Monthly Archives: March 2025
The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic
We normally date Reconstruction from the end of the Civil War to 1877. In The Reconstruction Presidents, Professor Brooks Simpson begins his study at Abraham Lincoln’s 10% Plan. In this book, noting there were proposals to reconstruct the Union even before secession, Professor Manisha Sinha posits a “long Reconstruction” lasting from 1860 all the way […]
Last Seen – The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families
In this video, Professor Judith Giesberg discusses her latest book, Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families. The video’s description reads, “History professor Judith Giesberg spoke about the archival materials that capture the search of formerly enslaved people to find family members stolen during slavery. Harvard Book Store […]
Burying the Dead But Not the Past
This terrific book by Professor Caroline Janney traces the history of the Ladies’ Memorial Associations in the South after the Civil War. She writes, “Contrary to contemporary understandings, between 1865 and 1915 white southerners frequently hailed the critical role Ladies’ Memorial Associations (LMAS) had played in crafting the traditions that honored the Confederate cause and […]
Thaddeus Stevens and the Power of the Purse
I came across this article on Thaddeus Stevens by Professor Cecily Zander. “Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film Lincoln might well have been called Stevens, after its alternate protagonist: the irascible chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Thaddeus Stevens. As played by Tommy Lee Jones, Stevens appears to viewers as a surly congressional stalwart, whose principal role in […]
‘Last Seen’: After slavery, family members placed ads looking for loved ones
This article is based on a discussion with Professor Judith Giesberg on her new book, Last Seen. “In 2017, historian Judith Giesberg and her team of graduate student researchers launched a website called Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery. It now contains over 4,500 ads placed in newspapers by formerly enslaved people who hoped to find […]
Rethinking Reconstruction: Kate Masur on “Freedom Was in Sight”
This article contains an interview with Professor Kate Masur on her new book, Freedom Was In Sight: A Graphic History of Reconstruction in the Washington, D. C. Area. [Begin Quote]Jessica Rucker (JR): I’ve recently been reading a lot about the ideas and activities of Black freedom and liberation seekers in the United States, and I’m […]
Student of the American Civil War 
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