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Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866-1896
An in-depth study of American social movements after the Civil War and their lessons for today by a prizewinning historian
The Civil War unleashed a torrent of claims for equality--in the chaotic years following the war, former slaves, women's rights activists, farmhands, and factory workers all engaged in the pursuit of the meaning of equality in America. This contest resulted in experiments in collective action, as millions joined leagues and unions. In Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866-1886, Charles Postel demonstrates how taking stock of these movements forces us to rethink some of the central myths of American history.
Despite a nationwide push for equality, egalitarian impulses oftentimes clashed with one another. These dynamics get to the heart of the great paradox of the fifty years following the Civil War and of American history at large: Waves of agricultural, labor, and women's rights movements were accompanied by the deepening of racial discrimination and oppression. Herculean efforts to overcome the economic inequality of the first Gilded Age and the sexual inequality of the late-Victorian social order emerged alongside Native American dispossession, Chinese exclusion, Jim Crow segregation, and lynch law.
Now, as Postel argues, the twenty-first century has ushered in a second Gilded Age of savage socioeconomic inequalities. Convincing and learned, Equality explores the roots of these social fissures and speaks urgently to the need for expansive strides toward equality to meet our contemporary crisis.
The Civil War unleashed a torrent of claims for equality--in the chaotic years following the war, former slaves, women's rights activists, farmhands, and factory workers all engaged in the pursuit of the meaning of equality in America. This contest resulted in experiments in collective action, as millions joined leagues and unions. In Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866-1886, Charles Postel demonstrates how taking stock of these movements forces us to rethink some of the central myths of American history.
Despite a nationwide push for equality, egalitarian impulses oftentimes clashed with one another. These dynamics get to the heart of the great paradox of the fifty years following the Civil War and of American history at large: Waves of agricultural, labor, and women's rights movements were accompanied by the deepening of racial discrimination and oppression. Herculean efforts to overcome the economic inequality of the first Gilded Age and the sexual inequality of the late-Victorian social order emerged alongside Native American dispossession, Chinese exclusion, Jim Crow segregation, and lynch law.
Now, as Postel argues, the twenty-first century has ushered in a second Gilded Age of savage socioeconomic inequalities. Convincing and learned, Equality explores the roots of these social fissures and speaks urgently to the need for expansive strides toward equality to meet our contemporary crisis.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 19, 2024
Although this book starts out a bit slow, it is a thorough and important history of the associations that sprang up in the years 1866-1896. The purpose of each of the organizations that are covered, whether they aspired to egalitarian, and whether they succeeded. The most racist groups were in the South although the North was no paradise of egalitarianism- particularly as Jim Crow took hold. The Grange is covered as one of the earliest of the period. Although it advertised itself as egalitarian, it really was not. Women were allowed in the organization but seem to have very little opportunity to achieve leadership positions. The Grange grew its organization not only in the states but in several European countries as well. African Americans were excluded but that wasn't included in their literature, at least initially but as Reconstruction began to near its end, it became more racist in its approach.
Several women's groups were highlighted and it seems that those groups containing white women from plantations had no time for belonging to integrated groups- not surprisingly. The Knights of Labor received a lot of attention, especially one of its heads, Terrence Powderly. Powderly at least tried to be more inclusive but was pressured to keep the races separate. Still, some groups did contain African American members or formed chapters of their own. The Knights fought for favorable conditions in the workplace and met with some success. They became quite influential around the country.
The Populists are also discussed in the book. Initially, they welcomed African Americans but also bowed to the pressure from white supremacists and became segregated. In terms of political power, the Populists were able to send several men to Congress and were able to achieve some of their goals.
Generally, although a few of them tried, these groups met with little or no success in creating bonds between races and genders. It was a time of great upheaval following the Civil War and although Radical Reconstruction may have created hope in the country that we might solve the problem of white supremacy, they never did. We still haven't.
Several women's groups were highlighted and it seems that those groups containing white women from plantations had no time for belonging to integrated groups- not surprisingly. The Knights of Labor received a lot of attention, especially one of its heads, Terrence Powderly. Powderly at least tried to be more inclusive but was pressured to keep the races separate. Still, some groups did contain African American members or formed chapters of their own. The Knights fought for favorable conditions in the workplace and met with some success. They became quite influential around the country.
The Populists are also discussed in the book. Initially, they welcomed African Americans but also bowed to the pressure from white supremacists and became segregated. In terms of political power, the Populists were able to send several men to Congress and were able to achieve some of their goals.
Generally, although a few of them tried, these groups met with little or no success in creating bonds between races and genders. It was a time of great upheaval following the Civil War and although Radical Reconstruction may have created hope in the country that we might solve the problem of white supremacy, they never did. We still haven't.
November 24, 2019
This one took a while for me to get into, but get into it I did - to some extent. It's a history of various movements in the late 19th century to promote various forms of social equality. More than that, it's how those movements often came in conflict with each other and forced people to prioritize a movement at the expense of others or if they were going to completely fight against the other movements. We'd like to think that all movements for equality work together, but the simple fact is that's not the case. Simply put, calls for solidarity often worked best when coupled with a willingness to exclude others.
