. Finally, in this climate ofconsensus and conciliation, the Spanish-American war marked a critical
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Note Cards 651. Clara Barton Launched the American Red Cross
    Note Cards 651. Clara Barton Launched the American Red Cross in 1881. An "angel" in the Civil War, she treated the wounded in the field. 652. Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan Former Confederate states would be readmitted to the Union if 10% of their citizens took a loyalty oath and the state agreed to ratify the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery. Not put into effect because Lincoln was assassinated. 653. Assassination of April 14, 1865 While sitting in his box at Ford's Theatre watching "Our American Cousin", President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. 654. John Wilkes Booth An actor, planned with others for six months to abduct Lincoln at the start of the war, but they were foiled when Lincoln didn't arrive at the scheduled place. April 14, 1865, he shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre and cried, "Sic Semper Tyrannis!" ("Thus always to tyrants!") When he jumped down onto the stage his spur caught in the American flag draped over the balcony and he fell and broke his leg. He escaped on a waiting horse and fled town. He was found several days later in a barn. He refused to come out; the barn was set on fire. Booth was shot, either by himself or a soldier. 655. Ex Parte Milligan 1866 - Supreme Court ruled that military trials of civilians were illegal unless the civil courts are inoperative or the region is under marshall law. 656. Radical Republicans After the Civil War, a group that believed the South should be harshly punished and thought that Lincoln was sometimes too compassionate towards the South.
    [Show full text]
  • And Type the TITLE of YOUR WORK in All Caps
    RACE, REGION, AND REALISM IN THE POSTBELLUM FICTION OF ALBION TOURGÉE, CHARLES CHESNUTT, GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE, AND MARK TWAIN by KATHERINE BROWN BARROW (Under the Direction of James Nagel) ABSTRACT In the literary movements of Regionalism and Realism that emerged in the wake of the Civil War, Albion Tourgée (1838-1905), Mark Twain (1835-1910), George Washington Cable (1844-1925), and Charles Chesnutt (1858-1932) contributed to the growing field of Southern fiction within these traditions. With varying degrees of verisimilitude, romance, and satire, all four of these authors placed issues of race and nationhood at the thematic center of their most influential novels. In many of their postbellum works of fiction, such as The Grandissimes, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pudd’nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins, A Fool’s Errand, Bricks without Straw, Mandy Oxendine, The Conjure Woman, The House Behind the Cedars, and The Marrow of Tradition, they explored the persisting racial problems of American life in the last quarter of the nineteenth-century and developed themes that suggested that the nation was still mired in the problems of its past. Perhaps the most significant aspect their postwar novels share is the manner in which they present African American protagonists who actively pursue a better life for themselves by challenging the white patriarchal order. Through various methods of empowerment, such as verbal trickery, escaping slavery, passing into white life, educational and economic advancement, as well as the subversive acts of protest, violence, and revenge, these characters refuse to submit to the social hierarchy to which they are bound by either custom or law.
    [Show full text]
  • The Flag to Fly No More? Confederate References 1889 and Marks Where 800 Come Under Fire After Residents Volunteered to Join S.C
    Vol. 11, No. 29 Alexandria’s only independent hometown newspaper JULY 16, 2015 The flag to fly no more? Confederate references 1889 and marks where 800 come under fire after residents volunteered to join S.C. shooting the Army of Northern Vir- BY ERICH WAGNER ginia. And a plaque adorns As one of the biggest the Marshall House — now state-sanctioned reminders Hotel Monaco — at the corner of the U.S. Civil War — of King and South Pitt streets, the Confederate battle flag commemorating where hotel — was removed from the owner James W. Jackson shot grounds of South Carolina’s and killed Union Col. Elmer E. PHOTO/GEOFF LIVINGSTON 266 YEARS YOUNG The Potomac River is lit up by fireworks capitol last week, the debate Ellsworth before being shot by at the conclusion of Alexandria’s 266th birthday celebrations and over references to southern other Union troops during their the United States’ 239th birthday last weekend. The evening’s secession in Alexandria was takeover of the city. event at Oronoco Bay Park saw Mayor Bill Euille and city coun- cilors distribute birthday cake before the Alexandria Symphony just heating up. Lance Mallamo, director of Orchestra performed, among other highlights. The shooting deaths of the Office of Historic Alexan- nine people at a Bible study dria, said the idea for the Ap- meeting at a historic black pomattox statue came from Ed- church in Charleston, S.C. last gar Warfield, the last surviving Shots fired calls in month has caused an ground- member of the group, in 1885. swell in discussions about the “After the war, he came back prominence of the Confed- to Alexandria and became a Alexandria down erate flag across the South.
