By the mid 18 seventies, it was clear chattel slavery was over. Phoner: The rich men of the north and their congressional representatives had gotten what they wanted most. They gave up on their alliance with the radical republicans and the newly freed black people in the south. By 19 hundred, jim crow is in full force. And i think that tells us a lot about slavery, and it tells us something about what they still hope to accomplish even in light of redemption.
After the Civil War, a surprising coalition tried to remake the United States into a real multiracial democracy for the first time. Reconstruction, as the effort was called, brought dramatic change to America. For a while.
Reported and produced by John Biewen, with series collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. The series script editor is Loretta Williams. Interviews with Victoria Smalls, Brent Morris, Eric Foner, Kidada Williams, Bobby Donaldson, and Edward Baptist.
Music by Algiers, John Erik Kaada, Eric Neveux, and Lucas Biewen. Music consulting and production help from Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
Photo: Historian Bobby Donaldson of the University of South Carolina, at the South Carolina State House, Columbia, SC. Photo by John Biewen.