Summary Of Redemption The Last Battle Of The Civil War By Nicholas Lemann

Nicholas Lemann begins his book “Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War” with the 1873 Colfax, Louisiana massacre where a White League militia comprised of former Confederate soldiers killed black Republican voters. The Colfax massacre was perhaps the bloodiest event of Reconstruction. Lemann views this event as a startup of what would happen later in Mississippi if Federal troops did not defend black voters. Lemann blames Ulysses S. Grant’s Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, for not stopping the White Line activity in Louisiana and Mississippi. Grant had worked hard to stop the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1870s with Congress passing legislation and Federal troops putting down Klan activity.

The Civil War was one of America’s most trying and troubling times. Following the Civil War was Reconstruction, which posed an important question that would affect the country forever, “What do we do with the South?” During Reconstruction, the Government was faced with a plethora of difficult questions to answer and a series of difficult situations, but the topic at hand was the same reason the Civil War started in the first place: African Americans. The statement “After the Civil War, the only way to truly enfranchise former slaves was by effectively disenfranchising their former masters” is true because white Southerners would constantly and consistently attempt to undermine African Americans. There were many ways that white Southerners used to belittle African Americans; the creation of Black Codes were one of these ways.

Who Killed Reconstruction? “The blacks, as a people, are unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties…..” said a Boston newspaper in 1873 saying that the Africans-Americans were too dumb to be in Congress or any political office. Three years later, was the 100th year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. With the irony of the election of 1876 had officially crushed the African-American dream. In 1877, the Reconstruction efforts finally ended, so people were wondering who killed Reconstruction.

Blanche's role being a Southern Belle amongst the white elite which dominated the South during the early and mid-1900s displayed the deepness of Southern roots such as wanting to marry a respectable man, and being dedicated to her family and the community. During this time Southern Belles like Blanche “. . . have always depended on the kindness of strangers”, or relied solely on the income of their spouses, in which most obtained through the business of cotton plantations. Her necessity to the kind-heartedness of strangers instead of being self-dependent is the cause as to why she has not been well off in her life. However; due to the abolition of slavery and victory of the confederates the white elite struggled to maintain wealth which forced Southern Belles to seek other means to support their lavish appearance. Blanche who indeed maintained a lifestyle of wealth was forced to sell her cotton plantation after her husband completed suicide.

Instead of being an independent woman and taking care of her own family she relies heavily upon her brother-in-law Jack for financial support, advice, and raising her children as if they were his responsibility. This causes a great deal of tension between Blanche and her oldest daughter Nora. Nora is contemplating a major decision

Stanley is a blunt, practical, and animalistic man who has no patience for subtleties and refinement. His animalistic character shows the moment he meets Blanche, when he, moving with “animalistic joy” (24), “sizes” Blanche up with “sexual classifications” and “crude image” in his mind (25). Under his stare, Blanche draws “involuntarily back” (25), a movement that foreshadows their later conflict and her subsequent demise. His practical and straightforward side shows when he interrogates Blanche about the sale of Belle Reve to make sure that his wife is not swindled. His straightforward, practical nature makes him “boom” out of impatience (46) and demands Blanche to cut straight to the point when she tries to talk in an indirect, subtle manner as befit a Southern gentlewoman.

Grace Nixon Dr. Brian Lewis English 2012 22 November 2015 Blanche DuBois: Hero or Villain? What came first, the chicken or the egg? With so many answers and different reasoning for each, this question can be extremely difficult to answer. While reading A Streetcar Named Desire, a play by Tennessee Williams dealing with the struggle of Blanche DuBois to fit in with an ever-changing society after losing her family home of Belle Reve, the reader may be left with a similarly challenging question to answer: is Williams sympathetic towards the character of Blanche, or does he condemn her character and behavior to make a statement to the larger audience about the effects of promiscuous actions?

So, this reflects Stanley’s hypocrisy, as he only tells her these affectionate words for his desires and not because he loves her. Stanley’s ill treatment to his wife’s surrogate was as a result of his feelings of antagonism towards her. Stanley plans to distort her reputation by telling his friend Mitch about Blanche’s history when she was living in Belle Reve, he told him about her affair with

But, when these officials were elected to Congress, they passed the “black codes” and thus the relations between the president and legislators became worst (Schriefer, Sivell and Arch R1). These so called “Black Codes” were “a series of laws to deprive blacks of their constitutional rights” that they were enacted mainly by Deep South legislatures. Black Codes differ from a state to another but they were stricter in the Deep South as they were sometimes irrationally austere. (Hazen 30) Furthermore, with the emergence of organizations such as the Red Shirts and the White League with the rise of the Conservative White Democrats’ power, efforts to prevent Black Americans from voting were escalating (Watts 247), even if the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S constitution that gave the Blacks the right to vote had been ratified in 1870.

The reason behind why Blanche cannot get what she desires is because she is a liar, she lies to people which has them thinking that she is crazy. This is evident through "When she

The Civil war has finally ended and the time for reconstruction is here. The African American slaves of the United States are now free from their despicable owners and there is nothing but opportunity ahead. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendment were passed by congress to ensure equality for former slaves. Slavery has now been abolished, former male slaves now have the right to vote, and also that states could not prohibit citizens from voting based on the color of their skin. All is good in the country and African Americans will finally be looked at as first-class citizens.

Racism’s Impact on Reconstruction While the issue of slavery evidently contributed to the divide that resulted in the American Civil War, it is debated whether prevailing ideals of racism caused the failure of the era following the war known as Reconstruction. With the abolishment of slavery, many of the southern states had to reassemble the social, economic, and political systems instilled in their societies. The Reconstruction Era was originally led by a radical republican government that pushed to raise taxes, establish coalition governments, and deprive former confederates of superiority they might have once held. However, during this time common views were obtained that the South could recover independently and that African Americans

Hahn discusses how blacks exploited the Civil War. Slaves were leaving their owners and enrolling in the Union Army. This made slavery a key issue of the conflict between the North and South. The post-war period was filled with confusion and chaos.

Here, she claims that she is an “innocent” person that was trapped in a net crime. She hoped that women and girls alike could learn from her mistakes that lead to her life as an outlaw. Blanche believed that an ex-convict like herself could live an honest life, if given the chance. She mentions her father and her desire to go to him, since he is the only family she holds on to. Blanche concludes the afterword admitting that she failed in trying to turn her husband away from crime, also supporting the possibility of ex-convicts to live among society as honest

One of the critical points is the fact that there was a homosexual character that killed himself, Blanche’s late husband. In this period in time homosexuality was a taboo. It is not acceptable and it was regarded as a sin. Blanche was a widow because her husband committed suicide and that is not an ideal of family life. Furthermore, Blanche had dated younger men in her hometown Laurel, Mississippi where she was exiled.