West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War

by Heather Cox Richardson

The story of Reconstruction is not simply about the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War.  Instead, the late nineteenth century defined modern America, as Southerners, Northerners, and Westerners gradually hammered out a national identity that united three regions into a country that could become a world power. Ultimately, the story of Reconstruction is about how a middle class formed in America and how its members defined what the nation would stand for, both at home and abroad, for the next century and beyond.
A sweeping history of the United States from the era of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, this engaging book stretches the boundaries of our understanding of Reconstruction. Historian Heather Cox Richardson ties the North and West into the post–Civil War story that usually focuses narrowly on the South, encompassing the significant people and events of this profoundly important era.
By weaving together the experiences of real individuals—from a plantation mistress, a Native American warrior, and a labor organizer to Andrew Carnegie, Julia Ward Howe, Booker T. Washington, and Sitting Bull—who lived during the decades following the Civil War and who left records in their own words, Richardson tells a story about the creation of modern America.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Civil War, Politics, Historical, American Civil War

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Heather Cox Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College and an expert on American political and economic history. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning How the South Won the Civil War. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian, among other outlets. Her widely read newsletter, Letters from an American, synthesizes history and modern political issues.

Reviews

[John Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've come across Heather Cox Richardson via her excellent daily Facebook feed about the state of American politics. She is an historian at Boston College who uses many sources to glean the important things going on in the world of American politics and history, she has no allegiance to any news sources, which I find refreshing.

I picked this book up via her posts and found it interesting in that this time period certainly plays an important part in setting up the America we see today, especially on the great divide. Having read extensively about the causes of the American Civil War as a history major at University, and of Lincoln, my favourite American president, I had not read much about the aftermath of the war. It was eye opening but mostly depressing. Heather mostly believes that the North won the battle, but lost the war. Today white Southerners still control much of the destiny of America (ie Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz to name a few), which makes for difficult reading. I found this book interesting, but far from enjoyable.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welp. I never really thought I would like a book about the west this much. The structure was frustrating but also fascinating. The epilogue almost had me clapping the whole time. Very interesting tie between the west, creation of the middle class, and decline of the special interest. I’d loan it, but I read on Kindle. Ps- she hated Teddy Roosevelt.

[Amy Kannel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dry at times but fascinating too.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had expected this book to focus more tightly on reconstruction as it transpired in the South. Actually it focuses on the post-Civil War reconstruction of the entire country during the final four decades of the 19th century. Richardson depicts a country in continuous battle over whether the government should remain small and let the cream of society rise to the top or be active in protecting and advancing the special interests of not only former slaves but immigrants, workers, Indians, and women. Her mission is not to take sides in this debate; it is to describe what happened. She argues that the enduring discomfort between the North and South found a pressure relief value in the West, a place where honesty, hard work, faith and family gave Americans a chance to develop an odd kind of heroic individualism which in fact constantly relied upon federal support. She spends a lot of time focusing on the struggle between labor and business, a lot of time on the struggle of women to occupy an equal place in society, and a fair amount of time on the destruction of the indigenous peoples of America. Although she writes a great deal about a variety of Black leaders and common folk, her observations seem somewhat thin. Nonetheless she makes clear that the reaction against Blacks obtaining post-war privileges they previously were denied was fierce and effective. Corruption and White rage undid the best of intentions, and as she presents America, the guiding ethos became the creation of the middle class. Oddly, the capstone figure in this process became Teddy Roosevelt, the Easterner who became known as a Westerner, a man who was both a trust-buster and a Rough Rider. Why he should have been the hood ornament of the middle class is not entirely clear to me, but it had to do with bringing the East and West together…and not spending much time on the South.

I found the writing in the book wordy and wasn’t as interested in the long quotes from famous men and women as Richardson seems to have been. I also wondered if the book were not too ambitious; to cover so much ground, Richardson has to make many sweeping judgments. That can be disconcerting at times and dizzying at times. But she wanted to encapsulate the entirety of a nation’s development in the aftermath of a Great War, and in broad strokes, she achieved her goal.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The big picture of this book is that in the decades after the Civil War America developed a mindset of individualism and this individualism was supported by the government. It’s kind of ironic, if not hypocritical. But we still see it today - people believe they are rigged individualists, looking down on those receiving government help, not recognizing the help they receive.

