They settled down and probably organized a local unit of the union club, a philadelphiabased prounion prolink and policy organization. They then began to register other freedmen to vote. By mid1867 and local clients been decided that enough of this and the clan decided to going to intimidate these two men, and the blacks by hooding up and writing for the black part of town and kind of showing them who was in charge. Thomas and brooks were veterans. They fought in the war they had not won in battle and they were not going to run now. Like a lot of former soldiers they were mustered out with their guns. They organize the local townspeople and they hunkered down behind windows, in barrels, and watering troughs and the 15 klansmen come riding through town, they just opened fire. And for the vigilantes, a scattered leaving behind this kind of pile of goods and roads and guns in the middle of the street. To go out and clacks the guns and adds them to the arsenal. There are two points to destroy. This formed the narrative of my book. U. S. Army had been for these men their home, their school, their political club, steppingstone into political office. Of the 1500, who serve in local state, National Offices during this period. At least 130 had been in the military. 41 veterans helped to write the new state constitution in the american south. 64 became state assemblyman. Three veterans became Lieutenant Governor and military service opened the door for for u. S. Congressman and one u. S. Senator. But sadly, is one of the points of this book is we need to recognize and empathize this kind of local black activism special on the part of veterans, we should also understand what white vigilantes learned from things like the debacle. The danger this kind of group activism is, first of all locks will fight back, veterans will fight back. The second is if they kill enough, black activists all at once, that gets the attention of journalists and editors in washington, d. C. , in new york, and earned the ire of president grant. Vigilantes learned it was far safer to go after black activists one by one, and eliminate them in small groups. Didnt need roads and hoops. You needed three guys and guns and without somebodys house early in the morning when they come out. So violate 68, texas whites had targeted a brooks and thomas for assassination and quietly picked both of them off. For Many Americans can reconstruction i think is remembered badly. The popular imagination, its the time of racial anarchy and republicans washington tried to punish the defeated south, a time when carpetbaggers and their nonletter, an educated black allies southern governments into a joke and a force. I should say in the name of full disclosure my ancestors were North Carolina and tennessee confederates, slaveholders. Like all the stories i read my online posting reviews. And my last book one person said of course hes a yankee. Ive lived for 27 years now in new york but i was born and raised in arizona and my people, as my grandma with doctors the, lived in the south. So we say without, the point is to stress we remember reconstruction the way we remember the lawyers, without apology and with clarity and with understanding of who was right and who was wrong. The four major points of what to make briefly, first, the reconstruction era was revolutionary in the best sense of the word. Second, it was a National Crusade. It was not simply something dealing with the south. Black activists understood the entire nation required reformation. Third, it did not end in 1877. Historians, every text that says 77 it stops and, of course, it doesnt. This book stretches in 1961. Finally, he didnt fail. If it ended, and it didnt end everyplace, but if it ended its not because the policies were wrongheaded and it failed. Its because it was killed. It was murdered like brooks and thomas. These were systematically targeted for removal and assassination, and one by one disappeared in the dead of night. The book begins not with the end of the war but begins in agencies for which to interconnected groups. The first are the black soldiers were sai sent to fight for the t to serve the country. Not until january of 1863 our blacks allowed to serve in u. S. Military. The second interconnected group of black activists from the south but at this point living in the north and they have sons and brothers who are serving in the armed forces. They understood they didnt the entire country had to be reconstructed from the ground up and their job was to lobby president lincoln and socalled radical republicans in congress and get the most progressive whites in washington who by their standards were not all that progressive behind their agenda. So in october of 1864, it began oddly enough where i now live in syracuse, new york. In that month, 150 delegates representing 17 states and washington, d. C. Met any convention in the citys methodist church. It is by the way still there if you go to syracuse today. Its a Mexican Restaurant called the nation. Its okay. The decor is better than anything else but the food, it would go under todays