Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South by Michael W. Fit

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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 ...

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

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.

Author Biography

Michael W. Fitzgerald teaches American history at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he lives. He is the author of prizewinning articles on aspects of Reconstruction and in two other books has written on the politics of emancipation and of agricultural change in the post—Civil War period.

Review

A useful introduction to the dramatic and bloody tragedy of Reconstruction. -- Christopher Waldrep, author of Jury DiscriminationFitzgerald . . . has pulled off the enormously difficult task of writing a short, clear, analytically distinctive history of Reconstruction. -- Thomas Pegram, author of Battling Demon RumEngagingly written . . . can be read with profit by students, general readers, and specialists. -- John C. Rodrigue, author of Reconstruction in the Cane FieldsHumane, temperate, and succinct . . . Splendid Failure may be the best short introduction to Southern Reconstruction we're likely to get. -- Mark Wahlgren Summers, author of The Era of Good StealingsAn engaging and crisply-written overview. . . . Sure to become a fixture in college classrooms and on scholars' shelves. -- Susan O'Donovan, author of Becoming Free in the Cotton SouthFitzgerald offers a solid understanding of the intricacy of social relationships . . . dense, thoughtful reconsideration of these turbulent events and their results. * Foreword Reviews *The author excels. . . . The bibliographic essay also provides an invaluable service in its discussion of the massive literature on the era. The work is well written and will serve as an excellent supplement to any collection on Reconstruction. . . . Highly Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE *Excellent survey . . . offers depth and detail especially suitable for classroom debate and discussion. . . . Recommended for any college-level collection. * Midwest Book Review *Eminently readable analysis. . . . Concern with . . . the possibility of establishing democracy amid postwar violence make[s] the book especially timely. * Virginia Quarterly Review *Reading Splendid Failure was splendid. The prose is quick, at times witty, and always readable. It reminded me of why I not only love to research in the period, but teach it as well. * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *Splendid Failure pulls the last two decades of Reconstruction scholarship into an effective single volume on the subject. . . . Fitzgerald has produced a readable and concise volume that will work effectively in an undergraduate classroom and sit comfortable on a lay reader's bookshelf. * The Alabama Review *

Long Description

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.

Review Quote

The author excels....The bibliographic essay also provides an invaluable service in its discussion of the massive literature on the era. The work is well written and will serve as an excellent supplement to any collection on Reconstruction....Highly Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

Details ISBN1566637392 Author Michael W. Fitzgerald Short Title SPLENDID FAILURE Language English ISBN-10 1566637392 ISBN-13 9781566637398 Media Book Format Paperback Year 2008 Imprint Ivan R Dee, Inc Subtitle Postwar Reconstruction in the American South Place of Publication Chicago Country of Publication United States Birth 1956 Illustrations black & white illustrations Pages 256 DOI 10.1604/9781566637398 AU Release Date 2008-06-19 NZ Release Date 2008-06-19 UK Release Date 2008-08-19 Publisher Ivan R Dee, Inc Series American Ways Alternative 9781566637343 DEWEY 976.04 Audience General Publication Date 2008-06-19 US Release Date 2008-06-19 We've got this

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