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1877: America's Year of Living Violently
In 1877, a decade after the Civil War, not only was the United States gripped by a deep depression, but the country was also in the throes of nearly unimaginable violence and upheaval marking the end of the brief period known as Reconstruction and a return to white rule across the South. In the wake of the contested presidential election of 1876, white supremacist mobs swept across the South, killing and driving out the last of the Reconstruction state governments. A strike involving millions of railroad workers turned violent as it spread from coast-to-coast, and for a moment seemed close to toppling the nation’s economic structure.
In 1877 , celebrated historian Michael Bellesiles reveals that the fires of that fated year also fueled a hothouse of cultural and intellectual innovation. Bellesiles relates the story of 1877 not just through dramatic events, but also through the lives of famous and little-known Americans.
In 1877 , celebrated historian Michael Bellesiles reveals that the fires of that fated year also fueled a hothouse of cultural and intellectual innovation. Bellesiles relates the story of 1877 not just through dramatic events, but also through the lives of famous and little-known Americans.
386 pages, Hardcover
First published July 13, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
February 3, 2022
This is a well-written, well-researched book which calls to mind one year in the history of the country- when the North decided to abandon African Americans and just get on with their business. It was also in the midst of the greatest depression the country has experienced previous to the Great Depression. Moreover, the election of 1876 saw the North abandon Reconstruction, leaving African Americans at the hands of the people who had started a war to protect the institution of slavery. The white middle class decided that blacks had been given all the help that they needed and that they should now made it on their own. Of course, that ignores the reality of life in the Southern states. Even people like Harriet Beecher Stowe, and her brother, the preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, who had once been very strong abolitionists, abandoned blacks, arguing that enough had been done and that they should be able to make it on their own. Moreover, those who had lost their jobs were deemed tramps, called criminals and communists. They were said to be too lazy to work and deserved no help.
Salaries were slashed by companies, particularly mining and railroad companies and when worked organized and went out on strike, they were met by thugs who beat and sometimes shot them. The police, who were not trained, and not professionals were often times in the pay of the companies and carried out their will. The press too was on the side of the capitalists, and printed stories that often times lacked any truth and simply stirred the pot. The working classes and blacks, and any minorities, as well as women, had no rights and found themselves at the mercy of those with money.
It was an embarrassing chapter in American history but one that is oftentimes glossed over or ignored altogether. This book exposes a part of our history that we need to recognize and learn about. Although the grievances of whites were somewhat dealt with in the coming generations, there are still issues regarding the way that certain groups have been treated that have not been fully aired- African Americans, Chinese, Indians, Hispanics- all have had parts of their history in this country that have been left out of history books but that need to be included.
Salaries were slashed by companies, particularly mining and railroad companies and when worked organized and went out on strike, they were met by thugs who beat and sometimes shot them. The police, who were not trained, and not professionals were often times in the pay of the companies and carried out their will. The press too was on the side of the capitalists, and printed stories that often times lacked any truth and simply stirred the pot. The working classes and blacks, and any minorities, as well as women, had no rights and found themselves at the mercy of those with money.
It was an embarrassing chapter in American history but one that is oftentimes glossed over or ignored altogether. This book exposes a part of our history that we need to recognize and learn about. Although the grievances of whites were somewhat dealt with in the coming generations, there are still issues regarding the way that certain groups have been treated that have not been fully aired- African Americans, Chinese, Indians, Hispanics- all have had parts of their history in this country that have been left out of history books but that need to be included.
May 2, 2022
Before starting a review of this book I want to thank my GR friend Colleen for writing a review of this book which caught my attention and piqued my curiosity. I bought and read the book and was amazed at what I found. The Reconstruction and the entire second half of our 19th century history is not a period I have ever been particularly interested in. However this author has taken fragments of that era's history and assembled them to prove that 1877 was an exceptionally important and pivotal year in our history. What happened in 1877 shaped the policies of our national government well into the 20th century. This book now has me reconsidering my attitude toward the post Civil War era and this is because of Colleen's very helpful book review. Thank you Colleen.
