Congress and the First Civil Rights Era, 1861-1918

Congress and the First Civil Rights Era, 1861–1918 is a detailed history of congressional developments during the era of Reconstruction, one of the most significant civil rights periods of U.S. history. In a contentious debate, Congress struggled with how to ensure the integration of freed slaves, and on what terms, into U.S. society, with the voting rights of African Americans and the political ramifications at the forefront. Young versions of the Democratic and Republican parties fought vigorously for political power. The events examined by Justin Peck make it clear that “racial conflict is part of the bedrock of American politics” (p. 1). Between an introduction and conclusion, the book proceeds chronologically in five chapters, all chock full of details about the debates in Congress over the reintegration of the South into the Union and the civil rights of freed slaves. Readers gain a clear picture of how Reconstruction unfolded in the 1861–1918 period, from early legal milestones such as the Fourteenth Amendment to the rise of vigilante lynchings and Black disfranchisement in the South

Civil rights · Democracy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Spanish Civil War · Voting · American Constitutional Law and Politics · History · Law · Race, History, and American Society