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Richmond After the War, 1865-1890
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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April 11, 2026
Having this kind of general history is saving my thesis! An excellent way to simultaneously gain context and mine footnotes.
As for its depiction of Richmond, Chesson does a solid job responding to the flawed perception, common in the 20th-century South, that Reconstruction was a brutal occupation. Not only does Richmond emerge as a contested battleground for Republicans and Democrats on every part of the political spectrum, but he shows that Richmond's Confederate character never left its local government or social organization.
What's missing in this history is a strong sense of how the wider population understood that character as their city changed around them from 1865 to 1890. The engagement with sources is also largely based on shallow recounting.
As for its depiction of Richmond, Chesson does a solid job responding to the flawed perception, common in the 20th-century South, that Reconstruction was a brutal occupation. Not only does Richmond emerge as a contested battleground for Republicans and Democrats on every part of the political spectrum, but he shows that Richmond's Confederate character never left its local government or social organization.
What's missing in this history is a strong sense of how the wider population understood that character as their city changed around them from 1865 to 1890. The engagement with sources is also largely based on shallow recounting.
Displaying 1 of 1 review