The year 1877 doesn't seem to hold any significance for most people. There was no singular event that makes it stand out like say 1776 or 1812 or 1861. In fact the U.S. Centennial was in 1876 and that year would seem to hold more meaning and be more worthy of a historian's interest than the year that followed it. The title is a curiosity but it does claim some of its importance by the events that took place in 1876 aside from the Centennial celebration which the author does describe as something of a celebration with hollow meaning. What was important was that 1876 was a presidential election year and a new administration was going to replace the enormously corrupt administration of President Grant. Unfortunately the 1876 election was also plagued by corruption on all sides. Samuel Tilden, the Democratic candidate, had 184 electoral votes and needed only one more to win. There were three states whose results were being contested and all three of these states were in the South. The Republican candidate was Rutherford B. Hayes and he needed all the electoral votes of these three contested states to win. The Southern Democrats were attempting to unite the entire South, the "Solid South", under the Democratic banner. A deal was made. If Hayes would remove federal troops from the South and keep the federal government from being involved in the internal affairs of the Southern states then the South would deliver the contested states for Hayes. The Hayes campaign made their deal with the devil and Hayes became president and with that deal Reconstruction ended. This is the starting point of the author's portrayal of 1877.
What the author does is give the reader a historical review of life in America in 1877 by highlighting various events and conditions occurring in that year. These events cover the political, economic, and social circumstances affecting the full spectrum of the American people. While the author doesn't mention the parallels the reader will almost certainly be struck by the similarities between life in this country 145 years ago and life today. The problems and issues are virtually identical. The author discusses rampant wealth disparity, immigration, racial prejudice and the successful effort to deprive African Americans and known Republicans of their voting rights, labor strife, out of control crime, ineffective but brutal law enforcement, the loss of faith in our government institutions, and if that wasn't enough there was even real fake news. Social Darwinism was the popular justification used by the upper and middle classes to rationalize their apathy and indifference to the plight of the less fortunate. Poverty was the fault of the poor for not being more industrious and such people would only be harmed by handouts from any source. Handouts would rob the poor of their initiative and reinforce their dependence.
The shooting involved in the Civil War ended in 1865 but the echoes of those guns continued on in the second phase of that war. In 1877 the war of ideas and abstractions was won by the Confederacy. The African Americans in the South were abandoned and left to the mercies of their former masters. The Constitution and the Civil War Amendments to the Constitution were openly and intentionally disregarded and ignored in the South and neither the federal government nor the American people cared. Of course the country was in the midst of an economic depression second only to the Great Depression of the 1930's. It's rather difficult to get worked up about much when you are unemployed and struggling to keep a roof over your family's head and food on the table. It never seemed to occur to anybody that the shocking rise in crime and in violence might have some correlation with economic conditions and poverty but poverty was the fault of the poor remember. The crime problem was to be dealt with in the most immediate and effective way available, a billy club or a gun and then a hangman's noose. Law enforcement didn't need to be effective only visible and brutal and that would curtail crime at least that was the popular belief of the upper and middle classes. Only now is that notion being given any serious examination.
This was an incredible book and a perfect illustration of what happens when people become ignorant of their history. Such people then invariably elect leaders that are either also ignorant of history or simply choose to ignore it in order to pander to the prejudices of their political base. Here we are 145 years later still dealing with the same problems because ignorance, greed, apathy, and self-interest prevent us from making the hard decisions required for effective solutions. I normally end my reviews by telling the reader to enjoy the book. This is a really good book but I just can't see that it can be enjoyed as it really proves how unexceptional we, the American people, are. Let's hope the problems detailed in this book aren't still being suffered 145 years from now.