Overall, a detailed history of reconstruction and beyond, up to the early 1900s.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent material and a very intriguing look at the development of the divisive politics we still suffer from today. However I found it difficult to keep my attention focused and a rather tedious book to read.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Americans are so annoying omg

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been a fan of History, but I was encouraged to read this book. It is written in a story-telling fashion that is mostly linear. There are many facets to this time-period, so there is a bit of back-tracking due to herding cats. But you can tell that it's an academic tome, as the introduction is longer than most chapters, and the appendices take up 25% of the volume.

Bottom line: everything that is happening today started between 1865 and 1890. It's amazing that so many institutions - both business and government - were created during this period. And while the names have changed, the root problems haven't evolved much.

Note that I read the Kindle version so there are no images, and there were some odd font errors.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the 2020 election I have been following Ms Cox for her insightful political analysis. This book examines the changes in America from the end of the Civil War through 1900. During that time, the American psyche became enmeshed with the mythos of the American West, with rugged individualism and the cowboy ideal.
Before the civil war, the American government was relatively small. It collected tariffs and ran the post office. The war broadened powers of taxation and organization and drastically changed expectations. After the war, the government became a driver for expansion by taking land from the native Americans and dividing it out amongst farmers, ranchers and railroad builders. A rising middle class and business interests skillfully defined themselves as 'true Americans' deserving of government efforts, while limiting help for lower classes such as immigrant workers, freed slaves and women pushing for expansion of rights under the constitution. Anyone who complained of discrimination was lazy and non-patriotic. At the same time that Post Reconstruction southern governments labeled Negros as ignorant and lazy, northern businessmen labeled workers demonstrating for fair wages and an 8 hour work day as communists. I did not realize how the Paris Commune uprising in the late 1800s frightened American politicians and businessmen.
The idea of structural inequality did not make sense to those who thought of the world in small town middle class terms. It was considered bad form to even want to be served in a restaurant or hotel where the owner didn't like your kind, be it Jews, negros or immigrants. Mainstream Americans perceived government activism as bowing to those who wanted 'extra' privilege rather than guaranteeing a level playing for all.

This was a dense read with a lot of information, so I read it slowly, making notes as I read. However, it is very well written with many insights for how America reached its current political crossroads. This worked well with a book I read earlier in the year about the Prohibition years, where many of the same forces were at play.

A note on the e-book edition I read. There was a consistent error in the typeface, where a word with two ff's at the end of the word such as 'off' was shown as 'o?'. Also, the edition did not have rights for any of the illustrations.

Somehow I never published this review, written at the time I read the book. Ms. Cox Richardson is an outstanding historian, capable of succinctly explaining complex ideas and social structures.

[Justinian · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020-07 – West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War. Heather Cox Richardson (Author) 2007. 413 Pages.

I read the authors daily column and enjoy them very much and in May I read her latest book (How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America). This book, “West from Appomattox”, was on a flash sale for kindle on Amazon and Nicholle snapped it up. This book is a fascinating read. It follows well known individuals and lesser known individuals to tell the story of American society and ideology from the end of the US Civil War up until about 1900 … the heart of the Progressive backlash to the excessed of the Gilded Age and the creeping growth from the bottom sectors. This is really how the middle Class and middle class ideology and values were created and entrenched. There is an at odds component in the making of this ideology and this is the notion of “special interests”. There were the special interests of the Freedmen and those at the bottom of the economic system and those oligarchs and trust makers at the top of the economic system. Those at the bottom were viewed in moralistic terms as seeking a hand out and not willing to help themselves. Those at the top were viewed as seeking to use the levers of power for their own enrichment. Ironically the great burgeoning middle class got where it was largely as result of government assistance but it did not see itself as a special interest, instead it viewed itself through the mythology of the west and a culture of rugged individualism. A mythology which has persisted into the 21st century given a greater push by the influences of libertarians and historical revisionism that has ramped up beginning with “movement conservatives” and Reagan. There is a serious disingenuousness with this because there is no acknowledgement of how they are themselves a special interest using government money and assistance to advance their own view of society. They also shamelessly use the levers of power to make the things conform to this view and lash out at others who do not conform as somehow not American. This is an excellent book, very well researched and written. I highlighted many passages and found through the text many references to literature of the period under discussion to follow up with and deepen my own understanding.

[Merrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a tough time following this -- probably a reflection of distracted times and overall exhaustion vs the text -- and I wish the author had more frequently reminded readers that White American history is not the universal experience. But, extremely helpful to understand the huge transition during Reconstruction that went far beyond the South and has clear ramifications today. Would recommend the last chapter and Epilogue as standalone reads.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

West from Appomattox preceded Dr. Richardson's How the South Won the Civil War, but it certainly informs her principal scholarship. Dr. Richardson reviews the country from 1865 to 1901, and details how the slavery history of the South spread to the West and developed into the American Exceptionalism and individualism that masks or hides our racism past.
For me, the non-historian interested in where we came from, and where we headed, her views are enlightening. Here she talks about what's in the soup:

"Paradoxically, American individualists came to depend on government support while denying it to others. This process was not as simple as today’s politicians would have us think, with small-government Republicans fighting against big-government Democrats who wanted to create a welfare state.
"In fact, in the mid-1800s, it was the Republicans, not the Democrats, who stood for big government and Democrats who insisted on government limitations. Instead, the process was a complicated story in which sectional animosities, racial tensions, industrialization, women’s activism, and westward expansion cut across party lines to create both a new definition of what it meant to be an American and a new vision of the government’s role in the lives of its citizens."

Will an understanding of the past help us in our quest for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all members of our Republic? Time will tell, and some of us might run out of time.

[James Bechtel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "West from Appomattox," published in 2007, Heather Cox Richardson defines the term Reconstruction more broadly than just the reunification of the North and South. The West plays a significant role in Reconstruction by providing a foundation for a middle-class ideology of self-reliant individualism that defined the proper relationship between the government and the individual. Perceptively, she has detailed the creation of the myth of the individualist/exceptional America that includes some people and most definitely excludes others. We are still living with this ideology. She has written a surprising book that integrates new evidence and new perspectives (at least for me some new evidence and perspectives) into a compelling history.

[Phil Lawless · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a historians judgment about what happened after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, about the political changes that happened after the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction. It offers some real insights into the currents that have led to the political aspects of present day America, particularly the aspect of rugged individualism after Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders imaged again through Ronald Reagan. Heather Cox Richardson is a historian who is able to articulate much of the changes that have happened since the Civil War in clearly defined terms, even up to the present day.

[Cam's Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heather Richardson’s West from Appomattox argues that after the Civil War, Americans struggled to “define what it meant to be an American” (1). Richardson views the role of the government from 1865 to 1901 crucial for forging American political and cultural ideologies. The middle-class emerged at this time to dictate what the government could or not do. This middle-class believed in individualism and that if a man worked hard enough, he could pull himself up by the bootstraps and become wealthy. It primarily consisted of white “economically secure and increasingly comfortable” (344) families. This middle-class, unsurprisingly, was very hypocritical. On one hand, it insisted that the others like, African Americans, Native Americans, special interest groups, failing farmers, the poor etc., disrupted their economic harmony. In their eyes, these others misused the government for handouts and an excuse not to cooperate within society. On the other hand, this same middle-class used the government to benefit themselves. This includes the creation of Yellowstone Park (144), limiting the power of trusts (232), and social welfare legislation on the bases of women’s rights on domesticity (218).
The ideology of the West played a major role in rebuilding America. The West, according to the middle-class, embodied independence, “American individualism, family, and loyalty” (224). Its inhabitants were hardworking people that relied on no one but themselves. They built their own log cabins, raised their own cattle, mined for gold and coal, fought “courageously” against “hostile” Native Americans, and had “that buoyancy and exuberance which comes with freedom” (Turner, 14). The frontier promoted true democracy, without the influence of special interest groups, and had anti-government appeal.
Ironically, this view of the West was superficial. The government and the railroads promised and promoted success but true success and wealth came few and far between. A majority of people who uprooted their lives felt cheated by their living conditions. For example, when Luna Kelly and her family moved to Nebraska, they lived in a dugout and encountered “centipedes, snakes; the lack of light and ventilation” (156). Grasshoppers and other insects invaded their spaces and plagued their crops. Inhabitants, contrary to middle-class beliefs, also relied on the government to protect them from Native American raids. Fed up, they got into politics and created the Granges and Farmers’ Alliances.
A book this size is expected to fall short in some areas. For example, Richardson left out the role of religion in the late 19th and early 20th century. What role did Baptism, Methodism, and Pentecostalism play in the lives of southern Black Americans? What about anti-Catholicism and Protestant nativism? Was there even a top religion of the loosely-defined middle-class? Surely if Richardson had provided an answer to one of these questions, it would have aided her argument.