if it was in arizona but it is still there. There have been black activists in the Convention Movement before the war. Abolitionist would meet, they would push hard for antislavery, but with the dred scott decision 1857, the movements and the guy. Black americans became defeated. It became clear they had no future in this country. Even federal douglas, began to tour the idea of possibly relocating to haiti. The ideas to jumpstart this movement so they meet in october of 64 and in syracuse. A man named logan, a runaway tennessee slave. There also was a longtime abolitionist henry garnet. There is future virginia congressman john langston, and a young philadelphia activist. I talk about him in a few minutes. Issued their agenda items to the call for a full Voting Rights for africanamericans across the north and, of course, black people old inuit of whether were not many black voters anyway. They debated the right for black soldiers to get equal pay, they were not at this point being paid the same amount. They called for the right of black soldiers in putting people like Lewis Douglas to be able to rise in rank and become commissioned officers which can at this point there were not about to do. And, finally, they announced as the last agenda item to call for more conventions and to deputize people who were there in syracuse and so you go here, you go here, and destroy these of the conventions and to keep the ball rolling in to keep the agenda moving. So in march of 65 they meet in another convention in albany, new york, and then, of course, the following month the war ends and the Convention Movement moves south. On may 9, 1865, just weeks after robert lee surrenders at appomattox, black virginians meet at a carpenters house in richmond. Start their pushing for black rights. Henry allen predicted something and goes all the way down to convention in norfolk, virginia. They then hold conventions in new orleans, in nashville across the river here in alexandria, virginia, in mobile, alabama, and again this is a National Movement in faraway sacramento. Every convention began with a speech praising the no martyred Abraham Lincoln, but if these activists admired lincoln, they werent so sure about his party. In most books on reconstruction, sort of the big story, big narrative is a snap between the socalled moderate lincoln and the more radical progressives like cat stevens, 1863, the radicals in Congress Passed a bill called the way davisville supposed to be the progressive reconstruction response to lincoln. Lincoln pocket because it. It doesnt mention black Voting Rights to the 1866 in response to rising tide of white violence, the radicals in Congress Passed the Civil Rights Act. And it doesnt mention black Voting Rights. So what im talking about in this book is people from outside pushing even those socalled radical republicans in the halls of congress. To kind of get on board with their agenda. They finally get it in the reconstruction acts of march 67, which contained only to the south. Finally, as of that moment, blacks in the south can vote and run for office. I mentioned ago that this was a movement that was radical in the best sense of the word. Look how fast this happens. March of 67, the Supreme Court announces the blacks, even if they are born free, like Lewis Douglas was born in new bedford, cannot be citizens of the United States because the Founding Fathers did not intend for them to be. Just 10 years down the road. Now blacks are voting in virginia. Alabama, thanks to the reconstruction act, and, of course, in december 1860 when they hear about lincoln elections, South Carolina secede from the union. There are two states that have a black majority, South Carolina and mississippi. South carolina, 1860, its fitting that 10 years to the day South Carolina sends africanamericans to the national congress. This is joseph rainey, a former slave who served nine years, leaves office in 1879. Born a slave. He was of mixed race. His father was white. His father was not his master so his father bought him before the war, freed him. So when the war ends, he helps to write the state constitution and South Carolina. Runs for local office and finally runs the National Office and continued after the war begins, he is representing the state of john c. Calhoun in the nations capital. That same year on the first center of color, hiram revels. From mississippi. He was born free. It never been a slave. Is born free in a collaborative of the south, gone to college, educate as a minister. He becomes a chaplain during the war. Is also a veteran. He takes the seat formerly occupied by the previous vendor from mississippi, jefferson davis. Davis had quit his seat in the spring of 61 with South Carolina secede. And for 10 years the seat was empty. Eichin, this is just astonishing how best how fast this happens. When we discuss how revolution is air was we need to also note its impact on the north. Black activist understood this was a National Crusade for the soul, of america. This is not about fixing South Carolina or mississippi. It was not fixing the north and, of