African American History Of The South example essay topic

Two books that give the reader a view of the reconstruction era in the south and its policies are Origins of the New South by C. Vann Woodward and Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner. All though these two books differ in their writing content and their themes, they make strong points about the reconstruction era in the South and the mistreatment of African Americans living in new found freedom. The authors of these two books, Woodward and Foner, differ in many ways also. Woodward writes with passion and persuasion in Origins of the New South and tries to convince the reader that the New South demonstrated that the economic and political leadership of the southern redeemers had been marked by corruption and that blacks and poor whites had been kept in poverty. Woodward argues "that after 1900 the South was safely set on a national road to peace, progress and prosperity was incorrect, but it was still behind due to the lack of redeemers and old southern values that put blacks and poor whites in poverty. Woodward, whose ancestors had been slave owners, was born in Vanndale, Arkansas.

Vanndale was named after his mother's family. He attended high school in Morrilton, and it was there he became interested in American History. After high school, Woodward enrolled in college at Arkadelphia. After two years he transferred to Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia. It was there at Emory where Woodward became interested in the southern politics and the history of the southern way of life. Woodward also became very interested in the African American history of the south.

Woodward made friends with a lot of African Americans while he was in Atlanta and 1 in particular was Angelo Hernandez a young black man who was accused of 2 subversive activities. This interviewer concludes that it was here that Woodward was influenced by the treatment of blacks in the south and the segregated life they lived. Woodward wrote Origins of the New South in 1951. The wrote this book with a particular time period in southern history. He writes "The New South begins with the removal of federal troops, which brings to an end the official reconstruction and their consequences". Woodward writes a lot about the populist movement and how it effected the relationship with the Colored Farmers Alliance and the Southern Alliance.

Woodward concludes that the populist movement not only kept blacks from reaching a high economic place in society but it also made them more segregated from their rightful place in southern cities and in farming communities. Woodward believed that the populist movement was corrupt and was more geared toward the still remaining planter class and the middle class whites. He concluded this on the bases of the voting records from the southern states where most middle class and planter class were voters. Woodward writes "White supremacists depended a lot upon the capitulation of the Populist leaders themselves to concerted efforts to whip up racial hatred and backwardness, and they were not disappointed". He also notes in North Carolina in 1899 where populist were in control of the state government, decided to cast their votes for black disenfranchisement.

He writes "The reported yells were probably of the well known rebel kind, for they hailed a closing of the white man's rank -- - white solidarity again". This reviewer believes that Woodward had the knowledge and the background to write books on Southern History. He was heavily influenced by his black friends and 3 he had the background by growing up in the south to write this book. This is a man who marched from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. King and a man who considered himself a southerner from Arkansas but not a "professional". Eric Foner now a History Professor at Columbia University had a different background growing up. Foner grew up in New York City where his dad was a history professor at the City College of New York.

His childhood wasn't rough, and he grew up in a upper middle class society. Foner became big in politics after his dad was fired from his job for being "a communist". In fact he supported the communist movement very avidly. Foner went to school at Columbia and earned in Doctrine of History there. Foner is known to be a very hard worker and researcher in the history field. He is one of the nations most acclaimed historians.

He was president of the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians. He is best known from his knowledge on the Civil War, the reconstruction of the South, as well as politics before and after the Civil War. Foner who is younger that Woodward didn't see first hand the life of a white southerner in the early 1900's. Foner makes up for it by his research dedication and his knowledge he has gained from reading and his peers. Foner's book Freedom's Lawmakers is a biographical dictionary of African American politicians that were elected to office during the reconstruction era. The book has over 1500 black official who were either appointed or elected to office during reconstruction.

Some of these officals he notes were written out of governmental books and state history books. It ranges from sheriffs, senators, legislators, state officals, 4 constables. Foner notes that contrary to the myth that black government officials were not illiterate and were very capable of governing. The names are arranged not by state but by alphabetical order. The entries have birth date, if known, and death date if known. The entries range from one paragraph up to four or five pages.

The best well known and most extensive writing is on Blanche Kelso Bruce. Bruce was first black to be elected to the United States Senate. Bruce's seat was last held by former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Bruce was elected from the state of Mississippi and was elected in 1874. Foner had done a remarkable job in the work of this book. He shows in this book that African Americans in the reconstruction could hold office and govern just as good as white southerners.

In this book you can also see a that black officials ran as Republicans. Foner notes that the democratic party was still a white party and still had views of the old south. Foner also notes that while these African American held office, it doesn't necessary prove that they were treated any different from other blacks in that period of time. Out of the sheriffs in the book, most were killed, by unknown persons. Foner's book in this reviewer's opinion is a master piece and shows the struggle in great detail that the black population had to endure. These two books give us a sense of how corrupt and manipulative the south was.

Both Foner and Woodward have shown the struggle of African Americans in the south throughout reconstruction and beyond. Although Woodward's book is hard to read and goes in great political detail it shows how the old ways of the south influenced the 5 populist movement and serrated the black population more in the reconstruction era than before the war. This reviewer has a appreciation for Woodward's work and can relate with his views and where the he is coming from in writing this book. He has the background in growing up in the south in the early 1900's and through the civil rights movement. Foner's book is different in that it's a biographical dictionary and gives so much history on the black leaders during reconstruction. I found this book very interesting, and it was not difficult to read.

He didn't write this from a political view but from a view of sharing historical information that has never been shared before. In this interviewers opinion that is why it makes for a better read. Foner has done something that no one else in history has, in that he has written a book that shows the foundation that African Americans first established themselves in American politics.