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Reforging the White Republic: Race, Religion, and American Nationalism, 1865-1898 (Conflicting Worlds)

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Edward J. Blum. Reforging the White Republic: Race, Religion, and American Nationalism, 1865-1898. Louisiana State University Press, 2005. 356pp.

Reforging the White Republic is an innovative, ground breaking historical account of how, right after Civil War (from Reconstruction through the War of 1898), nineteenth-century northern white Protestants abandoned the fight for racial equality and, by manipulating religious beliefs and revival movements, justified white unification between North and South at the expense of Afro Americans civil rights.

Immediately after the Civil War, white reunion was not inevitable. The momentum for American racial transformation was never stronger than the time right after the end of the Civil War, when radical republicans were denouncing all forms of racial distinctions and working with religious beliefs to transform white's racial perceptions once formed to support slavery. Missionaries were sent to South to help educate the freed people and with that interracial contact, the negative perceptions created by racist theories of racial differences were being transformed into mutual admiration and respect. It looked like finally the black population, would be included into full American citizenship. "Taken from the perspective of white and black Americans in the 1860, the reconstructions-education crusade was a dramatic moment of interracial fraternity that had the power to alter Southern and American society." (52)
By seizing the exact moment in which religion begins to be used in favor of white supremacy, Blum points out that a "counter morality" was created by a small group of white pastors, guided by Henry W. Beecher, a northern preacher and former abolitionist, which argued against punishing the South and excluding them from full participation in the Union. (89) To Beecher, his Christian duty was to immediate forgive the South and his parameter for nationalism and inclusion was based on skin color rather then allegiance to the Union.

With that perception, a great number of Methodists and Presbyterians leaders created a strong movement in which north and southern congregations would bond with the determination of forgetting the reason of why the nation suffered the Civil War for the sake of white unity. Blum provides a detailed and poignant description of how religion was used by mid 1870s when a great revival commanded by Dwight Moody "encouraged Americans to set aside social and political issues in order to focus on spiritual conversions and personal piety." (123) Those revivals had the power of diminishing denominational antagonisms and became "a genuinely national phenomenon that glorified a solidly white American republic." (131)

Reforging the White Republic exposes religion as the most powerful factor on changing white northern abolitionists' minds and behavior towards the Afro American people. The extensive research used on the making of this book helps the reader understand how much inclined towards religion nineteenth century Americans were and how religion was used in every instance of their lives. From personal letters and diaries, to magazines and newspapers, Blum made sure that every material would be fully examined and used to provide a comprehensive and poignant description of the inner life of the American society. Moreover, Blum's work is an innovative approach and the first to give religion the right and fundamental importance on influencing white Americans' exclusion of Afro Americans rights and in the reforging of the nation once shattered by the Civil War. Ultimately, Blum's work is a must to the study and comprehension of racism and discrimination in our society, a phenomenon that unfortunately still haunts us to this day.

In Reforging the White Republic Blum takes a different angle at exploring the post Civil War/Reconstruction era. He writes on the different roles religion played in attempting or not attempting to reconstruct the United States. The book flows well and avoids verbose and complicated language that usually turns readers off. It is startling to learn of the different stances religions and religious leaders took, in terms of race relations between whites and African Americans, after the war. Between hypocrisy and outright dedication and heroics, the challenges of reuniting a nation are examined in Blum's work. This is an asset in the college classroom.

Drop any preconceptions you may have had about the social climate following the Civil War in America. Historian Blum does an excellent job of not simply giving you a page by page analysis of why Reconstruction faltered in America; he also explains how religion, nationalism and white idenetity played huge roles(negative and positive)in the successes and failures of Reconstruction. Blum has decided to keep his analysis more centered on how the cultures of the white and black Americans of the North and South continued to meet and change themselves in order to keep pace with times. This book will allow you to see the struggle of maintaining belief systems rather than that of an Army. The battle fought in the psyches of Americans following the Civil War was just as important as those played out on the battle fields.

Edward J. Blum focuses on the nineteenth century with the aftermath of the US Civil War up to the Spanish-American War. REFORGING THE WHITE REPUBLIC: RACE, RELIGION, AND AMERICAN NATIONALISM, 1865-1898 begins with Reconstruction, and the hope of racial justice and racial harmony that would build a reconstructed United States of America after the US Civil War. So, what is different to Blum's examination of Reconstruction? He uses J.L. Giles 1867 imagery as the antithesis to his thesis of the book, which suggests that Religion had an overpowering affect on Reconstruction, which both helped the cause as well as helped devaluate one of the most important steps toward a free and equal society. A core aspect of the book involves Blum's argument of how white northern Protestants reinterpreted scriptures in the Bible, and used the mantra that it was God's will for them to lead a crusade against African Americans by forming a nationalistic fraternal and solidarity order that would revert back to the antebellum period that southerners shared, which eventually caused Radical Reconstruction to crumble.

Blum's examination bears similarities to Daniel Stowell's book REBUILDING ZION: THE RELIGIOUS RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH, 1863-1877. Stowell shows how northern and southern black and white Christians formed a spiritual union, which helped freed blacks establishing their respective Christian communities in particular southern regions of Georgia, Tennessee, etc., but with the God as the moving force. On the other hand, Blum begins with the post-Civil War era and Reconstruction, and does not regionalize any particular area of the southern or northern United States from 1865 to 1898 as it ties in with US nationalism, anti-black and white man's burden sentiment - conflicting inferiorities, which involved white and black. Indeed, it appears that Reconstruction ended with the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 - it appeared that African Americans no longer had full support from Radical supporters.

