The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "At ten o'clock in the morning on March 4, 1873Inauguration Daythe president and first lady emerged from the White House and headed for their carriage,..." (more)
Key Phrases: courthouse defenders, slaughterhouse law, parish judge, New Orleans, Grant Parish, Supreme Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The Colfax Massacre, a buried episode in American history, took place on an Easter Sunday afternoon in 1873. Within four hours, at least eighty black American men had been brutally murdered by white vigilantes in Colfax, La. Journalist Lane's groundbreaking and persuasive work illustrates this pivotal event in the political and constitutional history of post–Civil War America and its social, political and judicial aftermath. Full of illuminating detail, this well-paced account clarifies the controversial events that surrounded the massacre—the development of a community of freed slaves, politicians' struggles and shenanigans, unchecked white vigilante intimidation and murder, the perpetrators' trials and the Supreme Court decision that, in effect, left it up to individual states to protect the rights of African-American citizens. Lane provides succinct background (biographical, historical and geographical) on persons, politics and places. Lucidly written, thoroughly readable, carefully documented, and impressively coherent, Lane's rendition of this turning point in the history of American race relations and racial politics ends a long silence in American history books. Students of American and African-American history will find it particularly valuable; fans of American history will find it a moving and instructive drama. (Mar.)
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Review

"One of the most memorable opening lines in English literature, from Ford Maddox Ford's novel The Good Soldier, is: ‘This is the saddest story I have ever heard.’ That could be the epigraph for Charles Lane's shattering account of the post-Civil War betrayal of African Americans and the bloody collapse of Reconstruction."—George F. Will

"A highly impressive, deeply researched, engagingly written account of one of the lowest chapters in U.S. Supreme Court history."—David J. Garrow, author of Bearing the Cross

"If you want to understand twentieth century politics, you have to begin at the end of the nineteenth, when the battle lines were drawn not just over civil rights for African Americans, but over what kind of nation this country would become. It all starts here, with the unkept promise of Reconstruction, and Charles Lane has found the perfect narrative—meticulously researched and wonderfully told—to bring the story to life."—Nate Blakeslee, author of Tulia

"Lane has unearthed a tragic story that shows the real strength of human character and courage, and delivers a riveting account of the bloody struggle for racial equality after the smoke cleared the battlefields in the post-Civil War South."—Jan Crawford Greenburg, author of Supreme Conflict

"Charles Lane is one of the most astute observers of the Supreme Court. In this gripping narrative, he proves to be a first rate historical sleuth as well. With psychological and political insight, Lane unforgettably brings to life one of the most shameful episodes in American constitutional history."—Jeffrey Rosen, author of The Supreme Court

"In page after riveting page Charles Lane brings to life a massacre and its legal consequences that have been forgotten, ignored, or papered over by history. You'll put this book down amazed at how much you didn't know about race, Reconstruction, and the courts, and profoundly grateful that Lane had both the curiosity and skill to so powerfully fill in the blanks."—Dahlia Lithwick, Slate legal correspondent

"Brilliantly lays bare one of the most unknown but significant contributing events in the fatal collapse of Reconstruction. By transforming exhaustive historical research and detail into a dramatic portrayal of the high-stakes tug of war between racial, political, cultural, and sociological forces of the time, Charles Lane brings insight, urgency, and clarity to the Colfax Massacre. A vital and important contribution to our understanding of our country’s history."—Lalita Tademy, author of Red River and Cane River

Lane…is skillful at interpreting legal events within the broad sweep of history, bringing a flair for courtroom drama to these long-ago proceedings, showing the long shadow they cast toward the future.…Fascinating.—The Times-Picayune

Lane grippingly recalls…a decision with ramifications today…Through his deft legal, political, and social analysis, Lane shines an illuminating light on one of America’s more sordid events. A- —Entertainment Weekly

"Tell[s] the story of the single most egregious act of terrorism during Reconstruction . . . in vivid, compelling prose. . . . A gripping account." —Eric Foner, The Washington Post Book World

"Well-researched, highly readable."—The Hill

"Absorbing... riveting... a legal thriller. Colfax will probably never build an obelisk to honor the massacre’s victims. But with his gripping book, Charles Lane has given them a memorial every bit as imposing."—Kevin Boyle, New York Times Book Review

"A work of history that reads like a legal thriller."—Josh Patashnik, TNR online

"Lane, a Washington Post reporter who has covered the Supreme Court, has written a truly horrifying (and gripping) account of the collapse of Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War."—Evan Thomas, Newsweek.com

Lane provides a remarkably vivid and thorough account of a horrific episode of white-supremacist terrorism in Reconstruction-era Louisiana—the massacre of more than 60 black men in the town of Colfax on Easter Sunday (April 13) 1873—and of U.S. Attorney James Beckwith’s effort to use post-Civil War federal statutes to bring the perpetrators to justice. . . . Lane’s account provides a concrete picture of the epic challenges and failures of the Reconstruction era.—Ed Whelan, National Review on-line

"If you are a history buff, a resident of Louisiana (especially of Grant Parish), curious about the roots of race relations today, just like a compelling read or any of the above, get the book, read it, teach it. This is history that echoes on the national scene even today."—The Town Talk, Alexandria, La.

