This week has brought some wonderful new resources on Reconstruction. First, check out this panel discussion from last month at the New York Historical Society that included Harold Holzer, Edna Medford, Eric Foner, and David Blight. Those are some heavy hitters.
The latest issue of The Journal of the Civil War Era is devoted to Reconstruction. I will likely read it from cover to cover, but the forum section is available online and accessible.
- The Future of Reconstruction Studies
- Reconstruction in Public History and Memory at the Sesquicentennial
Finally, I want to recommend Sydney Nathan’s new book, A Mind to Stay: White Plantation, Black Homeland (Harvard University Press, 2017). I just started it, but it is incredibly well written as was his last book. This book tells the story of slaves owned by Paul Cameron, who after the Civil War managed to purchase the land of their former owner. The book is framed as a counterpoint to the story of the “Great Migration.” In contrast to the thousands of African Americans, who traveled to northern cities and elsewhere this story explores why former slaves decided to purchase this land and name it after their former owner.
Thanks for the links. Very interesting resources.
Thanks for posting the links. Mark Noll’s essay and Noll’s link to Allen Guelzo’s essay in _The Atlantic_ magazine are both top notch and intellectually provocative.