course, new york. Until the 14th amendment, 1867, the dred scott decision, it doesnt matter, the decision is still there. So when these guys meet in syracuse, they have been ruled by the highest court in the land thats not citizens of this country. Which is what people like Frederick Douglass wanted so much for black americans to be allowed to serve because once you fight for your country, whites cant stop you. Said douglas once said let a black man did indeed go on his button and no power on earth can tell them he is not a citizen of the United States. Because douglas was a welltodo publisher and editor from rochester did vote. Like 80 of black new yorkers could not vote during the civil war. This went back to 1821, new york revise the state constitution are there still was slavery in new york until 1827 to if you are born in 1798, one year before the cutoff date, you are not covered. Finally, new york passes a law 1827 and everybody becomes free. Before they do that the writing a new constitution and he seems to make sense to keep the distinction between whites and black voters to so the removed in 1820 property qualifications for whites, but put one on blacks at 250 in owning property. Douglas can vote, the black shopkeeper in buffalo would not be able to. In 1860, the state puts this as a ballot referendum, do you want to keep this property qualifications or not. Bear in mind, lincoln and carries new york in 1860. So people go to the polls in new york and they vote for lincoln, and then they vote down the referendum eliminating this proclamation for blacks. Than blacks served in the military. 1867, two years after the war is over, again repeal this property qualification. It fails 9033. Its not even close. And, of course, its worth it. In lincoln on the comment in ohio, in stevens pennsylvania come in indiana, in new jersey where zero africanamericans can vote. So its not until the 15th enemy is ratified in 1870 that suddenly blacks are in french as. The north and outside of new england. When i was growing up in arizona, not anyway progressive state, my textbooks in high school talk about how reconstruction was vindictive, designed to punish the defeated south. Lets start with the obvious. Southern is a biracial term. Joseph rainey was a southern. And in no way do they believe that this was designed to punish the south because now Voting Rights were becoming truly democratic. When we tal talk about reconstruction be moving to give competition interesting story. One of the black congressmen and South Carolina is Robert Smalls, born a slave and becomes a war hero. Is master owned ships and so he is an a slave ships pilot, said during the war he steals a confederate ship, sells at a charleston harbor, turned it over to the u. S. Navy and becomes a war hero and then run for state office and helped write the state constitution and finally runs for congress. Is raised in the south. His house is still there. His master dies during the war. Smalls as cache county likes the house and he buys. Is ministers is still alive and shes a little and little body, and one day she walked in the door. So what does he do . He takes her in, he gives her a room free of board, feed her, cares for her for the rest of her life. Now, one story of private compassion is admittedly anecdotal. But when americans today say reconstruction was vindictive, ask them what part of this was indicative. Decent Public Schools, which the south lacked before the war . Voting rights for all mail americans . Integrated streetcars . When i go to the conference in the south or speak in the south, one of the things i like to do is go on tour. And my partner doesnt love me to talk or ask questions. So deep into charleston they have these carriages, someone with a confederate cap, someone with these tours and the guide points towards something she said reconstruction was the least democratic moment in South Carolina history. When the war breaks out, again, the state is 61 black. Its like south africa. Its controlled by a tiny white minority, and all of a sudden its the majority that has the right to vote and run for office. It is, in fact, prior to 196511965 when blacks again can vote and women can vote. The most progressive moment. Not the most the most progressive moment in South Carolina history. In the 1870s, three of the four congressman from South Carolina, people like Robert Smalls and joseph rainey. The people of color. Finally, the status after one has congressional delegation that looks like the rest of the state, that resembles the rest of the state. Some modern critics think that these former slaves were not ready for political rights, not ready for political responsibility. The person i replaced at my Small Liberal Arts College in new york used to tell his civil war class that these people were not read not yet ready for Voting Rights. As one former slaves i quote in the book says, its true i have no book work, he said, but i know justice when i see. Hinault who is on the right side and whos on the wrong side he knows whos on the right side and whos on the wrong side. Its true that