"Lane’s book is an exhaustively researched recounting of the character of the times (focused mainly in Louisiana), of the atrocity itself, and of the criminal trials and appeals. His penetrating portraits of the main actors (though sometimes interrupting the flow of the narrative) give the reader a sense of actually knowing them, and his scene-setting prose makes the reader nearly an actual spectator. And the book is engagingly, and often imaginatively, written."—Lyle Denniston, Legal Times

". . . an electrifying piece of historical reporting. . .This is a groundbreaking work meticulously researched and crisply written, an account that clarifies and documents one of the most troubling incidents of our nation’s past."—Tucson Citizen

"Lane has given this miscarriage of justice new immediacy and shown the tragedy of our nation’s inability to capitalize on the promise of Reconstruction. This story should be better known, and Lane has done much to insure that it will be." –Trial: Journal for the American Association of Justice

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805083421
• ISBN-13: 978-0805083422
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,185 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #33 in	Books > History > United States > 19th Century > Reconstruction
  #61 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Louisiana
  #95 in	Books > Nonfiction > Law > Perspectives on Law > Legal History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting and meticulously researched account of the Colfax Massacre and its legal aftermath -- a real eye-opener., March 23, 2008

By	Paul Engelmayer (New York, N.Y.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm an avid history buff and a pretty demanding critic, and I found "The Day Freedom Died" absolutely riveting. I read it on vacation this week and couldn't put it down. Charles Lane has basically unearthed a little-known event -- the brutal slaughter of many dozens of freedmen in Colfax, Louisiana, on or around Easter Sunday 1873, by former Confederates (now Klansmen) desperately seeking to hold back Reconstruction and to prevent blacks and radical Republican whites from gaining local power -- and made it come to life. This achievement is a tribute both to Lane's meticulous and definitive primary-source research and his fast-moving journalistic storytelling. His rendering of the shocking events of Easter Sunday 1873 itself was incredibly dramatic (also so sad). Lane paints stunningly detailed, nuanced, and evocative portraits of the important players in the drama. And he helpfully and clearly puts the events in Louisiana in the context of Reconstruction generally. As a practicing lawyer, former prosecutor, and a fan of legal history, I particularly appreciated that Lane goes way beyond merely reconstructing the massacre itself to discuss its legal aftermath. The second half of the book recounts the federal government's attempt to prosecute the Colfax killers, and how that attempt ultimately, tragically faltered at the Supreme Court, which rendered a decision that effectively gutted the statute aimed at empowering federal prosecutors to prosecute Klan killings. Lane (the Washington Post's longtime Supreme Court correspondent) is uniquely positioned to render such analysis, and he does it beautifully. There are wonderful portraits here of the trial lawyers and the Supreme Court Justices who were key to the Colfax decision, and also a thoughtful analysis of the pertinent constitutional law issues and the Court's resolution of them. Although tackling a narrower slice of legal history, "The Day Freedom Died" reminded me throughout of Richard Kluger's phenomenal book, "Simple Justice." If you are an American history buff and particularly if you are drawn to either Reconstruction or legal history, you'll love this book.

Full disclosure: I'm a college friend of Charles Lane's. But even if I were not, I would still "approve of this message"!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A maginficent and tragic tale, March 31, 2008

By	Joshua Marquis (Astoria, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This riveting account of a terrible and unknown (until now) part of American history is every bit as riveting as fiction by John Grisham except that it is meticulously researched, and more important...true.
Filmaker Errol Morris says that "there is no truth for you and truth for me, there is only THE truth," and Chuck Lane tells us the sad truth about the murders at Colfax Louisiana and as importantly the disregard for the most central value of a free society, a rule of law not a rule of man.
Readers will learn about the rich and vivid history pf Louisiana, still a frontier for many people who came to find their fortune from the original American colonies.
I cannot recommend a legal history of the United States that is more important for those of us who labor in the law and hope to seek justice through the power of the law.
From their graves the murdered at Colfax are given voice by Charles Lane.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engrossing, impressively researched, and a story that demands to be told, March 7, 2008

By	Alexander F. Remington (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Chuck Lane's "The Day Freedom Died" is the best kind of popular history: thoroughly researched, well-written, and makes for a quick read. As the events of the Colfax Massacre shift from historical happenstance to a law-and-order whodunit to a legal case to a Supreme Court decision, Lane shifts tenses and tones effectively without losing the reader. He effectively conveys the mood of the times and the way that the story of the Colfax Massacre tied into the overall tenor of Reconstruction, and the injustice of its ending.

Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about the book is its language: Lane writes in modern language, but uses the words "Negro" and "colored" throughout the text in accordance with the usage of the times, as he writes in an author's note at the beginning. The choice is jarring for the first few pages, but defensible in the context of the story about the betrayal of Southern African-Americans by an alliance of Southern whites with Northern whites.

The title of the book tells you that what you're about to read ought to make you mad. The day that freedom died and Reconstruction was betrayed is one that should be remembered, and one that should engender outrage. Lane tells the story well and lets the facts speak for themselves. Which they do, loudly, long after the victims were silenced.

(Full disclosure: Chuck Lane is a colleague and a friend.)