The Abolitionist Legacy

Building on arguments presented in The Struggle for Equality, James McPherson shows that many abolitionists did not retreat from Reconstruction, as historical accounts frequently lead us to believe, but instead vigorously continued the battle for black rights long after the Civil War. Tracing the activities of nearly 300 abolitionists and their descendants, he reveals that some played a crucial role in the establishment of schools and colleges for southern blacks, while others formed the vanguard of liberals who founded the NAACP in 1910. The author's examination of the complex and unhappy fate of Reconstruction clarifies the uneasy partnership of northern and southern white liberals after 1870, the tensions between black activists and white neo-abolitionists, the evolution of resistance to racist ideologies, and the origins of the NAACP.

Building on arguments presented in the author's "The Struggle for Equality", this study describes how many American Abolitionists did not retreat during the Reconstruction period after the US Civil War, but vigorously continued their battle to free the slaves.

Preface to the 1995 Edition Ch. 1Unfinished Task: The Civil Rights Act of 1875 Ch. 2Reconstruction Reconfirmed? The Election of 1872 Ch. 3Reconstruction Unravels, 1873-1876 Ch. 4Time, Education, and Bootstraps Ch. 5The Compromise of 1877 Ch. 6Crosscurrents and Confusion, 1877-1880 Ch. 7The New South Ch. 8Good-bye to the Bloody Shirt Ch. 9The Roots of Freedmen's Education Ch. 10Between Black and White: Puritans in Babylon Ch. 11Paternalism and Piety Ch. 12Detour or Mainstream? The Curriculum of Missionary Schools Ch. 13The Segregation Issue Ch. 14Berea College Ch. 15The Struggle for Black Control Ch. 16The Shattering of Hope Ch. 17Women's Rights and Anti-Imperialism Ch. 18History and Biology Ch. 19Booker T. Washington and the Reaffirmation of Gradualism Ch. 20The Rejection of Gradualism and the Founding of the NAACP Appendix A: Abolitionists on Whom This Book is Based Appendix B: Southern Negro Colleges and Secondary Schools Established by Northern Mission Societies A Note on Sources Index