The movements are: farmers (the Grange), women's movement (WCTU, which focused on more than just temperance), labor unions (the Knights of Labor), and oh yes - black rights as well. In the background of all these movements was the shadow of the Civil War. Not just the fighting and the Amendments, but the sectional divisions behind it - and that caused many to try to get past the sectional divide.
The Grange wanted to avoid racial issues, help farmers, and unite farmers in the North and South. They used the masons as a model. Their focus was on economics, as they opposed monopolies. But their call for sectional unity caused them to ignore black farmers. In the South, Grangers often were Klaners. They even helped revive Andrew Johnson's career after his presidency.
The WCTU was a widespread reform organization. Temperance was supported in part because so many male drunks treated women so badly. It became the largest women's organization in the US. Frances Willard spoke of human equality to promote women's rights without actually talking of women's rights directly. They called for prison reform, in part because female prisoners were so subject to rape. But the WCTU also wanted southern support. They also had northern black support. But they wouldn't work with blacks in the south. They came to believe that the southern black vote was unreliable and corrupted by saloon influence. Eventually, Willard came to support restricting the black vote via literacy tests.
The Knights of Labor became the biggest labor union. Blacks had been deeply skeptical of the NLU, which had tried for southern support. The NLU had supported (officially) all workers, but called on blacks to quit calling for civil rights as blacks and instead look only to labor rights. The NLU supported Native American rights, but strongly supported Chinese exclusion. The Knights of Labor rose up and was egalitarian, but often anti-immigrant. Their guys did the Rock Springs Massacre. They tried to get black support and southern support. At one point, they had success getting white Kentucky coal miners to support black union members. They gained black landless poor rural members in the south. But the Knights stayed out of social issues with race -focusing only on labor issues. Over time, they lost virtually all their black support in the south.
Corporate lawyers asserted corporate equality in courts as a counter-offensive to the era's egalitarian social movements. Henry George emerged as a labor champion, with his call for the single tax. Even some farmers supported it, thinking while they'd pay more on land taxes, getting rid of all other taxes would benefit them overall.
The Supreme Court gutted civil rights for blacks. Frances Willard tried to avoid racial issues, causing Ida B. Wells to criticize her (though Frederick Douglass defended the WCTU shortly before his death). The Farmers Alliance supported Jim Crow and entered into negioations with the Knights of Labor. The People's Party also got caught up on these various forms of equality, and went the same was as the Alliance (hardly surprising, given how it began as an outgrowth of the Alliance).
In the 20th century, these movements have often butted heads. The New Deal focused on economic matters, ignoring racial and sexual forms of equality. Since then, unions have gone way down. In the 21st century, we're seeing a new rise of all these movements, but there's still never been a great answer to the question of how to advance these causes.
This book kind of crept up on me. I got more out of it than I thought I would.
The movements are: farmers (the Grange), women's movement (WCTU, which focused on more than just temperance), labor unions (the Knights of Labor), and oh yes - black rights as well. In the background of all these movements was the shadow of the Civil War. Not just the fighting and the Amendments, but the sectional divisions behind it - and that caused many to try to get past the sectional divide.
The Grange wanted to avoid racial issues, help farmers, and unite farmers in the North and South. They used the masons as a model. Their focus was on economics, as they opposed monopolies. But their call for sectional unity caused them to ignore black farmers. In the South, Grangers often were Klaners. They even helped revive Andrew Johnson's career after his presidency.
The WCTU was a widespread reform organization. Temperance was supported in part because so many male drunks treated women so badly. It became the largest women's organization in the US. Frances Willard spoke of human equality to promote women's rights without actually talking of women's rights directly. They called for prison reform, in part because female prisoners were so subject to rape. But the WCTU also wanted southern support. They also had northern black support. But they wouldn't work with blacks in the south. They came to believe that the southern black vote was unreliable and corrupted by saloon influence. Eventually, Willard came to support restricting the black vote via literacy tests.
The Knights of Labor became the biggest labor union. Blacks had been deeply skeptical of the NLU, which had tried for southern support. The NLU had supported (officially) all workers, but called on blacks to quit calling for civil rights as blacks and instead look only to labor rights. The NLU supported Native American rights, but strongly supported Chinese exclusion. The Knights of Labor rose up and was egalitarian, but often anti-immigrant. Their guys did the Rock Springs Massacre. They tried to get black support and southern support. At one point, they had success getting white Kentucky coal miners to support black union members. They gained black landless poor rural members in the south. But the Knights stayed out of social issues with race -focusing only on labor issues. Over time, they lost virtually all their black support in the south.
Corporate lawyers asserted corporate equality in courts as a counter-offensive to the era's egalitarian social movements. Henry George emerged as a labor champion, with his call for the single tax. Even some farmers supported it, thinking while they'd pay more on land taxes, getting rid of all other taxes would benefit them overall.