when women who served in congress, about half were former slaves. But none were delivered a field and. A typical was john adams time, congressman from North Carolina. He was a towns slate. Counselor for often rented out, hired out by the master. So as a boy little john is rented out by his master to local jeweler. Vigilance to send them on errands around town and get things for business. And the children find it inconvenient that boy cant read. So he starts to teach the boy to read and the master finds out, brings him home and beat him and tells him he will not be reading. The boy in steals a book from his masters library and is trying to read at night. The master cells him to alabama. Piece is sold five times before 25 for the crime of wanting to read. I use this a story to beat my students up with. My students are not always excited about doing all the reading and class and heres a kid who was beaten and repeatedly sold because he wants the written word. Understand that knowledge has been kept from them and in South Carolina it is illegal before the war to teach slaves to read. In those days it was frowned on in South Carolina. In mississippi it was illegal to understand that knowledge is the path to civil rights, the path to prosperity, and all these conventions in the south, they always demand Voting Rights. They are pushing really hard for land distribution but the one thing always at the top of the agenda is the preconference, they want to decent schools for the children. Part because they live in poverty and part they would in South Carolina there were no Public Schools for white or black children before the war. Only to confederate states, texas and louisiana before the war had free Public Education for middleclass and workingclass white kids. So the first thing Robert Smoltz pushes for and helps to write the Southern State constitution is free Public Education and integrated Public Education. And for soviet South Carolina has this integrated Public Schools. For the first time it has decent schools for its children. So why does all this progressive era and . And again it doesnt end everyplace. If you are a young black voter in chicago, Voting Rights never leave. If you are a black barber in syracuse, reconstruction is a success because the 15th amendment is giving you something you cant take away. Theres a lot of things that can be taken away. In 1860, 90 of black americans are nonliterate and quite often by law in the south. 1870 that comes down to 70 . In the 20th century its down to 50 . That is still pretty bad but its same time, white literacy in the south is only 62 . So in half a century, the numbers had just kind of skyrocketed and then certainly by 1900, schools once more in the south become segregated. All across the country including new york, schools and black areas underfunded but thats sort of a gift in the power that cant be taken completely away. And again, and where does end, it doesnt because the policy isnt going to start with but it is because its killed. It is because its murdered. There were a number of big city race riots in 1866, one in memphis, one in new orleans. The famous colfax in louisiana in 1872 on election day. But again, those kinds of atrocities get a lot of attention. They appear in the new papers and the washington papers. White vigilantes, seven democrats discovered it is a lot easier to go after one person, one at a time. Ago after poll workers, registrars, bureau teachers. Wants to add, in a 19th century you dont vote with about the effort to get. Every party has a ticket, they can take it out, like a big bookmark. So 1. 4 guys right up to the house of the black republican in South Carolina who has the tickets and they say the obvious. Give us the tickets or well kill you and rape your wife. A guy hands of the tickets over and the next is election and there literally are no republican ballots, therefore, in the town in South Carolina. White vigilantes come to understand that todays poll workers, is tomorrows status of women and tomorrows status of women is the next congressman of the next years senator. If you go after people before they become famous you can stop progress in its tracks. Theres an assassination of a Southern State of someone getting on a train, three guys shoot bullets into his body and right away. This is brought bailout. Filing by 1901, the last there is black in of North Carolina gives up. Gerrymanders this day. He knows hes going to lose the next election and so congressman white which congress and decides to stay here in washington, d. C. He says one cannot be a man and live in the south, but all the way down to 1901, the you that mckinley dies, there are people of color from the south serving in the u. S. Congress. And not typical in itself, the violence of course is not limited to the south. The young man leading the charge or streetcar integration and philadelphia was Octavius Cato in 1864. He was born free. Daily the south american new jersey. Is raised in philadelphia. Hes a teacher who works at schools, institute of colleges in philadelphia. He taught math, taught