The Civil War and Reconstruction: A Documentary Reader

This volume deals with two momentous and interrelated events in American history. The American Civil War is the country’s largest and most significant war, as northern victory created national sovereignty and ended legal slavery. Reconstruction, although intricately linked to the Civil War, has a more complicated and darker legacy. During this era, the U.S. government undertook a limited effort in behalf of black citizenship, and—faced with violent resistance from white southerners—abandoned the effort. Emancipated and enfranchised after the Civil War, African Americans contributed to the economic, social, and political Reconstruction of the South only to see their efforts come to an end due to southern white resistance and northern indifference. This reader provides students with a collection of more than sixty essential documentary sources for these periods, including presidential addresses, official reports, songs and poems, and a variety of eyewitness testimony concerning significant (and often dramatic) events. Contextualizing headnotes explain the importance of each document. Harrold’s introduction includes an explanation of how historians analyze, contextualize, and interpret a variety of primary sources related to the Civil War and Reconstruction, allowing students to acquire a better understanding of the raw materials with which historians create narratives of the past, and making this volume a valuable supplement to a variety of courses.

Acknowledgments. Introduction. I: Causes: . 1. [William Lloyd Garrison], Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti–Slavery Society, 1833. 2. Henry Highland Garnet, Address to the Slaves of the U.S., 1843. 3. John C. Calhoun, Address of the Southern Delegates to Their Constituents,1849. 4. William H. Seward, Irrepressible Conflict, 1858. 5. Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing–Room Companion, Slaves Picking Cotton, 1858. 6. John Brown, Last Speech, 1859. II: Disunion to War: . 1. South Carolina, Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina, 1860. 2. John J. Crittenden, Crittenden Compromise Proposal, 1860. 3. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Jefferson Davis about to Become Provisional President of the Confederacy, 1861. 4. Daniel Decatur Emmett, I wish I was in Dixie’s Land, 1860. 5. Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, 1861. 6. Alexander H. Stephens, Cornerstone Speech, 1861. 7. Mary Boykin Chesnut, Approaching Conflict at Fort Sumter, 1861. III: Battles:. 1. William Howard Russell, First Battle of Bull Run, 1861. 2. Walt Whitman, “1861,” 1861. 3. William Monks, Battle of Wilson Creek and Guerilla War in Missouri, 1861–1862. 4. S. Dana Greene, The Monitor Battles The Virginia (Merrimac), 1862. 5. David H. Strother, Battle of Antietam, 1862. 6. Frank A. Haskell, Battle of Gettysburg, 1863. 7. Timothy O’Sullivan, Union Dead on the Gettysburg Battlefield, 1863. 8. Samuel E. Hope, Black–White Guerilla War in Florida, 1863. 9. James Longstreet, Battle of Chickamauga, 1863. 10. Robert E. Lee, Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, 1865. 11. Ulysses S. Grant, General Report of Operations, 1865. IV: Soldiers’ Experiences:. 1. Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, A Woman in the New York Volunteers, 1862–1863. 2. Spencer Glasgow Welch, Preserving Discipline in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1863 3. Unattributed Photograph, Union Soldiers Recovering from Wounds, 1864. 4. Frank Holsinger, Union Soldiers under Fire, 1862–1864. 5. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Religion and the Daily Lives of Union Soldiers in Alabama, 1864 6. Charles Minor Blackford, A Confederate Officer Observes the Siege of Petersburg, 1864 7. James S. Brisbin, U.S. Colored Cavalry in Virginia, 1864. 8. Unidentified U.S. Sanitary Commission Official, On Soldiers and Prostitutes, City Point, Virginia, 1864. 9. Eliza Frances Andrews, A Confederate Woman on Union Prisoners at Andersonville, 1865. V: Homefronts: . 1. Mary A. Ward, Confederate Women Prepare Their Men for War, 1861. 2. Regis de Trobriand, Corruption in Washington, D.C., 1862. 3. Julia A. Wilbur, Contraband Camps in Alexandria, Virginia, 1863. 4. [Dora Miller], Life in Besieged Vicksburg, 1863. 5. Sallie Brock Putnam, Richmond Bread Riot, 1863. 6. Illustrated London News, New York City Draft Riot, 1863. 7. John Greenleaf Whittier, Barbara Frietchie, 1864. VI: Political Perspectives: . 1. Julia Ward Howe, Battle Hymn of the Republic, 1862. 2. Horace Greeley and Abraham Lincoln, Union War Aims, 1862. 3. Joseph E. Brown, State Sovereignty in the Confederacy, 1862. 4. Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, 1863. 5. Clement L. Vallandigham, Northern Opposition to the Civil War, 1863. 6. Frederick Douglass, Men of Color to Arms, 1863. 7. Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863. 8. Bromley and Company, Democratic Caricature of Republican Racial Policy, 1864. 9. Robert Barnwell Rhett Jr., War for Slavery, 1865. 10. Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865. VII: The Trans–Mississippi West:. 1. U.S. Congress, Homestead Act, 1862. 2. John S. Smith, Sand Creek Massacre, 1864. 3. United States and Sioux Nation, Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868. 4. Andrew J. Russell, Joining of the Rails, Promontory, Utah, 1869. VIII: Reconstruction:. 1. Abraham Lincoln, Presidential Reconstruction, 1863. 2. Alexander Gardner, African–American Refugees Amid Ruins of Richmond, 1865. 3. State Convention of the Colored People of South Carolina, Memorial To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, 1865. 4. Thaddeus Stevens, Congressional Reconstruction, 1865. 5. United States, Reconstruction Amendments. 6. National Woman Suffrage and Educational Committee, An Appeal to The Women of the United States, 1871. 7. Elias Hill, Ku Klux Klan Terrorism, 1871. 8. Albion W. Tourgee, Failure of Reconstruction, 1879. Suggested Reading. . . . .

