This two-part course, taught by Richard Stewart, will focus on the period of Reconstruction that occurred after the Civil War. Reconstruction presented the country with awesome challenges, such as: how to readmit the states that had seceded before the Civil War, what should be the status of the four million formerly enslaved persons, and which branch of the US government should take the leading role in addressing these challenges? This first class will address the rise of the Radical Republicans and their goals of freedom and equality for the freed persons. The second class will examine the fracturing of the Radicals’ coalition and the rise of the Redeemers, bent on thwarting the freed persons’ aspirations and establishing eight decades of Jim Crow laws.

Presented by the Friends of Snow Library. To register or for more information, visit https://friendsofsnowlibrary.org/lifetime-learning-program/.