english, latin, greek. And one day is walking home and, of course, this is the city of brotherly love. Africanamericans cannot get on the streetcars and he is tired. So like rosa parks, he just gets on the streetcar. He has a coin and the driver tells him to get off and kate oh cato is not going to get off. He takes the horses back to the barn, comes back tomorrow morning and he will become. He comes back and exmoor, ted oasis of either holding his going and entire carriage itself up with black philadelphians. They are holding their coin and theyre ready for the right. And they win. The city backs down and integrates the streetcars. That should have happy endings with incomes election day, 1871. And cato was assassinated by a white democrat on election day in front of hundreds of people. And, of course, the all white jury finds him not guilty. Strange enough, as cato is lying on the sidewalk dying, pulling up next to him is an integrated streetcar. So probably the last thing he sees as is lying there looking up is a streetcar filled with black and white faces looking down at him. So he succeeded when he is paid the ultimate price. Let me summarize this way and then well have time for questions and discussion. The way i think about reconstruction is that its a very long era. 1864 from the Syracuse Convention in 1901 when George Henry White just walks away because he is not enough. What happened here is reminder that history is not a steady march of progress from the bad old days to allegedly better modern times. Americans who are very optimistic creatures like you think that today is better than yesterday and sometimes thats true and sometimes its not. Roberts most certainly would have argued that South Carolina and america was a better place to live in 1875 than it was 20 years before. And he was still a slave in South Carolina. He lived until 1915, ma long enough to see the rise of jim crow in the south the emerging, siberia schools, underfunded schools, and, of course, the loss of Voting Rights for people like himself. Smalls in a lecture to congress once estimated that 53,000, 53,000 people like cato, teachers, black poll workers, registrars were murdered during the years of reconstruction. In some ways what you see in this book is the civil war being continued by other means. And thats a number that americans dont know about and need to hear about. Every american has and should of course you about the battle of gettysburg. The casualties are atrocious. The casualties, killed and wounded, or 51,000. Smalls again argues that 53,000 people died in the worst of reconstruction. They died trying to fulfill the promise Abraham Lincoln made at gettysburg where he said, four score and seven years ago americans made this promise will be a country of liberty and freedom and equality, and for that long, america has failed to achieve the promise. Ito dies trying to make america live up to that promise. Cato guys. Reconstruction was i think americas first truly progressive era, and theres nothing about it to apologize for or be fishing for. It was a great and noble moment. And that was 32 minutes. [applause] spent if you have questions, get to the microphone so the camera speed is rude, these are your questions. Not your speeches. [laughter] document and reconstruction better . If we doubled up troops would have made things better or would it the truth certain wouldve held. One of the things i talk about in the book, the indian wars in the midwest. Every high School Textbook will tell you that during the contested election of 1876, rusted b. Hayes makes a steal to pull troops out of this out and he does, but its a symbolic gesture. 1876, there are 2800 soldiers in the south. I bet theres more costs today in washington, d. C. Then there were soldiers in the entire south. So when he agrees to pull them out, black americans understand its his symbolic way of saying youre on your own. The battle of little bighorn is 76. Every time theres some native american, angloamerican congress and midwest, soldier taken out of South Carolina, alabama and shipped to the midwest. Dont taken were soldiers away if we can have a Fair Election down here with just one patrol. And so suddenly trying to kind of decide where soldiers are going to be in the 70s and 80s is one main issue. The other thing that couldve made it better is for lincoln not to be shot. Not to be sort of cute about that, i do want to get involved in the great mystery and at times just that linking is the only man for the job, but Andrew Johnson is absolutely the worst man for the job. There is i think a clear moment in time, i have a lot of evidence in the book were some of the whites are saying like a one. A series of editorials or a new orleans paper in which they said we fought the good fight. They want to they get to make the rules. Bear in mind of course they were safety 5000 young southern boys dont come marching home. There is this enormous loss of people. Look at columbus after one when the war is over but it looks like berlin in 1945. They are saying they know their defeat. We get to make the new policy and, of