The Supreme Court gutted civil rights for blacks. Frances Willard tried to avoid racial issues, causing Ida B. Wells to criticize her (though Frederick Douglass defended the WCTU shortly before his death). The Farmers Alliance supported Jim Crow and entered into negioations with the Knights of Labor. The People's Party also got caught up on these various forms of equality, and went the same was as the Alliance (hardly surprising, given how it began as an outgrowth of the Alliance).
In the 20th century, these movements have often butted heads. The New Deal focused on economic matters, ignoring racial and sexual forms of equality. Since then, unions have gone way down. In the 21st century, we're seeing a new rise of all these movements, but there's still never been a great answer to the question of how to advance these causes.
This book kind of crept up on me. I got more out of it than I thought I would.
October 7, 2019
This book will be an eye-opener for most readers. It covers some of the major social and political trends in the U.S. in the late nineteenth century, trends mostly forgotten today, and the book shows the violent, contested manner in which this country reached the state we're in today.
As documented by Postel, racial oppression is the overriding, unifying theme of American history. Corporate power follows a parallel path.
He describes three major organizations that sprang up after the Civil War with laudable, bold goals in promoting social justice--and then describes how each fell into collusion with the Southern white supremacists who destroyed Reconstruction and relegated African-Americans to subservience. The Knights of Labor showed the most promise, but stayed silent when it most mattered and black workers were being murdered by white militias.
Although focusing on the betrayal of African-Americans--and opposition to immigration from China, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe--by all the progressive white organization of the late nineteenth century, Postel reports a number of other little-known facts about the time, such as fledgling and inadequate attempts to internationalize the progressive movements. Postel also introduces the complex, interlocking, and contradictory philosophies behind different movement leaders.
Entering the 1890s, with the rise of both Populism and Jim Crow, the narrative loses detail. One can't really trace the evolution of the nineteenth-century movements into our own time over a couple dozen pages, but I appreciate Postel's concern for showing how we live the sad legacy of the post-Civil War years.
As documented by Postel, racial oppression is the overriding, unifying theme of American history. Corporate power follows a parallel path.
He describes three major organizations that sprang up after the Civil War with laudable, bold goals in promoting social justice--and then describes how each fell into collusion with the Southern white supremacists who destroyed Reconstruction and relegated African-Americans to subservience. The Knights of Labor showed the most promise, but stayed silent when it most mattered and black workers were being murdered by white militias.
Although focusing on the betrayal of African-Americans--and opposition to immigration from China, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe--by all the progressive white organization of the late nineteenth century, Postel reports a number of other little-known facts about the time, such as fledgling and inadequate attempts to internationalize the progressive movements. Postel also introduces the complex, interlocking, and contradictory philosophies behind different movement leaders.
Entering the 1890s, with the rise of both Populism and Jim Crow, the narrative loses detail. One can't really trace the evolution of the nineteenth-century movements into our own time over a couple dozen pages, but I appreciate Postel's concern for showing how we live the sad legacy of the post-Civil War years.
August 18, 2022
Aside from racial Reconstruction, three other major movements pushed for equal rights after the Civil War: farmers through the Grange, women through the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and workers through the Knights of Labor. All three groups became big and powerful, making an impact on society, and all three had to grapple with the same issues faced by racial Reconstruction, namely, how to balance the demands of Blacks for equality with those of southern whites for racial supremacy. For the WCTU and the Grange, southern planters won out over freedmen. For the Knights, Blacks enjoyed access for a while, but in the end, southern white interests also pushed them out. A sobering tale!
January 30, 2022
The story of the white desertion of support for equal rights for emancipated blacks during the years of reconstruction. Illustrating this trend is the history of the farm movement thru the institution of the Grange, the labor movement thru the Knights of Labor & the women's movement thru the WCTU. All three organizations paralleled each other closely, especially in their indifference or hostility to the cause of civil rights for racial minorities. This is a valuable addition to the history of the post civil war era.
April 25, 2024
Pretty solid I love the descriptions of union organizing. He does talk about how many of the organizations addressed abandon an interracial coalition but i wish he focused more on how that abandonment actually led to the downfall of many union organizations and in particular the populist party.
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January 20, 2022305.50973 P8577 2019
November 20, 2025
this book was so incredibly boring. the three case studies were too in depth to care about and the writer made claims about the power of organizing without backing them up with any evidence. i hated it.
September 1, 2020
great book, very informative and very clear. Sheds a lot of light on a chapter of American history we never hear much about.
August 8, 2019
I got this ADC from Netgalley, and publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for review.
This book is a source heavy tome about the fight for civil rights for Blacks and Chinese persons after the Civil War. It covers Reconstruction, and the initial introduction of Jim Crow laws. Very dry reading, but terribly interesting for history geeks and antiracists.
Recommended only for those serious about learning more about American History not covered properly in schools and universities.
This book is a source heavy tome about the fight for civil rights for Blacks and Chinese persons after the Civil War. It covers Reconstruction, and the initial introduction of Jim Crow laws. Very dry reading, but terribly interesting for history geeks and antiracists.
Recommended only for those serious about learning more about American History not covered properly in schools and universities.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews