The Failed Promise

Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

24 September 2021

Description

The absorbing narrative of Frederick Douglass’s heated struggle with President Andrew Johnson reveals a new perspective on Reconstruction’s demise.

When Andrew Johnson rose to the presidency after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, African Americans were optimistic that Johnson would pursue aggressive federal policies for Black equality. Just a year earlier, Johnson had cast himself as a “Moses” for the Black community. Frederick Douglass, the country’s most influential Black leader, increasingly doubted the president was sincere in supporting Black citizenship. In a dramatic meeting between Johnson and a Black delegation at the White House, the president and Douglass came to verbal blows over the fate of Reconstruction. Their animosity only grew as Johnson sought to undermine Reconstruction and conciliate leaders of the former Confederate states. Robert S. Levine grippingly recounts the conflicts that led to Johnson’s impeachment from the perspective of Douglass and the wider Black community. In counterpointing the lives and careers of Douglass and Johnson, Levine offers a fresh vision of the lost promise and dire failure of Reconstruction.

Reviews

"In this engrossing new book, Robert S. Levine has penned a nuanced and detailed study of the ‘hopes and frustrations of Reconstruction’ during Andrew Johnson’s presidency. While focusing on the relationship between Johnson and Frederick Douglass, the author also includes the views of numerous African American writers who witnessed Johnson’s transformation from self-styled ‘Moses to Black People’ to betrayer of Reconstruction. The Failed Promise is a lesson for our times as we continue to confront our nation’s unfulfilled promise of racial equality." — Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

"An engrossing account... Levine poignantly captures a moment when the future of the United States was up for grab... In so doing, the author suggests the tragic consequences of failure and the way in which those consequences are still very much with us." — Randall Fuller, The Wall Street Journal

Also By: Robert S. Levine View all by author...

  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Pre-1865

    Robert S. Levine, Sandra M. Gustafson

    Tenth Edition, Paperback, 2022

    A diverse collection with innovative resources to tackle today’s teaching challenges.
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature

    Robert S. Levine, Sandra M. Gustafson

    Shorter Tenth Edition, Volume 1, Paperback, 2022

    A diverse collection with innovative resources to tackle today’s teaching challenges.
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature

    Robert S. Levine, Michael A. Elliott, Lisa Siraganian, Amy Hungerford, GerShun Avilez

    Shorter Tenth Edition, Volume 2, Paperback, 2022

    A diverse collection with innovative resources to tackle today’s teaching challenges.
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature

    Robert S. Levine, Sandra M. Gustafson, Michael A. Elliott, Lisa Siraganian, Amy Hungerford, GerShun Avilez

    Shorter Tenth Edition, Combined Volume, Paperback, 2022

    A diverse collection with innovative resources to tackle today’s teaching challenges.
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature

    Robert S. Levine, Lisa Siraganian

    Tenth Volume, Volume D, Paperback, 2022

    A diverse collection with innovative resources to tackle today’s teaching challenges.

Hardback

9781324004752

163 x 239 mm • 336 pages

£20.99

Add to Basket

Ebook

9781324004769

Powered by Glassboxx

£11.99

Add to Basket