For a brief time following the end of the U.S. Civil War; American political leaders had an opportunity—slim; to be sure; but not beyond the realm of possibility—to remake society so that black Americans and other persons of color could enjoy equal opportunity in civil and political life. It was not to be. With each passing year after the war—and especially after Reconstruction ended during the 1870s—American society witnessed the evolution of a new white republic as national leaders abandoned the promise of Reconstruction and justified their racial biases based on political; economic; social; and religious values that supplanted the old North-South/slavery-abolitionist schism of the antebellum era.A Long Dark Night provides a sweeping history of this too often overlooked period of African American history that followed the collapse of Reconstruction—from the beginnings of legal segregation through the end of World War II. Michael J. Martinez argues that the 1880s ushered in the dark night of the American Negro—a night so dark and so long that the better part of a century would elapse before sunlight broke through. Combining both a “top down†perspective on crucial political issues and public policy decisions as well as a “bottom up†discussion of the lives of black and white Americans between the 1880s and the 1940s; A Long Dark Night will be of interest to all readers seeking to better understand this crucial era that continues to resonate throughout American life today.
#271799 in Books Rowman n Littlefield Publishers 2012-10-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.60 x .92 x 5.49l; 1.10 #File Name: 1442219874424 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. One of the worst Civil War books out thereBy SeanThis is a very biased opinion of the Civil War from the Union point-of-view. This book just skims the surface on most of the issues of this conflict. It seems Woodworth was trying to fit in the years 1850-1865 into the least amount of pages possible. I had to buy this book for a graduate history course and could not get through the first chapter. It is that bad. For my course work I relied on other historians for references. Just save the money and go with Gary Gallagher; Bruce Catton or James McPherson. You'll thank me later.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Required reading; but enjoyed itBy P. ZenkThis was a required book for a graduate class I took; but I enjoyed it and the depth it went into for the war.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An excellent overviewBy JBI have always been a Civil War buff; and this book was an assigned text for one of my graduate classes. It provided an excellent refresher for me while also helping me to better understand the western campaign of the war; which is often ignored to provide more information on Lee's and Grant's exploits in the East. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to brush up on their Civil War history; or to the casual reader looking to broaden their horizons.