[Susan Waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:
pg 75
Anxious to spread settlers west and link the markets of China and the Orient with East Coast factories, Congress in 1862 offered free land to any entrepreneur willing to build a railroad line across the country, land that could be sold to finance the cost of construction.

pg 81
By 1870 girls made up the majority of high school graduates. Fewer than 2% of college age Americans went to college; women made of 21% of that group.

pg 89
For Republicans, the election (of 1868) was about the survival of the free labor system based on economic harmony for which the North had fought. Insisting that there was no class conflict in America and that all Americans were climbing upward together, they emphasized America's founding principle of republican equality. Military protection for African Americans was imperative, they argues, not to guarantee a Republic constituency, but because it was "the duty of the Government to sustain constitutions securing equal civil and political rights to all... and to prevent the people of the South from a state of anarchy."

pg 170
As mainstream opinion turned against blacks who were caricatured as wanting government benefits with work, Americans opposed the growth of national government power to protect African Americans from the widespread discrimination they faced. in 1875 the passage of the Civil Rights Act brought down the wrath of opponents, who howled that African Americans who used the law to challenge their exclusion from public places were not protesting a real disability, but rather were the degraded tools of designing politicians.

pg 303
The very act of agitating for civil rights indicated a person was unworthy of them, making it impossible to challenge increasing segregation and discrimination.

pg 345
Because members of the middle class identified their values with the interests of the country at large, the government could -and did- advance their interests, creating the paradox of a middle class that benefited mightily from government protection while its members espoused self-help and government inaction, At the same time that members of the middle class celebrated individual enterprise, self-reliance, and small government, they prompted certain forms of government inaction. The need to create taxable property during the war had made them willing to use the government to promote the individual enterprise that lay at the heart of theri vision of American life. With fewer and fewer misgivings about government action, they passed a series of laws designed to foster economic growth, After the war, this government activism gradually expanded to government prohibitions on a range of business practices, price fixing, kickbacks, and so on, which threatened the economic security of a developing middle class.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thorough study of the rise of American individualism between the Civil War and the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt. Cox Richardson clearly knew the period and has put together a work that walks the reader through those years that were so formative for American self-understanding.

Because I do not know this period and probably did not read the introduction as I should have, I thought that the book was primarily about reconstruction in the South, especially in light of the sub-title. I read for a long time before I understood that it seems to be about the rise of American individualism with an activist government to support that individualism.

The strength of this book is its weakness. Heather Cox has done extensive research on the period and brings that research to bear in the writing of West from Appomattox. the attentive reader will come away with a much greater understanding of the period under consideration. But there is so much detailed research in the book that for the non-specialist the "forest is somewhat lost for the trees." Because of the ongoing significance of American individualism for life in the United States, it would be good to have a work that presents Heather Cox's argument in more of a summary form.

It is a good read and the patient student will come away enriched in understanding not only of the late 19th century but how Americans see themselves in the present.

[Joel Boonstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me far longer to finish than it should have. I don’t think it’s the fault of the book, and more about when I chose to read it.

I always assumed “reconstruction” meant the literal rebuilding of stuff after the civil war, and maybe also the metaphorical rebuilding of a nation. And probably that’s what it generally means - if this was covered in my history classes I have forgotten it.

Richardson has a different, or more expansive take on reconstruction. The final sentence of the book probably is as good a summary as any:

“Ultimately, the story of reconstruction is about how a middle class formed in America and how its members defined what the nation would stand for, both at home and abroad, for the next century and beyond.”

This book is about a nation figuring out, following a war that nearly tore itself apart, who it wants to be, and who should be included (or not) in that identity.

I read a book that picks up more or less where this one leaves off: “Gangsters of Capitalism” (by Jonathan M. Katz), about America’s imperial adventures in the world. Richardson’s book sets the stage for how we got to the point where we were invading countries and how we decided to justify it to others and ourselves. (For some definition of “our”)

A note: avoid the Kindle edition. It’s terrible - it’s missing all of the figures and has a ton of transcription errors. It definitely made the reading experience worse.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2007.

Heather Cox Richardson is a historian I have only recently discovered because of her prolific social media presence that she developed while under Covid lockdown. She writes a daily news summary of a few paragraphs with a view towards how these events match up with historical events or trends. Plus, she takes questions from people and develops a one hour daily online lecture. They are interesting, sometimes rambling little presentations and this book shares a lot of the same features.

Richardson is looking at the time right after the Civil War in American History. In the history books, Reconstruction, the Old West, the Gilded Age and the Spanish-American War are all treated a separate things. Combining all of these typical divisions of American history into one book makes for a more comprehensive study of the time period.

Traditionally, they are studied separately - in a typical history book they are literally different chapters. Mostly, Richardson does this, too. Mostly - but she is very willing to cross over to the other areas of study.

