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Tarfumes.com - The Bloody Shirt: Terror After Appomattox
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List Price: $27.95
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Manufacturer: Viking Adult
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.82
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Viking Adult
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2008-01-24
Publisher: Viking Adult
Studio: Viking Adult
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Editorial Reviews:
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An intimate and gripping look at terrorist violence during the Reconstruction era
Between 1867, when the defeated South was forced to establish new state governments that fully represented both black and white citizens, and 1877, when the last of these governments was overthrown, more than three thousand African Americans and their white allies were killed by terrorist violence. That violence was spread by roving vigilantes connected only by ideology, and by the hateful invective printed in widely read newspapers and pamphlets. Amid all the chaos, however, some men and women struggled to establish a “New South” in which former slaves would have new rights and a new prosperity would be shared by all. In his vivid, fast-paced narrative of the era now known as Reconstruction, Stephen Budiansky illuminates the lives of five remarkable men—two Union officers, a Confederate general, a Northern entrepreneur, and a former slave—whose idealism in the face of overwhelming hatred would not be matched for nearly a century. The Bloody Shirt is a story of violence, racism, division, and heroism that sheds new light on a crucial time in America’s history.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: a tragic chapter in our history that is under taught
Comment: well written and researched story about the tragedies of post Civil War history in MI, LA and SC. much of this story was "edited" from many high school and college curriculums in the 50's and 60's--its history we all need to know about and understand--even if it is very uncomfortable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Effective
Comment: This is actually an excellent book. I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 only because it wasn't what I expected, plus it's not the kind of history I typically like.
As others have said, it does seem to be just a series of loosely strung-together vignettes, with very little analysis. On second thought, though, the particular vignettes the author chose are really very telling. And there is a real flow, from the early hopes of reconstruction to its tragic denouement. Similarly, there really isn't that much need for analysis - the facts really do speak for themselves.
In fact, this is the real strength of this book, in my opinion. The behaviour evidenced in this book is so awful (and typically so hidden and swept under the rug) that it really makes me wonder about this country, and how we can ever overcome a past like this.
If you're interested in more books along these lines, try:
The Slave Ship: A Human History
Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America
Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library Paperbacks)
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Summary: The Pain Of Reconstruction
Comment: This is a most interesting book about the period of reconstruction. The carpetbaggers did not make this process any easier for our Nation that had been torn apart. Race was a problem before the war, during the war, during reconstruction, and it is today. The war was over but the hate was still there. There were four years of the bloodiest war we have ever experienced. Families had been split apart, neighbors, states, and a nation. The Mason and Dixon line was still drawn. With reconstruction came the terror that resulted in hangings and political turmoil. Lincoln's untimely death was part of the terrorism that flooded the South. By Ruth Thompson author of "Natchez Above The River" and " The Bluegrass Dream"
Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early Settlers
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Summary: How the unrepentant rebels defeated reconstruction...
Comment: This account of some of the worst atrocities perpetrated on free negros and their white allies in the decade following the Civil War by Klansman and their kinsmen brings to mind the difficulties the USA has now in occupying Iraq. If the majority culture in the land being occupied is willing to kill to keep its power, the occupier is doomed to eventual defeat. You just can't kill every mayor, shopkeeper and farmer in the land you want to "reform", and in the American South after 1865, that's what it would have taken for the Yankees to prevail in the "peace." The KKK justified its terrorism via The Bible, and their traditional culture, and stalled off racial Democracy in their states for an additional century. When their leaders told lies, even obvious ones, their people supported them because they did not want to give up their former privileges and powers. "We lost the uniformed war, but we don't have to lose the political war" seemed to be the slogan of the hour. This is worth reading if you have an interest in the Reconstruction, or if you want to understand better the hardships our troops and our diplomats face in the Middle East.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Popular History of Reconstruction
Comment: Stephen Budiansky has written a popular history of the Reconstruction era. His is no easy task, as Reconstruction falls far behind the Civil War as a subject of popular interest, despite their closeness on the historical timeline, and despite the fact that many of the Civil War's main players (such as James Longstreet, who's featured here) were very active in both. "The Bloody Shirt" is a well-researched and well-written account that focuses on several individuals and events rather than try to examine the period as a whole. The author explores Reconstruction in Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina--the Deep South states that were the heart of the large plantation economy.
The main problem I had with the book was its emphasis on description rather than analysis. It reads like dispatches from the Reconstruction "front." That's fine, to a point, but at times it is more a string of primary sources than a monograph. Very often, letters and newspaper editorials, frequently printed whole, are left to speak for themselves. Much of this information could've been boiled down--and more importantly, should've been commented upon. For example, at one point, one Southern newspaper makes reference to "Colfax." Those familiar with the Reconstruction period will know this means the "Colfax Massacre" of 1873, which happened in Louisiana (if one wants to read about that, he/she can read the recent book "Redemption" by Nicholas Lemann).
Most importantly, the book lacks sufficient political context. The last portions of the book deal with the infamous Hamburg massacre (or, as Democrats fashioned it, the Hamburg "riot") in South Carolina. Budiansky unfortunately, doesn't give us much context about Reconstruction politics in that state. Despite the violence there, it was one of the last Reconstruction governments to fall and was the only one to have a mostly black legislature. The Republicans survived in South Carolina largely because of the state's majority black population. Budiansky doesn't lay this out, and makes it seem as if African Americans were merely victims of some last-minute white terror. By that point, however, Reconstruction had failed, and it was not because of events in South Carolina alone.
The extent to which Democrats resorted to violence and fraud was inexcusable, but Budiansky doesn't examine some of the faults of the Reconstruction governments. Republican mismanagement and corruption enabled Democrats to build their case for overthrowing Republican rule (on this subject, check out Thomas Holt's "Black Over White" about the Reconstruction government in South Carolina). As overstated or even outright false as many Democrats' claims were, there was mismangement and corruption among Republicans. That does not justify the Democratic backlash, but even the Republican governments' legitimate expenses--for things as seemingly basic as public education and infrastructure projects--were hotly debated by Southerners.
Nevertheless, Budiansky is correct in saying that the real cause for overthrowing Reconstruction was not fiscal conservatism--which he addresses in the case of the Republican Governor Ames of Mississippi--but white anger with "Negro rule." And he is also correct in showing that African Americans were eventually abandoned by Northerners who had grown tired with events in the South. Once the Federal government decided blacks weren't worth defending, the radical Republican governments could not succeed.
If Budiansky's sympathies are with the right people, another problem I had with the book was its fragmented nature. As soon as we are introduced to some figures and events in Reconstruction, we are whisked away to somewhere else. The passages about James Longstreet are well written, but Longstreet feels dropped in from nowhere. No sooner does he appear then he is gone.
In sum, Budiansky's description of the violence of the period is well done, and he certainly is passionate in his defense of the white-black coalition governments. This is a good place to start for someone who is not well versed in the Reconstruction period. If I were to suggest an academic book about terror after Lee's surrender, I would suggest Richard Zuczek's "State of Rebellion," about Reconstruction in South Carolina. As a work of popular history, Budiansky's book illustrates some of the features of Reconstruction, but it doesn't break any new ground in the field of study. And those looking for a more comprehensive study might want to check out Eric Foner's "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution."
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