ePub War in the Air by Stephen Coonts in History

Description

This is the epic story of how African-Americans; in the six decades following slavery; transformed themselves into a political people--an embryonic black nation. As Steven Hahn demonstrates; rural African-Americans were central political actors in the great events of disunion; emancipation; and nation-building. At the same time; Hahn asks us to think in more expansive ways about the nature and boundaries of politics and political practice. Emphasizing the importance of kinship; labor; and networks of communication; A Nation under Our Feet explores the political relations and sensibilities that developed under slavery and shows how they set the stage for grassroots mobilization. Hahn introduces us to local leaders; and shows how political communities were built; defended; and rebuilt. He also identifies the quest for self-governance as an essential goal of black politics across the rural South; from contests for local power during Reconstruction; to emigrationism; biracial electoral alliances; social separatism; and; eventually; migration. Hahn suggests that Garveyism and other popular forms of black nationalism absorbed and elaborated these earlier struggles; thus linking the first generation of migrants to the urban North with those who remained in the South. He offers a new framework--looking out from slavery--to understand twentieth-century forms of black political consciousness as well as emerging battles for civil rights. It is a powerful story; told here for the first time; and one that presents both an inspiring and a troubling perspective on American democracy.