black reconstruction in america 1860 1880

As a result, the majority of the world's laborers became part of a system of industry that destroyed democracy and led to World War I and the Great Depression. Moreover, the resulting color caste was adopted, forwarded, and approved by white labor, and resulted in the subordination of colored labor throughout the world. The plight of the white working class throughout the world is directly traceable to American slavery, on which modern commerce and industry was founded, Du Bois argues. If he believes that the Negro in America and in general is an average and ordinary human being, who under given environment develops like other human beings, then he will read this story and judge it by the facts adduced.' Du Bois, one of the greatest intellectual leaders in United States history, evaluates the twenty years of fateful history that followed the Civil War, with special reference to the efforts and experiences of African Americans.ĭu Bois's words best indicate the broader parameters of his work: 'the attitude of any person toward this book will be distinctly influenced by his theories of the Negro race. Subsequently, these former slaves attempted to reconstruct the basis of American democracy. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by David Levering Lewis, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history.After four centuries of bondage, the nineteenth century marked the long-awaited release of millions of black slaves. These are the texts for this study program. Allen, Reconstruction: the Battle for Democracy 1865-1876 (New York, 1937).

DuBois, Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 (New York, 1935) and James S. Its greatest achievement is weaving a credible, lyrical historical narrative of the hostile and politically fraught years of 1860-1880 with a powerful critical analysis of the harmful effects of democracy, including Jim Crow laws and other injustices. Two sharply contrasting Marxist interpretations of Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War are contained in W. In the 1960s it joined the canon of the most influential revisionist historical works.

Though lambasted by critics at the time of its publication in 1935, Black Reconstruction has only grown in historical and literary importance. Du Bois was also a prolific author of novels, autobiographical accounts, innumerable editorials and journalistic pieces, and several works of history.īlack Reconstruction in America tells and interprets the story of the twenty years of Reconstruction from the point of view of newly liberated African Americans. Du Bois's sociological and historical research on African-American communities and culture broke ground in many areas, including the history of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. He profoundly shaped black political culture in the United States through his founding role in the NAACP, as well as internationally through the Pan-African movement. Du Bois was a public intellectual, sociologist, and activist on behalf of the African American community.

Black reconstruction in america 1860 1880