course, when johnson as president , makes it very clear early on that the only thing that he will sort of crackdown on is an absolute attempt to reenslave black americans but everything else, segregation, loss of Voting Rights, that he is fine with. It empowers sort of a small reactionary group prone to violence, the klansmen types who dont just silenced white teachers and black activist. They also go after the types who really are willing to kind of turn the page and start anew because they regard them as soft and weak and to go after them. So the other thing is, anybody but Andrew Johnson, things wouldve been quite different. Think about it this way. What makes our reconstruction so much harder than 1945 in japan, or 1945 in germany . And the answer is harry truman digs his heels in and says heres the way its going to be. Were as president johnson is like, this, just go about your business. So johnson, if there is a villain in the book, johnson is it. He is just a terrible president. Something you said kind of peaked my interest. You mentioned briefly that there was some interest in our policy of land redistribution. Can you fill that out a little bit . Did he ever get anywhere and liked what was it means or sort of the structure of that plan . Bear in mind is a lot of areas in the south were early on during the war, whites abandoned the coast of south olympic they abandoned the coast of georgia. That, of course, is one of the first place as u. S. Forces land early on. 63, have taken over the coast of South Carolina. The whites flee inland. So that our giant pockets in the south with her on the whites. There are areas where the soldiers arrived, slaves moved into the plantation big house, divided the land up, and the number of the generals, people like sherman who are not progressive economic and hammered a black rights but, of course, theyre trying to incorporate the last thing you need is a giant entourage of black refugees. So they adopt this policy, they will enlist the young man but they want to keep the women, the old people back on the plantations. So in the spring of 65 as the war is winding down august passes a bill that created the era, and in the linkage of the law, blacks could work the land for years, pay rent and at the end of tw three years have the option of buying that land. And lincoln towards the end of his life uses the term 40 acres and said maybe 40 acres is sort of the way to go. So with a talk about 40 acres and no, theyre not making that up. Sherman, grant, lincoln are using that terminology and again its johnson who begins to pardon southern whites and return not just land the government took the client recently abandoned by southern whites. Contra to buy believe not every southern life becomes a sharecropper. About 30 of southern blacks duty, smalltime farmers by the end of the 19th century. There still is land and, of course, again a lot of whites who owned farmland just dont make it home. So that land now literally is abandoned. There is no air so there is land for the states to parcel out. And begin thats something that a lot of whites, blacks are pushing for. Their view was, they work for decades without compensation and now its time for some payback. There is talk today, not much but there is some talk about reparations for black americans. This is the time to do because these were people who worked for decades without being paid a penny and now their responses, heres a chance to pay it back and we will take land. Ive got stories your were a woman comes out of the house and a guy is busy, a black guy is trying to drag the kitchen away with horses. He says i built the kitchen. Its mine now, as far as hes concerned. He made it and its just. You could make a very compelling argument that the land reform would help to get the south on its feet and get the kind of a level of prosperity because of course the ideas that people actually have a stake in the land, its affairs, they will work harder. The one possible answer to postwar southern poverty is you give people a chance to own a piece of land. We will never know what wouldve happened had lincoln lived but again, in his last speeches he is talking about land. Not wholesale but certainly land that truly has been in and. Thats a great question. How do you explain the its amazing to me, the juxtaposition on the one hand of the sacrifice of so many lives during the civil war, so much treasure with soldiers going in singing, and all the idealism of that. And then the real cynical, were not going to do it anymore, as ive heard you and ive heard other peoples become really seems to be so profound that people were, on one hand, willing to give their lives, then after it was over, the heck with these guys. It was widely known what was happening. Thats a great question and i think the most obvious answer is, again, new york quite a for the most part really indiffere indifferent. So theyre harder willing to go to the mat so blacks can vote in alabama. Part of it is the white south and the hardcore reactionaries who dont give up, they just kind of where the northbound. People