Lecture 25 - The "End" of Reconstruction: Disputed Election of 1876, and the "Compromise of 1877"

Lecture 25 - The "End" of Reconstruction: Disputed Election of 1876, and the "Compromise of 1877"

Author: Open Yale Courses - David Blight August 25, 2017 Duration: 0:00
HIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877
Education
This lecture focuses on the role of white southern terrorist violence in brining about the end of Reconstruction. Professor Blight begins with an account the Colfax Massacre. Colfax, Louisiana was the sight of the largest mass murder in U.S. history, when a white mob killed dozens of African Americans in the April of 1873. Two Supreme Court decisions would do in the judicial realm what the Colfax Massacre had done in the political. On the same day as the Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court offered a narrow reading of the 14th Amendment in the Slaughterhouse cases, signaling a judicial retreat from the radicalism of the early Reconstruction years. The Cruikshank case, two years later, would overturn the convictions of the only three men sentenced for their involvement in Colfax, and marked another step away from reconstruction. Professor Blight concludes with the Panic of 1873 and the seemingly innumerable political scandals of the Grant Administration, suggesting the manner in which these events encouraged northerners to tire of the Reconstruction experiment by the early 1870s. Transcript Lecture Page

Drawn from his celebrated Yale University course, historian David Blight guides you through the defining crisis of the American nation in HIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877. This isn't a simple recounting of battles and dates; it's a deep exploration of how the country fractured over the issue of slavery, fought a devastating war to determine its future, and then grappled with the immense promise and tragic failures of rebuilding a multiracial democracy. In each lecture, you'll hear Blight's expert analysis of the complex political, social, and economic forces at play, from the territorial expansions of the 1840s through the end of Reconstruction in 1877. The podcast presents the full classroom experience, allowing you to engage with the compelling narratives of individuals, the evolution of constitutional arguments, and the raw human costs of the conflict. As an Open Yale Course, this series makes a premier education accessible to all, inviting you to understand not just what happened, but why the era's legacy continues to shape the United States today. You'll come away with a nuanced perspective on the war's causes, its brutal course, and the enduring consequences of its unresolved aftermath.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 27

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HIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877
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