    [Show full text]
  • The Serpent of Lust in the Southern Garden: the Theme of Miscegenation in Cable, Twain, Faulkner and Warren
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1973 The eS rpent of Lust in the Southern Garden: the Theme of Miscegenation in Cable, Twain, Faulkner and Warren. William Bedford Clark Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Clark, William Bedford, "The eS rpent of Lust in the Southern Garden: the Theme of Miscegenation in Cable, Twain, Faulkner and Warren." (1973). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 2451. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2451 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image.
    [Show full text]
  • View / Download 5.1 Mb
    Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in Nineteenth-Century America by Ashley Rose Young Department of History Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Laura Edwards, Supervisor ___________________________ Priscilla Wald ___________________________ Laurent Dubois ___________________________ Adriane Lentz-Smith Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 i v ABSTRACT Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in Nineteenth-Century America by Ashley Rose Young Department of History Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Laura Edwards, Supervisor ___________________________ Priscilla Wald ___________________________ Laurent Dubois ___________________________ Adriane Lentz-Smith An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 Copyright by Ashley Rose Young 2017 Abstract “Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in Nineteenth-Century America” examines how daily practices of food production and distribution shaped the development of New Orleans’ public culture in the long nineteenth century, from the colonial era through the mid-twentieth century. During this period, New Orleans’ vendors labored in the streets of diverse neighborhoods where they did more than sell a vital commodity. As “Nourishing Networks” demonstrates, the food economy provided the disenfranchised—people of color, women, and recent migrants—a means to connect themselves to the public culture of the city, despite legal prohibitions intended to keep them on the margins. Those who were legally marginalized exercised considerable influence over the city’s public culture, shaping both economic and social interactions among urban residents in the public sphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Download HB149 Alabama 2021 Session
    1 HB149 2 207606-2 3 By Representative Hatcher 4 RFD: State Government 5 First Read: 02-FEB-21 6 PFD: 01/26/2021 Page 0 1 207606-2:n:08/25/2020:LK/bm LSA2020-1478 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SYNOPSIS: This bill would designate the nineteenth day 9 of each June as the state holiday of Juneteenth and 10 would require the Governor to issue an annual 11 proclamation honoring this observance. 12 This bill would allow each county and 13 municipality to elect to observe Juneteenth as a 14 holiday. 15 16 A BILL 17 TO BE ENTITLED 18 AN ACT 19 20 Relating to state holidays; to amend Section 1-3-8, 21 Code of Alabama 1975, to designate the nineteenth day of each 22 June as Juneteenth and to include it within the list of 23 holidays observed by the state; to require the Governor to 24 annually issue a proclamation honoring the observance of 25 Juneteenth; and to allow each county and municipality to elect 26 to observe Juneteenth as a holiday. 27 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Page 1 1 Section 1. The Legislature finds and declares the 2 following: 3 (1) On June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon 4 Granger announced federal orders in Galveston, Texas, 5 proclaiming that all slaves in Texas were free from embondaged 6 servitude. 7 (2) President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation 8 Proclamation had officially outlawed slavery in all states in 9 rebellion almost two and a half years earlier, but due to 10 geography, the ongoing conflict, and the technology of the 11 day, news of emancipation had not yet reached Texas by June of 12 1865.