get fatigued about this. It sort of ping pong back and forth, the war is over, the north wins. Johnson gives the green light to southern whites so they blow past the black code to be enslaved black americans. With a black code really tried to impose circe controls and the black code, state law, blacks are not allowed to buy land or rent land in urban areas. Making merry, thats about it. They are not allowed to hold weapons, not allowed to run for office. So in response to that, the reconstruction, the south response to that with the claim. Grant response to that, there is a claim act. For a lot of and northerners were trying to get on with her life and there is sort of enormous postwar dislocation in 1873, there such a global depression. The north just gets tired in part because the north was never that dedicated to black equality anyway. A handful of white progressives including carpetbaggers who had been targeted, they are not the majority. You talked about president johnson being a major villain of your book. How would you assess the level of villainy of the Supreme Court in terms of making, striking down civil rights . There is a certain blame to go around, and i guess the kind of heros of the book in one of the few really, really legitimate white progressive voices in washington of courses Charles Sumner who writes a really good Civil Rights Act which is very similar to the 1960s Civil Rights Act. And as he is dying his last words are, passed the act. So when does get passed in 1875 and the Supreme Court mostly staffed by northerners strikes its been. Im not suggesting theres not a lot of blame to go around but i think johnsons crime is theirs is this one them or anybody in washington who said heres the deal, this is the way its going to be and there will not be black codes, you dont have to like your neighbor but were not going to go back. They would have one in the south. Theres a lot of people that want to look back on in history and pecan. Pics on. Spanks what is the role of enforcement act of 1870, the ku klux klan act . Like in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, theres like a legal strategy. To what extent are activists responsible for getting the black activists responsible for getting these laws passed . Do these laws provide resources that are being utilized . Are they like public civil partnerships to advance the cause of . The claim act passed response to the militant organize clan but its a very good law. It allows for grant to crack down declared martial law. He declares it in eight counties in South Carolina. The attorney general who is a southerner who dislikes is elected of democrats getting and where democracy and Voting Rights. They really crack down but the problem is they can crack down on essentially kind of largescale organized groups who are wearing hoods and robes but then again, you dont play that game because they can put you in prison at all that you do is find one guy in the local clan unit, and its all of his buddies and his cousins, but the four guys a ride to someones house in the dead of night and should as if walking out of the door in the morning, those are the ones who are hard to find. So the claim act is really quite good but it is simply good at dealing with very large groups. The response of those large groups is to stop being large groups. And to respond and use individual violence. Its probably i think his take of activism in his first term and, of course, he becomes very minor in scandal in his second term. What i found interesting though is for me the problem with grants stand, and, of course, grant personally is not involved in scandals. Atrocious judgment i and putting people in his cabinet who were there just to take. One can only focus on so much, and so as the grant administrative spending all of his time and energy dealing with scams, he can do with the other problem in the south. Whats interesting though is grant is still fairly young and kind of toys the idea of coming back and forth or terminating 80. One of the ideas the only black senator, activists all over the country, california, virginia, new york are writing to him and saying can you do this, can you do this . Thait all right and saying can u please get grant to run for a third term in 1880 . Which is not sit like activists are with the grant scandals but on the balance scale, white vigilantes and he is the one who have military backgrounds and the ability, the name to kind of crack down on southern democrats. So they want him back. And, of course, that the party doesnt want him back and thats the end of that. But black americans regard grant is a great guy. Another question, please. Were you ever tempted inviting your book and thinking about this to make modern comparisons to contemporary insurgencies in afghanistan and iraq and all the rest . It seems like what youre saying is exactly the blueprint is being followed. I was attempting to put that in writing. I will say that i thought about these kind of hardcore reactionaries, whats the big cheney term . The dead enders. That popped into mind. Thats not meant to be an