Reconstruction in a Globalizing World

Reconstruction is a late bloomer in the global turn in U.S. historical studies” (p. 209). So says Frank Towers in his afterword to Reconstruction in a Globalizing World, a fascinating collection of essays edited by David Prior. Its underlying premise: it is past time to reexamine Reconstruction within an international framework. After all, Reconstruction's closely related neighbor, the Civil War, has generated a burgeoning body of scholarship on all manner of international connections and comparisons. So have other periods of U.S. history. Of course, the simple fact that Reconstruction history has not yet been internationalized does not necessarily mean it ought to be. But Prior and his contributors have compiled a strong case for the benefits of doing so. Of the many conceivable ways this might be done, Reconstruction in a Globalizing World emphasizes three themes in particular: immigrant history; transnational political ideologies, notably republicanism; and attitudes toward education. Three of the seven essays focus on immigrants. Alison Clark Efford examines German American responses to the scandal over the sale of U.S. weapons to the French during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), while Julia Brookins traces experiences of German Texans as Civil War Unionists who went on to support the federal government's agenda of postwar state formation and territorial consolidation. Caleb Richardson offers a new take on post–Civil War Fenianism. Although it is natural to assume that Fenianism reflected a radical commitment to Irish independence, Richardson finds that more mundane motives of sociability and Irish identity prevailed. In all three cases, connections with Europe produced special perspectives on Reconstruction

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