Blum provides a blend of literature that was associated with the Reconstruction era. He had done an immense amount of research with the detailed listing of archival and bibliographical resources he utilized. Blum makes notable mentions Harriet Beecher Stowe's most familiar UNCLE TOM'S CABIN and the immortal words and imaginations of W.E.B. Du Bois. Blum's research involved sifting through numerous archives of information, such as poems and speeches that emphasize religious implications that show how white northerners were accountable for the nationalistic fervor of white supremacy in the United States. And for those who led the movement toward Radical Reconstruction, such as Henry Beecher who supported and sided with the nationalism, political haggling and partisanship served as the extreme culprit towards the breakdown of Radical Reconstruction.

REFORGING THE WHITE REPUBLIC is innovative scholarship related to the Reconstruction Era. However, there are minor frailties to Blum's study, such as how he briefly generalizes the Spanish-American War within the concluding chapters and its connection to religious endeavors, missionary ventures towards the east. There is nothing new. Unfortunately within the same lines, the illustrations in the book provide a pictorial dimension, but have been overly emphasized and exhibited in previous studies.

Nonetheless, Blum provides a unique examination of Reconstruction and race relations at the end of the nineteenth century. This is a helpful book when understanding how race plays an important part of how the present perceptions reflect how past experiences in US Civil War history are perceived and examined.

If you ever have a class in American Religious History or Church History it is worth including this even if it's not on the syllabus. It is valuable info overlooked; fully footnoted with plenty of quotes revealing the rest of the story regarding American legends like Beecher, Beecher Stowe, D. L. Moody, et al. If you wonder how people can be abolitionist but during reconstruction flip so that they are more interested in forgiving rebels who've committed treason than justice and advocacy for freedmen, this will help you understand. You will also be exposed to the heroism of whites who went South to live and act redemptively in the face of repudiation and true danger.

Reforging the White Republic:Race, Religion and American Nationalism, 1865-1898 written by Edward Blum is a gripping text explaining the reconstruction of America after the Civil War. I was really interested in the perspective of how religion played a significant role in integration and then segregation. Normally Historians tend to focus on the economic turmoil the south was in and how that had a large impact on America in the aftermath of the Civil War. His section on Francis Willard and the WCTU was eye opening. In the high school education system a more fairytale and positive outlook is focused when studying American History. Blum does not take away the good things Willard was responsible for but he shares the untold stories that shadow her good works such as segregation and racism. Great book to read if you are studying Civil War and Reconstruction, it is not a boring school text type book.

Reforging the White Republic is an excellent book that portrays the American Reconstruction. Historian Edward Blum claims that the Reconstruction consisted of the issues within and between race, religion, and American nationalism. The major overall underlying theme throughout the book is religion. Blum is a master at tying all of his ideas together, and making the book feel so realistic when reading it. Blum tends to focus on major events/moments within American history during the time of Reconstruction like the assassination of Lincoln, the yellow fever epidemic, and the war of 1898.
I am giving this book 4/5 stars because of the use of endnotes which I loathe compared to footnotes. This is a must read for any American history fanatic!

Blum's "Reforging the White Republic" is a truly uniquely written book. It provides an in-depth argument about what happened after the Civil War. The Nation was so divided and it could not just go back to antebellum America again. Blum describes how the Nation united again. Further, Blum looks at how the northern and southern whites united. After Reconstruction white supremacy reigned and Blum explains how that happened.

Blum is a gifted historian and writer. The book is the perfect blend of informative and entertaining. There is no way that once you start reading this book, you don't become totally enthralled! Okay there is one way, but the ONLY way is that you would have to be completely uninterested in the subject! This is the perfect book for history buffs, civil war buffs, religion buffs, civil rights buffs, or someone simply just interested in learning.

So how does the North and the South find a way to reconcile!?!? Read "Reforging the White Republic" and find out!

Reforging the White Republic does a good job of adding a new dimension to the era of Reconstruction. Unlike other historians who see the Civil War as the uniting element for the nation, this book contends that the unity was solely between the Northern whites and the Southern whites, using religion as the main uniting element. The country was deeply divided between whites and blacks as the new wave of racism spread over the nation. As long as the North did not interfere in the South discrimination of African-Americans, the two were united. This work completely defies Ken Burns, and others, view of the overall unifying power of the Civil War.

Other historians and works see religion as only something that acts upon events. Reforging the White Republic takes the complete opposite few seeing religion as the primary mover in the Reconstruction. Most notably, it thoroughly examines the reactions of the nation in the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. People could not just merely accept that this was a random act of violence, believing that God caused the assassination for two reasons. First, God caused it because Lincoln's work was finished. Second, to show how the North needed to punish the South. Blum shows how religion was at the center of the traumatic events in the era and how they shaped the nation.

Edward Blum examines the effects of religion on the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War. Blum asserts there has been little examination of the role religion played in change of motivation for Reconstruction from its truly radical beginnings to its abandonment of civil rights in favor reconciliation. Blum tracks the actions of various Protestant churches in the north and their effect on popular opinion especially as it related to the depression in 1973 and the Yellow Fever outbreak in 1978. He asserts the public grew weary of the Federal Government after the corrupt Grant administration and voices such as those of D.L. Moody filled the void preaching national unity. These views became much more popular over time, and as a result civil rights in Reconstruction were largely abandoned as Jim Crow reigned in the South, mirrored by similarly oppressive laws in the north. He claims Reconstruction ended in the war in 1898 where the Blue and the Gray joined hands to fight the Spanish in a culmination of national unity.
Overall this book was well written and quite fascinating. It raised a whole new perspective on religion that was totally unknown to this reviewer and provided a great account of the failure of radical reconstruction. This monograph in crucial in understanding the Civil War because it demonstrates the real ugly aftermath of the conflict instead of the quaint happy ending Ken Burns would have one believe.