endorsement of dick cheney. But what i did find familiar and depressing, if youre my age you can recall the activism of the 1950s, 1960s and these fights over integrated schools, these fights over Public Education and these fights over one right. With modern voting suppression laws. Have the fight in one in the 1870s, we would not fight that began in the 1950s. So its kind of a failure of people in power in washington during reconstruction to carry through the agenda being pushed through by the black engineers that make everything as it again with rosa parks and dr. King. Because theyre not allowed to succeed. That is what i found the most, kind of obvious and depressing comparison. I am intrigued by the idea that there were about thats no black activist during the third of the 1860s entities. How can we find more about beside reading your book, about who these individuals were [inaudible] who the individuals were . And my second part, is why are all American History books so awful in the way they presented what happened in reconstruction . I mean, some of the drawings they showed just really, really just horrible as to what was not true obviously. I can understand the southern textbooks. In the south, but all over the country, so thats really, i dont understand that at all. In response to thi your first question their actions are good biographies of people like Robert Smalls it and they are all in the footnotes. They are quite often revise and publish it so that everybody could. They are kind of flying under the radar and they are not well known but if you go on, well, this bookstores website for example, it talks about Robert Smalls and you can find books on people like smoltz and george in a white. Certainly textbooks are Getting Better and certainly College Textbooks are Getting Better in reconstruction. And again, its unfair to pick on the bad textbooks at the 1970s. One does not want to know, i dont in the, with the current textbook in texas because their busy kind of rewriting their own standard. Part of it is popular members and culture. And again the last part of the book deals with things like gone with the wind in which the white south tries to win the argument century cultural. And that is kind of the classic image people have. Theres a scene in gone with the wind where theres a carpetbagger and a black activist city in a carriage, and the actress is dressed like a clown. The carpetbagger is allowed to address with dignity. But i find interesting, my students have never seen gone with the wind but if you asked them what happens in atlanta through all to you, it was burned. Not really. The warehouses were burned and a few houses and, of course, its burned in a movie because theyre burning the concept in southern california. Thats what youre watching burning is king kongs wall. So i think those kinds of things pop up in Popular Culture and they dont go away. Not that long ago those of tnt film about the assassination of lincoln and the final call youre watching is coming in, lincoln dies in those nasty radicals take over but they want to punish the south and this isnt the 1960s. This was maybe 10 years ago made by a Major Television network. I think those ideas are still out there and its our job to kind of combat and. People have gotten a terrible reputation, the carpetbaggers. They are evangelicals, teachers, decent, dedicated people. Any white woman could make 60 a month Teaching School in the north. The bureau paid 15. You get to be brutalized by increase of the democrats. They are not doing that for the money. Theyre doing that because i really believe in changing america. And begin light off and evangelicals and their spirit has told them to go forth and kind fixed the world. If you want to steal money after the war you go work for boss tweed. Asked wed still more money in one day than all carpetbaggers combined to make in the south. Looks like the dark side of the moon when the war is over. The fact these images still remain, are very troubling. Great question, thank you. That will be a. Thank you so much. Thank you. [applause] spent thank you all for coming. There are books for purchase at the front of this or. Fold up your chair, come back and get a book signed. Lineup to my left. [inaudible conversations] you are watching cspan2 with politics and Public Affairs be weekdays between live coverage of the u. S. Centric on weeknights watch key Public Policy depends a good weekend the latest nonfiction authors and books on booktv. You can see past programs and get our schedules at our website and get to join in the conversation on social media sites. Womens history for beginners is the booktv Book Club Selection for the month of february. Go to booktv. Org, youll see right at the top there is a tab that says bookclub and you can purchase abate in our discussiodiscussio n at the booktv. Org. We will be posting video and reviews and articles up there tomorrow. So the discussion will begin tomorrow. Will also be posting on a regular basis discussions, question. Hope you can participate. Bonnie morris is women history for beginners is our