C-SPAN has done a great job focusing on Reconstruction over the past few years. Many of these talks have already been posted at the Civil War Memory Facebook page, but I thought it would be helpful to feature them in one place. This is not an exhaustive list, but it does reflect the scope of what has been covered thus far. Enjoy.
Talks and Panel Discussions
- Panel Discussion on the 150th Anniversary of Reconstruction [Harold Holzer, Edna G. Medford, Eric Foner and David Blight]
- Emmanuel Dabney on the Freedmen’s Bureau
- Eric Foner and Richard Brookhiser on the Politics of Reconstruction
- Edna G. Medford on Freed Slaves after the Civil War
- Gregory Downs on the Consequences of the Civil War
- Panel Discussion on Reconstruction in Tennessee
- Heather Cox Richardson on Cowboys After the Civil War
- Carole Emberton on Freedmen, Poverty and Reconstruction
Classroom Lectures in History
- Stephen West on Freedom after the Civil War
- Paul C. Anderson on South Carolina During Reconstruction
- Susanna Lee on Citizenship During Reconstruction
- Charles Calhoun on the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
- Melvin Ely on Reconstruction and Civil Rights Eras
- Michael Ross on Reconstruction and the 14th Amendment
- Gregory Downs on the Reconstruction Era
I watched the Cowboys one first (of course). Very enjoyable. I was a bit surprised that the first Texan trail cowboys were former Confederate soldiers and former slaves who just got on with the job – was there no skill to being a cowboy, then? I’d have expected they’d need to hire some experienced Mexican vaqueros.
A point she didn’t mention with Civil War relevance; I believe Kansas was largely settled by Union veterans who rather objected to the Texas cowboys driving their tick-infested cattle through the country.
You may want to check out Richardson’s book, West From Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America After the Civil War, which explores most of the themes in that talk in great detail. Excellent book.
Kevin, Thanks for this. Guess I need to watch some of these before CWI.
Great idea, Mike. Looking forward to catching up.