The year 1877 doesn't seem to hold any significance for most people. There was no singular event that makes it stand out like say 1776 or 1812 or 1861. In fact the U.S. Centennial was in 1876 and that year would seem to hold more meaning and be more worthy of a historian's interest than the year that followed it. The title is a curiosity but it does claim some of its importance by the events that took place in 1876 aside from the Centennial celebration which the author does describe as something of a celebration with hollow meaning. What was important was that 1876 was a presidential election year and a new administration was going to replace the enormously corrupt administration of President Grant. Unfortunately the 1876 election was also plagued by corruption on all sides. Samuel Tilden, the Democratic candidate, had 184 electoral votes and needed only one more to win. There were three states whose results were being contested and all three of these states were in the South. The Republican candidate was Rutherford B. Hayes and he needed all the electoral votes of these three contested states to win. The Southern Democrats were attempting to unite the entire South, the "Solid South", under the Democratic banner. A deal was made. If Hayes would remove federal troops from the South and keep the federal government from being involved in the internal affairs of the Southern states then the South would deliver the contested states for Hayes. The Hayes campaign made their deal with the devil and Hayes became president and with that deal Reconstruction ended. This is the starting point of the author's portrayal of 1877.
What the author does is give the reader a historical review of life in America in 1877 by highlighting various events and conditions occurring in that year. These events cover the political, economic, and social circumstances affecting the full spectrum of the American people. While the author doesn't mention the parallels the reader will almost certainly be struck by the similarities between life in this country 145 years ago and life today. The problems and issues are virtually identical. The author discusses rampant wealth disparity, immigration, racial prejudice and the successful effort to deprive African Americans and known Republicans of their voting rights, labor strife, out of control crime, ineffective but brutal law enforcement, the loss of faith in our government institutions, and if that wasn't enough there was even real fake news. Social Darwinism was the popular justification used by the upper and middle classes to rationalize their apathy and indifference to the plight of the less fortunate. Poverty was the fault of the poor for not being more industrious and such people would only be harmed by handouts from any source. Handouts would rob the poor of their initiative and reinforce their dependence.
The shooting involved in the Civil War ended in 1865 but the echoes of those guns continued on in the second phase of that war. In 1877 the war of ideas and abstractions was won by the Confederacy. The African Americans in the South were abandoned and left to the mercies of their former masters. The Constitution and the Civil War Amendments to the Constitution were openly and intentionally disregarded and ignored in the South and neither the federal government nor the American people cared. Of course the country was in the midst of an economic depression second only to the Great Depression of the 1930's. It's rather difficult to get worked up about much when you are unemployed and struggling to keep a roof over your family's head and food on the table. It never seemed to occur to anybody that the shocking rise in crime and in violence might have some correlation with economic conditions and poverty but poverty was the fault of the poor remember. The crime problem was to be dealt with in the most immediate and effective way available, a billy club or a gun and then a hangman's noose. Law enforcement didn't need to be effective only visible and brutal and that would curtail crime at least that was the popular belief of the upper and middle classes. Only now is that notion being given any serious examination.
This was an incredible book and a perfect illustration of what happens when people become ignorant of their history. Such people then invariably elect leaders that are either also ignorant of history or simply choose to ignore it in order to pander to the prejudices of their political base. Here we are 145 years later still dealing with the same problems because ignorance, greed, apathy, and self-interest prevent us from making the hard decisions required for effective solutions. I normally end my reviews by telling the reader to enjoy the book. This is a really good book but I just can't see that it can be enjoyed as it really proves how unexceptional we, the American people, are. Let's hope the problems detailed in this book aren't still being suffered 145 years from now.
February 3, 2012
A beautiful written book about a terrible time in the history of the United States. Just 12 years after the end of the War Between the States and racism is tearing the country asunder. Throw in a lot of election fraud, including the election of Rutherford B. Hayes and unremitting violence and it is a book that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. Recommended.
May 22, 2015
Where I got the book: purchased used on Amazon.
1877 was the year when Reconstruction ended. A disputed presidential election ended with the Democrats conceding to the Republicans on the condition that they withdraw Federal troops from the South, effectively handing the black population over to the white supremacists and ensuring a century of servitude and deprivation of civil rights for the former slaves they’d fought so hard to free.
