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The literature of Reconstruction : not in plain black and white / Brook Thomas.
Author
Thomas, Brook, 1947-
[Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/Created
Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2017]
©2017
Description
xv, 378 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Availability
Copies in the Library
Location
Call Number
Status
Location Service
Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks
PS217.P64 T58 2017
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Details
Subject(s)
American literature
—
19th century
—
History and criticism
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Politics and literature
—
United States
—
History
—
19th century
[Browse]
Literature and society
—
United States
—
History
—
19th century
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Race relations in literature
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Summary note
"In this groundbreaking new study, author Brook Thomas argues that literary analysis can enhance our historical understanding of race and Reconstruction. The standard view that Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877 is a retrospective construction. Works of literature provide the perspective of those who continued to see possibilities for its renewal well past 1877. Historians have long tried to reconcile social history's emphasis on the local with political history's emphasis on the national. Literature creates national political allegories while focusing on events in a particular locale. Moreover, the debate over Reconstruction was a debate about state legitimacy as well as specific laws. It was a question of foundational myths as well as foundational legal principles. Literature's political allegories allow us to recreate those debates rather than view the end of Reconstruction as a foregone conclusion. Because many of the issues raised by Reconstruction remain unresolved, those debates continue into the present. Chapters treat how the racial issues raised by Reconstruction are interwoven with debates over state v. national authority, efforts to combat terrorism (the KKK), the paternalism of welfare, economic expansion, and the question of who should rightly inherit the nation's past. Thomas examines authors who opposed Reconstruction, authors who supported it, and authors who struggled with mixed feelings. This exciting text will set the standard in literary historical studies for decades to come"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 329-364) and index.
Contents
Not in Plain Black and White
Reconciliation and Reunion: Clasping Hands over the Bloody Chasm
Federalism: Thinking Nationally, Acting Locally
The Ku Klux Klan: The Necessity of Extreme Measures
Of Mules and Men: African American Manhood and the Paradox of Paternalism
Ruiz de Burton and Railroads: The Westward Course of Reconstruction
Working with the Inheritance of the Old South
Inheriting a Shadow and a Dream.
Show 5 more Contents items
ISBN
9781421421322 ((hardcover))
1421421321 ((hardcover))
LCCN
2016012791
OCLC
947074671
Statement on language in description
Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
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