    [Show full text]
  • Degas in New Orleans: Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable'
    H-Urban Long on Benfey, 'Degas in New Orleans: Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable' Review published on Friday, January 1, 1999 Christopher Benfey. Degas in New Orleans: Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. xii + 294 pp. $27.50 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-679-43562-4. Reviewed by Alecia P. Long (Louisiana State Museum) Published on H-Urban (January, 1999) As one might surmise from the main title, Christopher Benfey's ostensible subject inDegas in New Orleans is the painter Edgard Degas and the time he spent visiting the city and his relatives during his only American sojourn. From October of 1872 through March of 1873 Degas lived with and began paintings of many of his Louisiana relations. But one needs carefully to consider Benfey's subtitle, Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable in order to have even an inkling of what Benfey, who teaches American literature at Mount Holyoke, is up to in this engaging, thought-provoking, but sometimes frustrating book. Benfey contends that the period of Degas' visit was also a "key moment in the cultural history of this most exotic of American cities "and notes that New Orleans subjects inspired Degas at the very same time Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable "were beginning to mine the resources of New Orleans" for their literary creations. One of Benfey's central research questions is "[w]hat was it about this war-torn, diverse, and conflicted city that elicited from Degas some his finest works (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Civil War and Reconstruction 1861-18
    Civil War and Reconstruction pre-1861-77 Timeline Key Terms and Concepts 1850 Clay’s Compromise makes California a free state and Abolition The act of granting freedom to all slaves. introduces the Fugitive Slave Act. Black Codes A set of racist laws passed temporarily in southern states 1851 Harriet Beecher-Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin. after the Civil War. 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act allows these two states to decide for Confederacy The Confederate States of America formed in 1861 from themselves if they have slavery. the southern states that seceded from the Union. 1857 Dred Scott case in Supreme Court establishes slaves as Conscription Act Passed in July 1863 leading to anti-African American property who could be taken anywhere is the USA. rioting in New York. 1859 Abolitionist John Brown launches a raid on Harper’s Ferry to Freedmen’s spark a slave revolt. Bureau A government organisation formed in 1865 to support freed Black slaves build a new life. 1860 Abraham Lincoln becomes President of the USA. Klu Klux Klan Violent racist group formed to terrorise Black Americans. 1860 South Carolina secedes from the Union, Reconstruction The project by Northern politicians to create a new more 1861 Six more states secede from the Union and create the Republican Party equal South and protect the rights of freed slaves. Confederacy. Political party formed in 1854 as a response to the 1862 Lincoln passes a Contraband Law which states that if slaves Kansas-Nebraska Act to support the free-soil movement. are property Union armies can seize them to work for the army.
    [Show full text]
  • USA - the United States of America
    Sydney (+61 2) 8825 9300 Melbourne (+61 3) 9799 5800 Brisbane (+61 7) 3348 2500 www.ossworldwidemovers.com USA - The United States of America Everyone has an opinion on the USA. A main player on the world stage, the United States is constantly under the global media spotlight. Whatever your stance, you cannot deny that this North American nation has a lot to offer in terms of diversity; from the creaking depths of the Grand Canyon to the towering heights of Manhattan’s Empire State Building, the luscious tropical forests of Hawaii to the chiselled faces of Mount Rushmore, all fifty states are scattered with gasp-worthy natural wonders and impressive man-made marvels. The unrivalled entertainment capital of the world, the USA is bursting with theme parks, sports venues, and theatres. The turquoise waves of surf capital California and ski resorts of the snow-cloaked Rocky Mountains in Colorado provide ample excuses for adrenalin junkies to explore, whilst the palm-lined beaches of laid-back Miami and sweeping pastures of the Oklahoma prairies offer true relaxation. “Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.” The beloved patriotic song “America the Beautiful” hints at some of the country’s diverse, majestic landscape, which is certainly one of many reasons to visit the US but there are so many others. From its vast plains, snow-covered mountains, deep forests and strange rock formations, to soaring skyscrapers and a thunderous cultural scene, the USA is a collage of extremes. Nothing can prepare you for your first glimpse of Manhattan’s unforgettable skyline, your first ride in a yellow cab, the ubiquitous hamburger joints, yawning expanses of prairie, the sweet strains of New Orleans jazz, or the neon-lit excesses of Las Vegas.