For example, it really impossible to understand the Old West without having an understanding of...

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still reading this book, but I could not take the shockingly poor quality of the book file any longer. There seems to have been zero proofreading. Every time there’s a word with two f’s the letters are replaced by a question mark. In addition, there are typos and misspellings throughout the book. Finally, the publisher failed to include illustrations where they could get both print and electronic permission to use. As a result, every illustration says that we must check the print version of the book and so there are no illustrations in place in the electronic file.

I produced books for 45 years. In my life, I would never let such a poor quality book escape out into the public.

Shame on Yale University Press.

The stars that I give the book are for the writing.

[Samantha (Bookwyrmsam) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I did gain a lot of insight into post-Civil War America from this book and I appreciated the nuanced approach to discussions of the many political topics covered throughout, I ultimately found the writing to be somewhat dry and repetitive which made it difficult to get through. While it's probably more engaging than a straight up textbook I wouldn't really recommend it unless you are particularly interested in the development of modern political party lines between the Civil War and the 1890's. All that being said, I will remind that non-fiction is not my typical reading preference so if you enjoy reading about history this might be your jam!

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Heather Cox Richardson. She has an acute understanding of history and politics, with a point of view that I very much appreciate. In her book "West from Appomattox", she examines the political evolution of Civil War Reconstruction. I found it very illuminating, 4.5 stars. I rated the book 3 stars because of the writing, which I found quite dry and repetitive (too academic for me as a lay reader). This book was published in 2006. Her later writings and her current daily letter are more "user friendly". Still, if your interests include Reconstruction, this book is worth your time.

[Patrick Tullis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative book that discusses the United States, starting with the time period immediately after the U.S. Civil War and ending at the start of the 20th century.

The author lays out her thesis well and provides copious amount of supporting evidence. This book gave me a new perspective on American politics and what may potentially be the underlying reason why there is still such a similar divide today as there was in the late 19th century.

Not 5 stars because it is a little textbook-like and, can at times, be redundant. However, I do recognize the need to provide overwhelming evidence to support a historical thesis.

[John Barnum · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very good, but there were many distracting typos in the kindle edition. All "ff" at the end of a word were transformed to "?" so a word like "staff" was written as sta? All "ff"in the middle of a word were transformed into "ffi" so "official" became "official". I don't think the author wrote these words this way but must have been modified by the conversion to the kindle edition. The same errors exist in the online kindle edition. Bottom line is that I would recommend this book despite the distractions. I learned a lot.

[Bill Scudder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decided to end my suffering … got through about 75% of the book, but gave up. I was extremely interested in the “Reconstruction” subject, but this book was far too sweeping and ambitious and read more like an academic book. It seems like every cultural topic from the Civil War up to the end of the 19th century is touched on: black rights, worker rights, women’s rights, currency issues, Republicans vs. Democrats, Native American rights, immigrant rights, The West, The South, The North, etc., etc.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was familiar with most of this material from Ms. Richardson's online talks, which I found more interesting than this book.
I was very disappointed in this Kindle edition. Every word that ended as "ff" was shown as "?" and every word that had "ff" in the middle was given as "ffi". None of the rights to include the illustrations were granted to electronic media - "Please refer to print publication"? Glad I got it on sale.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful account of the post Civil War reconstruction and how the actions and decisions of that time are still impacting us today. Please ignore the start and finish times of the book, as it is not literal—I did start in August but due to an over abundance of requested library books that I had to read & return I had postponed reading West from Appomattox until this month, so in reality most of it was read in January 2024.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

West from Appomattox is a plodding and unfocused attempt at recounting Reconstruction that struggles to offer fresh insights or coherence. Heather Cox Richardson meanders through her narrative, bogging it down with superficial analysis and failing to connect the broader themes in any meaningful way. The result is a dry, unengaging read that adds little value to the study of this pivotal era.

[Maggie Griesing · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many Tidbits

Lots of facts and tidbits, some of them interesting. But overall this book fails to tell a compelling story. I was interested in this time period, but by mid book, became bored with seemingly endless tidbits that were not well connected.
NUMEROUS MISSPELLINGS were distracting, especially for a book at this price on kindle. Editors ever heard of “spell check”?

[Jennifer Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a slow read for me and I skimmed the last couple chapters... the ebook has “?” in place of “f” which was odd to read and disappointed that no permission for the graphics was granted for electronic publication. In the first half that I did enjoy, much of the content had glimpses of today’s politics. Sadly history does repeat itself