Requiem for Reconstruction Black countermemory and the legacy of the Lowcountry's lost political generation Bland, Robert D. creator author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut text bibliography ncu 2026 2026 monographic eng print 248 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; 24 cm. "The promise of Reconstruction sparked a transformative era in American history as free and newly emancipated Black Americans sought to redefine their place in a nation still grappling with the legacy of slavery. Often remembered as a period of failed progressive change that gave way to Jim Crow and second-class citizenship, Reconstruction's tragic narrative has long overshadowed the resilience and agency of African Americans during this time. Requiem for Reconstruction chronicles Reconstruction's legacy by focusing on key Black figures such as South Carolina congressman Robert Smalls, Judge William Whipper, writer Frances Rollin, and others who shaped postbellum Black America. Robert D. Bland traces the impact of the Reconstruction generation - Black Americans born between 1840 and 1870 who saw Reconstruction as a defining political movement and worked to preserve its legacy by establishing a new set of historical practices such as formulating new archives, shaping local community counternarratives, using the Black press to inform national audiences about Southern Republican politics, and developing a framework to interpret the recent past's connection to their present world. Set in South Carolina's Lowcountry - a hub of Black freedom, landownership, and activism - this book shows how late nineteenth-century Black leaders, educators, and journalists built a powerful countermemory of Reconstruction, defying the dominant white narrative that sought to erase their contributions"-- Provided by publisher. A great movement in South Carolina: the Black Port Royal Experiment and the origins of postbellum racial destiny -- A multiple-front memory war: redemption and remembering Reconstruction-era violence -- The rise of the Black Seventh: racial gerrymandering, rival geography, and the struggle over the Republican Party's destiny in South Carolina -- Reconstruction's last congressman: the Gilded Age Black public sphere and the battle over Robert Smalls's legacy -- More good from Nazareth: the Lowcountry's long Reconstruction, disfranchisement, and archiving countermemory at the century's end -- The Jim Crow generation: Black teachers, the industrial school movement, and the educational battle over Reconstruction's legacy in the segregated South -- Requiem for Reconstruction: the Great Migration, interwar African American history, and the afterlife of the Reconstruction generation. Robert D. Bland. Includes bibliographical references and index. n-us-sc Smalls, Robert 1839-1915 Republican Party (S.C.) History 19th century Republican Party (S.C.) African Americans South Carolina History 19th century African Americans Political activity South Carolina Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) South Carolina Collective memory South Carolina South Carolina Politics and government 19th century Noirs américains Caroline du Sud Histoire 19e siècle Noirs américains Activité politique Caroline du Sud Mémoire collective Caroline du Sud Caroline du Sud Politique et gouvernement 19e siècle SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / American / African American & Black Studies SOCIAL SCIENCE / Race & Ethnic Relations African Americans History African Americans Collective memory Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) South Carolina 1800-1899 fast E185.93.S7 B53 2026 975.7/041 SOC001000 SOC070000 John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture 9781469691862 1469691868 9781469691879 1469691876 9781469691893 9781469688756 9781469691886 9781469691909 2025032996 POD NcU/DLC 250722 20260126163648.0 in00005677717 eng