Description
A ground-breaking, expansive new account of Reconstruction that fundamentally alters our view of this formative period in American history
We are told that the present moment bears a strong resemblance to Reconstruction, when freed-people and the federal government attempted to create an interracial democracy in the south after the American Civil War. That effort was overthrown and serves as a warning today about violent backlash to the mere idea of black equality. In The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic, acclaimed historian Manisha Sinha expands our view beyond the usual temporal and spatial bounds of Reconstruction (1865–1877) to explain how the American Civil War, the overthrow of Reconstruction, the conquest of the west, labour conflict in the north, Chinese exclusion, women’s suffrage and the establishment of an overseas American empire were part of the same struggle between the forces of democracy and those of reaction. Highlighting the critical role of black people in redefining American citizenship and governance, Sinha’s book shows that Reconstruction laid the foundation of our democracy.
Reviews
"Sinha not only has taken on this vast subject, but has greatly expanded its definition, both temporally and spatially.... She covers these difficult issues with remarkable skill and clarity." — S. C. Gwynne, The New York Times Book Review
"[A]n ambitious and expansive history of the tumultuous period known as Reconstruction… Sinha captures Reconstruction as a sweeping epic of lofty aspirations and impressive achievement by black Americans and their white allies.... Sinha’s deep familiarity" — Fergus M Bordewich, The Wall Street Journal
"Manisha Sinha’s magnificent account of Reconstruction fleshes out and vastly expands what W.E.B. Du Bois dubbed ‘abolition democracy.’ The Second Republic was never merely a southern project but a national struggle with global implications. Reconstruction’s defeat ensured Jim Crow’s ascent as the law of the land and the ideology of colonial expansion. The January 6 insurrection is a consequence of this defeat, which will become crystal-clear to anyone who reads this book." — Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
Ebook
9781631498459
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£30.00
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