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Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862-1877
Throughout the ten-year period following the end of the Civil War, Mississippians responded to broader movements in the country, to changes in the national and international economy, and to congressional and presidential initiatives as they worked to recover from the devastation of war and pursue new expressions of freedom. Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862–1877 is a compelling account of how Black Mississippians embraced this freedom and how white Mississippians could not.
Recording the mechanics of how the Confederate states were allowed to resume representation in Congress, the restoration of civil governments, and the political freedoms the formerly enslaved people acquired, Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862–1877 documents the ways economic freedoms, such as the acquisition of land and the negotiation of fair labor contracts, evolved. Jere Nash begins this exploration with how the formerly enslaved men and women changed the political landscape for Abraham Lincoln by taking matters into their own hands as the Union Army moved into Mississippi in 1862. Nash then traces the federal occupation of the state, the adoption of the infamous Black Codes by the state legislature in 1865, the drafting and approval of the new constitution in 1869, the selection of the first two Black men ever to serve in the United States Senate, and the use of terror and fraud by white Democrats to steal the election of 1875 and regain political power. Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862–1877 is a detailed and comprehensive history of this turbulent and eventful era in Mississippi.
Recording the mechanics of how the Confederate states were allowed to resume representation in Congress, the restoration of civil governments, and the political freedoms the formerly enslaved people acquired, Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862–1877 documents the ways economic freedoms, such as the acquisition of land and the negotiation of fair labor contracts, evolved. Jere Nash begins this exploration with how the formerly enslaved men and women changed the political landscape for Abraham Lincoln by taking matters into their own hands as the Union Army moved into Mississippi in 1862. Nash then traces the federal occupation of the state, the adoption of the infamous Black Codes by the state legislature in 1865, the drafting and approval of the new constitution in 1869, the selection of the first two Black men ever to serve in the United States Senate, and the use of terror and fraud by white Democrats to steal the election of 1875 and regain political power. Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862–1877 is a detailed and comprehensive history of this turbulent and eventful era in Mississippi.
360 pages, Hardcover
Published August 14, 2025
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April 20, 2026
Mississippi usually seems to be a 3rd world country when ranked for health, wealth, education and other desirable metrics. Its cost of living is often well thought of; its crime rate is mid-level for the nation. As the present century progresses, so does Mississippi. This book is part of that improvement.
This is not reading material for the faint of heart. Those looking for moral outrage will do well here. Mr. Nash takes us through the Black Code, the pertinent amendments to the Constitution, the ridiculous thought process of the Confederates, the rise and fall of cotton, methods used to steal elections, examples of the blatant, ingrained, bestial racism so calmly, pervasively, and offhandedly appearing in newspapers, laws, letters, speech and histories.
1877 was used as the end of the historical examination because that election put in place people who established laws and systems that shaped Mississippi and other states for the next century.
Of note: Confederate thought at the brink of war recognized that cotton was of prime importance. They seemed to ignore that cotton prices fluctuated, that ports could be blockaded, that crops could fail, and most importantly, that other countries grew cotton. Thus, income to wage war was lost, and so was post war prosperity.
After the election of 1877, a century would go by with the white supremacist government in place or struggling for eminence at the end; textbooks affecting generations would be written with a hidden racist slant, and Mississippi would be earning the negative kudos of my first sentence.
Highly Recommended
PS While comparisons are not drawn between then and now, the aware reader will make them. Similarities exist in technique and philosophy. As the lady next to me at a banquet this past weekend observed, "Every time I read about those slime balls, I get nauseated, then I hope someone shoots them. They deserve the guillotine." She felt that way when reading about them then or now.
This is not reading material for the faint of heart. Those looking for moral outrage will do well here. Mr. Nash takes us through the Black Code, the pertinent amendments to the Constitution, the ridiculous thought process of the Confederates, the rise and fall of cotton, methods used to steal elections, examples of the blatant, ingrained, bestial racism so calmly, pervasively, and offhandedly appearing in newspapers, laws, letters, speech and histories.
1877 was used as the end of the historical examination because that election put in place people who established laws and systems that shaped Mississippi and other states for the next century.
Of note: Confederate thought at the brink of war recognized that cotton was of prime importance. They seemed to ignore that cotton prices fluctuated, that ports could be blockaded, that crops could fail, and most importantly, that other countries grew cotton. Thus, income to wage war was lost, and so was post war prosperity.
After the election of 1877, a century would go by with the white supremacist government in place or struggling for eminence at the end; textbooks affecting generations would be written with a hidden racist slant, and Mississippi would be earning the negative kudos of my first sentence.
Highly Recommended
PS While comparisons are not drawn between then and now, the aware reader will make them. Similarities exist in technique and philosophy. As the lady next to me at a banquet this past weekend observed, "Every time I read about those slime balls, I get nauseated, then I hope someone shoots them. They deserve the guillotine." She felt that way when reading about them then or now.
Displaying 1 of 1 review