And that wasn’t the only thing wrong with the year 1877 for just about anyone who wasn’t white, male and prosperous. Bellesiles shines his light around a dark and murky year that demonstrated that America had problems peculiar to its own history but that it also hadn’t escaped the class disputes many people thought they’d left behind in Europe. He portrays 1877 as a year of chaos—even after the dust from the election had settled and America’s Northern population, once so vehement about emancipating the blacks, had decided it was tired of the subject, the country was left with other racially based disputes such as the Indian Wars, the Chinese problem on the West Coast and clashes on the Mexican border. In addition there were strikes across the country as corporations cut wages to starvation levels while paying large dividends to their shareholders (sound familiar?); homicide rates were high and the justice system ineffective; and Social Darwinism was on the rise, providing a pseudo-scientific basis for further racial discrimination. The economic depression had put many out-of-work men onto the road, creating a national panic about tramps that equalled the panic about communism fuelled by the strikes.
There were also more encouraging signs of future developments. Women, despite having fewer rights than at almost any time in history, were starting to assert themselves in visible and powerful ways such as their strong presence at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and their leadership of the temperance movement in 1877 and beyond. Black activists like Booker T. Washington were finding ways to make America’s black population financially independent by working within the system rather than fighting against it, and the thirst for education that had been given a huge boost during and just after the Civil War was upheld and bravely fought for by the post-War generations. Reformers were beginning to take a stand against the injustices they saw meted out to the working poor.
This is definitely an academic book, densely if well written, rather than a popular history. As such it was sometimes a little hard to slog through (hence 4 stars), but it was also crammed with information—a definite keeper for my history shelf. It explores some of the origins of the 1877 picture and gives an idea of future developments, ending on a curiously patriotic note: America would still continue to be a haven for the poor, even though the actual experience of those who landed on its shores in the late 1800s and beyond was very different from the American dream of a straight path to prosperity via hard work. To this non-American reader it demonstrates that even for an inevitably cynical chronicler like Bellesiles, the dream of what America could be still lives in the American psyche, beside the reality of corporate and white hegemony.
1877 was the year when Reconstruction ended. A disputed presidential election ended with the Democrats conceding to the Republicans on the condition that they withdraw Federal troops from the South, effectively handing the black population over to the white supremacists and ensuring a century of servitude and deprivation of civil rights for the former slaves they’d fought so hard to free.
And that wasn’t the only thing wrong with the year 1877 for just about anyone who wasn’t white, male and prosperous. Bellesiles shines his light around a dark and murky year that demonstrated that America had problems peculiar to its own history but that it also hadn’t escaped the class disputes many people thought they’d left behind in Europe. He portrays 1877 as a year of chaos—even after the dust from the election had settled and America’s Northern population, once so vehement about emancipating the blacks, had decided it was tired of the subject, the country was left with other racially based disputes such as the Indian Wars, the Chinese problem on the West Coast and clashes on the Mexican border. In addition there were strikes across the country as corporations cut wages to starvation levels while paying large dividends to their shareholders (sound familiar?); homicide rates were high and the justice system ineffective; and Social Darwinism was on the rise, providing a pseudo-scientific basis for further racial discrimination. The economic depression had put many out-of-work men onto the road, creating a national panic about tramps that equalled the panic about communism fuelled by the strikes.
There were also more encouraging signs of future developments. Women, despite having fewer rights than at almost any time in history, were starting to assert themselves in visible and powerful ways such as their strong presence at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and their leadership of the temperance movement in 1877 and beyond. Black activists like Booker T. Washington were finding ways to make America’s black population financially independent by working within the system rather than fighting against it, and the thirst for education that had been given a huge boost during and just after the Civil War was upheld and bravely fought for by the post-War generations. Reformers were beginning to take a stand against the injustices they saw meted out to the working poor.
This is definitely an academic book, densely if well written, rather than a popular history. As such it was sometimes a little hard to slog through (hence 4 stars), but it was also crammed with information—a definite keeper for my history shelf. It explores some of the origins of the 1877 picture and gives an idea of future developments, ending on a curiously patriotic note: America would still continue to be a haven for the poor, even though the actual experience of those who landed on its shores in the late 1800s and beyond was very different from the American dream of a straight path to prosperity via hard work. To this non-American reader it demonstrates that even for an inevitably cynical chronicler like Bellesiles, the dream of what America could be still lives in the American psyche, beside the reality of corporate and white hegemony.
