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The failed promise : Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson / Robert S. Levine.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, 2021Edition: First editionDescription: xxii, 312 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781324004752
  • 1324004754
Other title:
  • Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Subject(s):
Contents:
Prologue: Lincoln's Second Inauguration -- Southern Unionist -- The Mission of the War -- "Abraham Lincoln Dies, the Republic Lives" -- "There Is No Such Thing as Reconstruction" -- A Moses in the White House -- The Black Delegation Visits a Moses of Their People -- The President's Riots -- Shadowing Johnson, Defying the Loyalists -- Sources of Danger to the Republic -- A Job Offer -- The Trials of Impeachment -- "Demented Moses of Tennessee" -- Epilogue: "We Have a Fight on Our Hands".
Summary: "The absorbing narrative of Frederick Douglass's heated struggle with President Andrew Johnson reveals a new perspective on Reconstruction's demise. When Andrew Johnson rose to the presidency after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, African Americans were optimistic that Johnson would pursue aggressive federal policies for Black equality. Just a year earlier, Johnson had cast himself as a "Moses" for the Black community. Frederick Douglass, the country's most influential Black leader, increasingly doubted the president was sincere in supporting Black citizenship. In a dramatic meeting between Johnson and a Black delegation at the White House, the president and Douglass came to verbal blows over the fate of Reconstruction. Their animosity only grew as Johnson sought to undermine Reconstruction and conciliate leaders of the former Confederate states. Robert S. Levine grippingly recounts the conflicts that led to Johnson's impeachment from the perspective of Douglass and the wider Black community. In counterpointing the lives and careers of Douglass and Johnson, Levine offers a fresh vision of the lost promise and dire failure of Reconstruction"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 973.8 L665 Available 33111009787538
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 973.8 L665 Available 33111010560478
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library NonFiction 973.8 L665 Available 33111009832904
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, the country was on the precipice of radical change. Johnson, seemingly more progressive than Lincoln, looked like the ideal person to lead the country. He had already cast himself as a "Moses" for the Black community, and African Americans were optimistic that he would pursue aggressive federal policies for Black equality.

Despite this early promise, Frederick Douglass, the country's most influential Black leader, soon grew disillusioned with Johnson's policies and increasingly doubted the president was sincere in supporting Black citizenship. In a dramatic and pivotal meeting between Johnson and a Black delegation at the White House, the president and Douglass came to verbal blows over the course of Reconstruction.

As he lectured across the country, Douglass continued to attack Johnson's policies, while raising questions about the Radical Republicans' hesitancy to grant African Americans the vote. Johnson meanwhile kept his eye on Douglass, eventually making a surprising effort to appoint him to a key position in his administration.

Levine grippingly portrays the conflicts that brought Douglass and the wider Black community to reject Johnson and call for a guilty verdict in his impeachment trial. He brings fresh insight by turning to letters between Douglass and his sons, speeches by Douglass and other major Black figures like Frances E. W. Harper, and articles and letters in the Christian Recorder, the most important African American newspaper of the time. In counterpointing the lives and careers of Douglass and Johnson, Levine offers a distinctive vision of the lost promise and dire failure of Reconstruction, the effects of which still reverberate today.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue: Lincoln's Second Inauguration -- Southern Unionist -- The Mission of the War -- "Abraham Lincoln Dies, the Republic Lives" -- "There Is No Such Thing as Reconstruction" -- A Moses in the White House -- The Black Delegation Visits a Moses of Their People -- The President's Riots -- Shadowing Johnson, Defying the Loyalists -- Sources of Danger to the Republic -- A Job Offer -- The Trials of Impeachment -- "Demented Moses of Tennessee" -- Epilogue: "We Have a Fight on Our Hands".

"The absorbing narrative of Frederick Douglass's heated struggle with President Andrew Johnson reveals a new perspective on Reconstruction's demise. When Andrew Johnson rose to the presidency after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, African Americans were optimistic that Johnson would pursue aggressive federal policies for Black equality. Just a year earlier, Johnson had cast himself as a "Moses" for the Black community. Frederick Douglass, the country's most influential Black leader, increasingly doubted the president was sincere in supporting Black citizenship. In a dramatic meeting between Johnson and a Black delegation at the White House, the president and Douglass came to verbal blows over the fate of Reconstruction. Their animosity only grew as Johnson sought to undermine Reconstruction and conciliate leaders of the former Confederate states. Robert S. Levine grippingly recounts the conflicts that led to Johnson's impeachment from the perspective of Douglass and the wider Black community. In counterpointing the lives and careers of Douglass and Johnson, Levine offers a fresh vision of the lost promise and dire failure of Reconstruction"-- Provided by publisher.

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