Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction [Paperback]

Eric Foner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

Freedom's Lawmakers is the first comprehensive directory of America's first generation of black public officials--those who held office during the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War. With positions including congressman, justice of the peace, constable, and member of the legislature, the nearly 1500 officials listed here offer a panorama of the black community in all its diversity--freeborn and slave, Northern and Southern, rich and poor. The book draws on extensive research in the era's primary sources, and the voluminous literature on Reconstruction that has appeared in the past generation, providing information about the antebellum status, occupation, property ownership, military service, and other attributes of black officeholders. The concise biographies are augmented by 125 halftones, including seven composite photographs at the front of the book. In some cases, only a few pieces of information are available, but in a remarkable number of instances, the book traces the life histories of previously unknown individuals, most of them born as slaves, who played a role in America's first experiment in interracial democracy. The biographies follow many individuals into the twentieth century, illustrating the impact of these black Americans on post-Reconstruction society and the consequences for black Americans of the overthrow of Reconstruction.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Between 1865 and 1876, about two thousand blacks held elective and appointive offices in the South. A few, such as the senator from Mississippi Blanche K. Bruce, are well known, but most have languished in obscurity, omitted from official state histories. Prize-winning historian Eric Foner profiles more than 1,500 black legislators, state officials, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and constables. Essential reading for anyone interested in the scope of black achievement during Reconstruction, Freedom's Lawmakers includes biographical sketches of each officeholder (some necessarily brief because so little is known) and many photographs.

From Booklist

Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, is the author of numerous books and articles, including the award-winning Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution. Freedom's Lawmakers was originally published in 1995 by Oxford University Press. This revised edition has an addenda with 48 new biographies. Three officials in the original edition who turned out to be white were dropped. All statistical tables and indexes have been updated to reflect the new data. With 1,510 biographies, this book includes information on all major black officeholders at the national and state levels and a majority at the local level during Reconstruction.

The book begins with a lengthy essay with a statistical analysis of the compiled information. It dispels the myth that black lawmakers during Reconstruction were all illiterate and incapable of governing. Following is a three-page bibliography that lists books, articles, and documents that are cited in abbreviated form in the biographies. Entries are arranged alphabetically by name. A typical entry provides birth and death dates, state represented, slave or free status at birth, literacy information, and occupation. Citing 1870 census data, entries note the value of the person's property and estate. They vary from one paragraph to one page in length and succinctly discuss the person's private and professional life. There are usually several citations to sources for each entry. Five indexes assist users: by state, by occupation, by office held during Reconstruction, by birth status, and by topic.

A comparison of Freedom's Lawmakers with three popular reference works on black history shows there is very little duplication of biographical coverage. Thus, this unique reference will be an invaluable supplement to standard works.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press; Rev Sub edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807120820
• ISBN-13: 978-0807120828
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, where he earned his B.A. and Ph.D. In his teaching and scholarship, Foner focuses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, slavery, and nineteenth-century America. His "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877," won the Bancroft, Parkman, and Los Angeles Times Book prizes and remains the standard history of the period. In 2006 Foner received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia University. He has served as president of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Society of American Historians. He is currently writing a book on Lincoln and slavery.