August 24, 2018
This is one of the few books that I never finished because I couldn't trust the author.
I picked this book up because it had decent reviews, but I felt uncomfortable with some of the author's claims. So I did some more research. Bellesiles' first book, "Arming America" won the Bancroft Prize for History. It also became the first book to have that prize rescinded due ""violated basic norms of scholarship and the high standards expected of Bancroft Prize winners." The author lost his job at Emory due to his poor scholarship---I believe the term was academic malfeasance.
Anyways, I realized that couldn't trust this author in his interpretations or presentations of fact.
I picked this book up because it had decent reviews, but I felt uncomfortable with some of the author's claims. So I did some more research. Bellesiles' first book, "Arming America" won the Bancroft Prize for History. It also became the first book to have that prize rescinded due ""violated basic norms of scholarship and the high standards expected of Bancroft Prize winners." The author lost his job at Emory due to his poor scholarship---I believe the term was academic malfeasance.
Anyways, I realized that couldn't trust this author in his interpretations or presentations of fact.
September 10, 2019
A great book. The year 1877 was a time of upheaval in the US as the presidential election between Hayes and Tilden meant the North giving up Reconstruction so the southern Democrats would concede to a Republican victory. The great strike of 1877, which is never discussed in public school history, is described in all its violence and cruelty. The US still lives with the legacy of the events from 1877.
May 5, 2011
This was an interesting book focusing on momentous events that took place in the US during the year 1877. The author makes the point that it was the most violent year in American history. He cites violence against blacks throughout the South, as Reconstruction failed and the North was getting tired of hearing of the "slave problem" and let Southern politicians and governments do what they want. Unfortunately, the result was lynchings, murders, and more lynchings and more murders. With very few, if any, of those responsible being brought to justice.
The author cites how the domination of the railroads and their quest to build more rails caused the railroads to become corrupt and take advantage of their workers by to cutting wages on a regular basis. When the workers respond by forming unions and organizing strikes, the railroads create their own private militias and armies to end the strikes and work stoppages, many times by killing those protesting.
Other examples the author cites were the violence against Chinese workers, especially on the West Coast, and the subjugation of Native Americans in the west, often done through promising Indians safety and quality of life, and then reneging on those promises through wanton attacks and slaughters.
He makes a good case for 1877 being in fact the most violent year in American history. But he does it in a ponderous writing style, overwhelming the reader with details. At times I was confused by what I was reading as he goes back and forth to events that led up to 1877 being so violent and then forward to the effects of that violence in 1890 and beyond.
He also has a very definite point of view and places the blame squarely on some American politicians and organizations, which may be a little annoying to the reader, depending on your political point of view.
All in all, an interesting book. I learned a lot that I did not know before about that time in American history. But it was also a chore to get through. Oh, and I wish he had included photographs of many of the key players from that era. I would have liked to have seen what these men and women looked like.
The author cites how the domination of the railroads and their quest to build more rails caused the railroads to become corrupt and take advantage of their workers by to cutting wages on a regular basis. When the workers respond by forming unions and organizing strikes, the railroads create their own private militias and armies to end the strikes and work stoppages, many times by killing those protesting.
Other examples the author cites were the violence against Chinese workers, especially on the West Coast, and the subjugation of Native Americans in the west, often done through promising Indians safety and quality of life, and then reneging on those promises through wanton attacks and slaughters.
He makes a good case for 1877 being in fact the most violent year in American history. But he does it in a ponderous writing style, overwhelming the reader with details. At times I was confused by what I was reading as he goes back and forth to events that led up to 1877 being so violent and then forward to the effects of that violence in 1890 and beyond.
He also has a very definite point of view and places the blame squarely on some American politicians and organizations, which may be a little annoying to the reader, depending on your political point of view.
All in all, an interesting book. I learned a lot that I did not know before about that time in American history. But it was also a chore to get through. Oh, and I wish he had included photographs of many of the key players from that era. I would have liked to have seen what these men and women looked like.