    [Show full text]
  • WPS Handbook 2013-14
    POSTGRADUATE MODULE HANDBOOK Department of Politics, Birkbeck, University of London WAR, POLITICS AND SOCIETY Dr Antoine Bousquet [email protected] Introduction Module Aims and Objectives War, Politics and Society aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of the role of war in the modern world. Drawing on a wide range of social sciences and historiographical sources, its focus will be on the complex interplay between national, international and global political and social relations and the theories and practices of warfare since the inception of the modern era and the ‘military revolution’ of the sixteenth century. The module will notably examine the role of war in the emergence and development of the nation-state, the industrialisation and modernisation of societies and their uses of science and technology, changing cultural attitudes to the use of armed force and martial values, and the shaping of historical consciousness and collective memory. Among the contemporary issues addressed are the ‘war on terror’, weapons of mass destruction, genocide, humanitarian intervention, and war in the global South. Students completing the module will: • be able to evaluate and critically apply the central literatures, concepts, theories and methods used in the study of the relations between war, politics and society; • demonstrate balanced, substantive knowledge of the central debates within war studies; • be capable of historically informed, critical analysis of current political and strategic debates concerning the use of armed force; • be able to obtain and analyse relevant information on armed forces and armed conflict from a wide array of governmental, non-governmental, military and media sources; • have developed transferable skills, including critical evaluation, analytical investigation, written and oral presentation and communication.
    [Show full text]
  • 8Th Grade Optional Summer Reading Book List
    2021-2022 Optional Expanded Summer Reading List Trafton Academy Incoming Eighth Grade Read as many books as possible from the list below during the summer. Allende, Isabel. City of the Beasts. Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold leaves his home and family to join his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter, on an epic voyage with magical realism to a dangerous, remote part of the Amazon. Avi. Nothing but the Truth: a Documentary Novel. A ninth-grader's suspension for singing "The Star Spangled Banner" during homeroom becomes a national news story. Newberry Honor book. Barron, T.A. The Lost Years of Merlin. A young boy who has neither identity nor memory of his past washes ashore on the coast of Wales and finds his true name after a series of fantastic adventures. Bauer, Joan. Stand Tall. Tree, a six-foot-three-inch-twelve-year-old, copes with his parents' recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl at school. Beatty, Patricia. Charley Skedaddle. During the Civil War, a twelve-year-old Bowery Boy from New York City joins the Union Army as a drummer, deserts during a battle in Virginia, and encounters a hostile old mountain woman. Bradley, James. Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima (abridged). In February 1945, American marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima and into history. The son of one of the flag raisers has written a powerful account of six very different men who came together in the heroic battle for the Pacific's most crucial island.
    [Show full text]
  • The Principal Actors in the Drama of Reconstruction Were President Abraham Lincoln, Radical Republicans Sen
    LINCOLN SUMNER STEVENS w JOHNSON w GRANT HAYES The principal actors in the drama of Reconstruction were President Abraham Lincoln, Radical Republicans Sen. Charles Sumner of Massa- chusetts and Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, President Andrew Johnson, and President Rutherford B. Hayes, elected in 1876. Reconstruction The Reconstruction era after the Civil War has been called "the bloody battleground of American historians1'-so fierce have been the scholarly arguments over the missed opportunities fol- lowing black emancipation, the readmission of Southern states to the Union, and other critical developments of the 1865-1877 period. The successes and failures of Reconstruction retain a special relevance to the civil rights issues of the present day. Here, three noted historians offer their interpretations: Armstead L. Robinson reviews the politics of Reconstruction; James L. Roark analyzes the postwar Southern plantation econ- omy; and James M. McPherson compares the first and second Reconstructions. THE POLITICS OF RECONSTRUCTION by Armstead L. Robinson The first Reconstruction was one of the most critical and turbulent episodes in the American experience. Few periods in the nation's history have produced greater controversy or left a greater legacy of unresolved social issues to afflict future gener- ations. The postwar period-from General Robert E. Lee's surren- der at Appomattox in April 1865 through President Rutherford B. Hayes's inauguration in March 1877-was marked by bitter partisan politics. In essence, the recurring question was how the @ 1978 by Armstead L. Robinson The Wilson QuarterlyISpring 1978 107 RECONSTRUCTION Northern states would follow up their hardwon victory in the Civil War.
    [Show full text]