Stanley Harrold is Professor of History at South Carolina State University and coauthor (with Darlene Clark Hine and William C. Hine) of the textbook African American Odyssey , Third Edition (2006). His most recent books include The Rise of Aggressive Abolitionism: Addresses to the Slaves (2004), Subversives: Antislavery Community in Washington, D.C., 1828–1865 (2003),and American Abolitionists (2001). He is coeditor (with Randall Miller) of the series “Southern Dissent”, and his articles have appeared in Civil War History, Journal of Southern History, Radical History Review, and Journal of the Early Republic .

"A rich mix of documents, extending chronologically from Garrison′s 1833 ′Declaration of Sentiments′ to Tourgée′s grim 1879 commentary on Reconstruction. Here the words of Lincoln and Calhoun mingle with those of lesser–known folk: a woman soldier, a witness to the Sand Creek Massacre, black South Carolinians asserting their rights of citizenship. Excellent for course adoption." Elizabeth Leonard, Colby College<!––end––> "This most useful collection of first–hand testimony sheds light on the origins of the Civil War, the civilian and military sides of the conflict, and its contentious aftermath during Reconstruction. Compelling as well as instructive, these accounts reveal a nation grappling with issues both profoundly important and dramatic." Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia "A balanced collection, expertly introduced and edited, that will serve students and teachers well for years to come. Harrold′s reader is distinguished by the breadth of depth of its sources, giving readers a comprehensive view of the war years and Reconstruction." Aaron Sheehan–Dean, University of North Florida "An excellent collection of materials on the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction. It will be of enormous value to all students of this tumultuous period in US history." John Ashworth, University of Nottingham "Professor Harrold’s compilation of primary documents offers a useful and thorough coverage of the Civil War and Reconstruction era including a student–friendly selection of songs, poetry, newspaper articles, illustrations, and political cartoons." Joan Waugh, University of California, Los Angeles “Harrold has deftly drawn from the political, social, military, and economic history of the north, south, and west to provide a comprehensive picture of America in the Civil War era.” Heather Cox Richardson, University of Massachusetts, Amherst