Tag Archives: Reconstruction

Reconstruction Revisited

This book is, for the most part, unknown, even among history buffs, as I am.  (I actually stumbled upon it more than 30 years ago. Someone had placed it among the trash!)  This book though covers one of the most … Continue reading

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A Brief History of the Hayes-Tilden Compromise

In order to understand the pathology of memorializing treasonous Confederates, look to the Hayes-Tilden Compromise (1876-77), which in effect ended the Reconstruction years (1865-1877), when Black people made tremendous strides, politically, economically, and socially, a mere 12 years after 246 … Continue reading

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A Comparison of New York State Laws and Regulations and Slave Codes

In the mid-1980s, while doing research on an essay, which I would entitle, “From the Plantation to the Penitentiary,” I came across something startling.  I had already seen the connection between slavery and imprisonment, from the very beginning of the … Continue reading

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On this Day in American history – June 19, 1865 — Juneteenth (From the Equal Justice Initiative)

Although President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved Black people in Confederate territories free, these locations were under Confederate control, which rejected the freedom of enslaved people on plantations throughout the South. The Proclamation did little to emancipate enslaved … Continue reading

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On this Day in American history, September 14, 1874 — White Supremacist Militia Overthrows Louisiana’s Elected, Integrated State Government

In 1872, William Pitt Kellogg, a supporter of Reconstruction, was elected governor of Louisiana, largely on the strength of his support among African-American voters. That same year, Caesar Carpenter Antoine, an African American man, was elected lieutenant governor. The electoral … Continue reading

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On this Day in American history, September 7, 1976 — First Black Person Elected to Statewide Office in the South Since Reconstruction

On September 7, 1976, Joseph Woodrow Hatchett was elected to a seat on the Florida Supreme Court, becoming the first black person elected to any statewide office in the South since the end of Reconstruction nearly a century before. A … Continue reading

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On this day in history, May 11, 1868 –Convict Leasing Begins in Georgia

After the Civil War, Georgia and other Southern states faced economic uncertainty. Dependent on enslaved black labor that was no longer available after emancipation and ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, Southern economies struggled to find a new solution. For many, … Continue reading

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On this day in history, May 7, 1955 — Rev. George Lee Fatally Shot After Attempting to Register to Vote in Belzoni, Mississippi

Reverend George Lee, co-founder of Belzoni, Mississippi’s NAACP chapter and the first African American to register to vote in Humphreys County since Reconstruction, is considered one of the first martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement. Rev. Lee first moved to … Continue reading

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This day in History — April 1, 1875 — United States Supreme Court Hears Argument in United States v. Cruikshank and Later Invalidates Convictions for Participating in Colfax, Louisiana Massacre

On April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, hundreds of white men clashed with freedmen at the Grant Parish courthouse. While only three white men died, it is estimated that nearly 150 black people died in the ensuing struggle – many … Continue reading

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Excerpt from my book, “Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembering Things Past and Present”

From George Washington to George Bush. From the birth of a nation to a kinder, gentler nation. From Thomas Jefferson to William Jefferson Clinton. From Democratic Republicanism to the New Democrats. From honest Abe to tricky Dick to Slick Willie. … Continue reading

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