Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the American Civil War and Reconstruction
- The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the American Civil War and Reconstruction
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology
- Introduction
- Part I The Blind Ruck of Event
- Part II Worlds Made and Remade
- 11 The Literature of Reconstruction and the Worlds the Civil War Might Have Made
- 12 Frederick Douglass, Andrew Johnson, and the Work of Reconstruction
- 13 African Americans, Africa, and the Long Watch Night for Freedom
- 14 Literature and the Material Cultures of Confederate Remembrance
- 15 Elmira and the Post-War Geographies of Black Monumentalizing
- 16 Charles Chesnutt and the Reconstruction of Black Education
- 17 Charles Chesnutt, The Colonel’s Dream, and The Futures of Cotton
- 18 Brown v. Board, the Civil War Centennial, and the Literature of Civil Rights
- 19 The Future of Civil War and Reconstruction Literature
- 20 Reenactment as Resistance
- Suggestions for Further Reading
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to …
12 - Frederick Douglass, Andrew Johnson, and the Work of Reconstruction
from Part II - Worlds Made and Remade
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2022
- The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the American Civil War and Reconstruction
- The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the American Civil War and Reconstruction
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology
- Introduction
- Part I The Blind Ruck of Event
- Part II Worlds Made and Remade
- 11 The Literature of Reconstruction and the Worlds the Civil War Might Have Made
- 12 Frederick Douglass, Andrew Johnson, and the Work of Reconstruction
- 13 African Americans, Africa, and the Long Watch Night for Freedom
- 14 Literature and the Material Cultures of Confederate Remembrance
- 15 Elmira and the Post-War Geographies of Black Monumentalizing
- 16 Charles Chesnutt and the Reconstruction of Black Education
- 17 Charles Chesnutt, The Colonel’s Dream, and The Futures of Cotton
- 18 Brown v. Board, the Civil War Centennial, and the Literature of Civil Rights
- 19 The Future of Civil War and Reconstruction Literature
- 20 Reenactment as Resistance
- Suggestions for Further Reading
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to …
Summary
Traditionally, white radical Republicans like Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens have been given the main credit for the work of Reconstruction that culminated with the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments. This chapter shifts the focus to consider the work of Frederick Douglass and other Black activists in contesting the racist president Andrew Johnson and applying pressure to the Republicans to bring about the full citizenship and enfranchisement of African Americans. Douglass had a dramatic 1866 meeting with Andrew Johnson in the White House, and he continued to apply pressure to Johnson and the Republicans over the next several years. The chapter considers some of Douglass’s most important Reconstruction writings, including his essays in the Atlantic Monthly, his great 1867 lecture “Sources of Danger to the Republic,” and the 1881 version of his Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the American Civil War and Reconstruction , pp. 183 - 197Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022