Radical Reconstruction
A Brief History with DocumentsFirst Edition ©2016
The Reconstruction period following the Civil War was a transformative moment in which political leaders addressed questions concerning the place of the southern states in the postwar nation, the status of formerly enslaved African Americans, and the powers and limitations of the federal government....
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The Reconstruction period following the Civil War was a transformative moment in which political leaders addressed questions concerning the place of the southern states in the postwar nation, the status of formerly enslaved African Americans, and the powers and limitations of the federal government. In this volume K. Stephen Prince explores the important role of the Radical Republicans in pressing for change during this period in a way designed to make the complexities of Reconstruction comprehensible to students. The Introduction introduces the Radical Republicans and details how Reconstruction grew from a complex negotiation among groups with often conflicting agendas. The documents, arranged in thematic and roughly chronological chapters, allow students to sift through the evolution of Radical Reconstruction and its aftermath through speeches, letters, press coverage, legislation, and contemporary illustrations. Document headnotes, a chronology, questions to consider, and a bibliography enrich students’ understanding of Radical Reconstruction.
"This volume is an invaluable guide to the tangled history of Reconstruction, the development of the first civil rights movement in America, and the often inspiring story of a group of politicians who helped usher in a new era of race relations in politics, law, and society."
– Joan Waugh, University of California, Los Angeles"This is a first-rate and very readable documentary overview of Radical Reconstruction that does not lose its undergraduate readers in a sea of details."
– Alan Downs, Georgia Southern University"This book will help students (and teachers) think better about this important and often confusing period."
– Kate Masur, Northwestern University
Table of Contents
ForewordPreface and AcknowledgmentsList of Maps and IllustrationsPART ONEINTRODUCTION: Who Were the Radical Republicans?The Radicals’ ReconstructionAllies and AdversariesWartime ReconstructionAndrew Johnson and the RadicalsThe Fourteenth Amendment and the Election of 1866The Reconstruction Act of 1867The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the Election of Ulysses S. GrantFrom Radicalism to RedemptionThe Legacy of Radical Reconstruction
PART TWOTHE DOCUMENTS1. Wartime Reconstruction and Presidential Reconstruction1. Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 18632. Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, December 8, 18633. Benjamin Wade and Henry Winter Davis, The Wade-Davis Manifesto, July 18644. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 18655. Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, Speech on Racial Equality in the House of Representatives, February 12, 18656. Andrew Johnson, "May Proclamations", May 29, 18657. George Boutwell, Speech on the "True Basis" of Reconstruction, July 4, 18658. Thaddeus Stevens, Speech on Land Redistribution, September 6, 18659. George Julian, Speech on the "Grasp of War" Doctrine, November 17, 186510. Thomas Nast, "Pardon" and "Franchise", August 5, 186511. Northern Voters Reject Black Suffrage, 186512. Mississippi Legislature, Acts Relating to the Freedpeople, 186513. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Letter in Support of Women’s Suffrage, December 26, 18652. Defending Civil Rights14. Andrew Johnson, First Annual Message, December 4, 186515. Charles Sumner, Speech on the "Actual Condition of the Rebel States", December 20, 186516. Benjamin Wade, Speech on the "Great Principle of Eternal Justice", January 18, 186617. Lyman Trumbull, Speech on the Civil Rights Bill, January 29, 186618. Black Delegation to the White House Calls for Civil and Political Rights, February 8, 186619. The Civil Rights Bill, 186620. Andrew Johnson, Veto of the Civil Rights Bill, March 27, 186621. Harper’s Weekly, "Outside of the Galleries of the House of Representatives During the Passage of the Civil Rights Bill", April 28, 186622. A Northern Journalist Describes Racial Violence in Memphis, Tennessee, May 186623. Report of the Joint Select Committee on Reconstruction, June 186624. Thaddeus Stevens, Speech on the Fourteenth Amendment, June 13, 186625. The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 186826. Wendell Phillips, Speech Criticizing the Fourteenth Amendment, October 26, 186627. Resolutions of the North Carolina Freedmen’s Convention, October 18663. Towards African American Suffrage28. Record of Ratification Votes for the Fourteenth Amendment, October 1866-March 186729. Thomas Nast, "King Andy", November 3, 186630. Andrew Johnson, Second Annual Message, December 4, 186631. Frederick Douglass, "Reconstruction", December 186632. Hamilton Ward, Speech on Radical Reconstruction, December 13, 186633. John Broomall, Speech on Black Suffrage, January 8, 186734. James Ashley, Speech on the Southern State Governments, January 26, 186735. George Julian, "Regeneration Before Reconstruction", January 28, 186736. The Reconstruction Act, 186737. A.R. Waud, "The First Vote", November 16, 18674. Impeachment and the Election of Grant38. Charles Sumner and John Sherman, Debate on Land Redistribution, March 11, 186739. James Ashley, Speech on Impeachment, March 7, 186740. George Boutwell, Speech on Impeachment, December 5 and 6, 186741. The Tenure of Office Act, March 2, 186742. Articles of Impeachment Against Andrew Johnson, March 2, 186843. The Senate Votes on Impeachment, May 186844. W. L. Sheppard, "Electioneering at the South", July 25, 186845. Ulysses S. Grant, Acceptance of the 1868 Republican Presidential Nomination, May 186846. The Democratic Party Platform, July 18685. From Radicalism to Redemption47. Henry Wilson and Samuel Pomeroy, Speeches on the Fifteenth Amendment, January 28-29, 186948. The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 187049. Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, Debate on Women’s Suffrage, 186950. Hiram Revels, First Speech as a U.S. Senator, March 16, 187051. Currier and Ives, "The First Colored Senator and Representatives", 187252. Elias Hill, Testimony About a Ku Klux Klan Attack, 187153. "Veni Vidi" Describes the Violence of Redemption in Mississippi, July 187554. Rutherford B. Hayes, Inaugural Address, March 5, 1877
APPENDIXESA Chronology of Radical Reconstruction (1863-1877)Questions for ConsiderationSelected BibliographyIndex
Authors
K. Stephen Prince
K. Stephen Prince (Ph.D, Yale University) is Assistant Professor of History at the University of South Florida, where he specializes in the history of the nineteenth and twentieth century United States with an emphasis on the culture, society, and politics of the U.S. South. He is the author of Stories of the South: Race and the Reconstruction of Southern Identity, 1865-1915, and is currently at work on a book-length study of Robert Charles and the New Orleans race riot of 1900.
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