May 17, 2022
This book covers events in the south, west, california (Chinese immigrants), economy, and the future. It ends with Teddy Roosevelt, so it's a great jumping off place to my next topics.
"There were so many angry voices calling for violence, unexpected voices: ministers, suffragists, intellecturals, journalists, all demanding retributrion against those who disrupted the coutry's good order, seeminly not appreciating the dgreee to which that disorder was the result of forces beyond the control of the powerless." p 281
He spends a lot of time talking about how the economny and the super wealthy and the governement's support of corporations over individuals and how that directly contributes to violence. Specificially the "tramp problem" and the great strike. I finally feel like I get a larger sense of the country at the end the reconstruction period. All the other books dealing with strictly the "southern problem" said how the populace had other things on their minds, but none specifically spelled out what. Now I feel like I have the complete picture. And that picture's focus (like so many others) is money. It is painful to read how many people were killed in 1877 and how many groups of people were hurt. This is why we need history: to attempt to not repeat the mistakes of the past.
"There were so many angry voices calling for violence, unexpected voices: ministers, suffragists, intellecturals, journalists, all demanding retributrion against those who disrupted the coutry's good order, seeminly not appreciating the dgreee to which that disorder was the result of forces beyond the control of the powerless." p 281
He spends a lot of time talking about how the economny and the super wealthy and the governement's support of corporations over individuals and how that directly contributes to violence. Specificially the "tramp problem" and the great strike. I finally feel like I get a larger sense of the country at the end the reconstruction period. All the other books dealing with strictly the "southern problem" said how the populace had other things on their minds, but none specifically spelled out what. Now I feel like I have the complete picture. And that picture's focus (like so many others) is money. It is painful to read how many people were killed in 1877 and how many groups of people were hurt. This is why we need history: to attempt to not repeat the mistakes of the past.
December 18, 2022
I've read histories that sweep through 1877 before, and I read a whole book on the Hayes/Tilden 1876 election which led to the end of Reconstruction and the hopes of all the former slaves living in the south. But this book focuses on a variety of violent events and social changes - the oppression of Mexican and Chinese immigrants to the U.S.; the nearly final eradication of Native American tribes; the move to criminalize the large number of unemployed men who were now called tramps; the Great Strike which spread across the United States and virtually shut down businesses until militia, police, and army beat labor; the increase in murders and violence in general.
Bellisiles does a great job of digging into events and trends across the country which showed the many ways racism and class hatred towards the poor were so endemic. It's highly readable history which shines a thousand lights on what has changed more in style than in substance in the 145 years since.
Bellisiles does a great job of digging into events and trends across the country which showed the many ways racism and class hatred towards the poor were so endemic. It's highly readable history which shines a thousand lights on what has changed more in style than in substance in the 145 years since.
May 31, 2011
This was a pivotal year in the annals of American History and I enjoyed the breadth that author Michael Bellesiles covered. Many readers may not be aware that there was another depression before the great depression of the 20th century and 1877 marked the middle of this particularly onerous and viscious cycle that lasted from 1873 to 1879. Americans were very angry and essentially the violence of this year in my opinion could be viewed like a wildfire, through its absolute and indiscriminate destruction, new life springs forward. Civil rights, immigration, suffrage, and class were all under attack at this period in our history and although for example segregation agsinst blacks would take another 100 years to eliminate, the seed of movement began in this year. Bellesiles did a solid job here particularly his extent of research to write this excellent book.
February 26, 2013
This was an interesting book. Bellesiles uses the violent and powerful events of 1877, Indian wars, the Great Strike, the Tramp Scare, and the ongoing depression of the time, to examine some of the beginnings of attitudes and ideas that persist in America today. Powerful individuals at the time embraced Social Darwinism and used that to justify not doing anything to help the poor. Many of these same voices advocated for genocide of the Native Americans. At this time white Republicans abandoned support for blacks and left them to be crushed under the hands of Southern whites.
I could go on and on.
I could go on and on.
October 25, 2020
A contested election, violence across the country, an economic depression and race tensions- just like now.
July 2, 2024
They never taught me this in public school! The decline of civil justice.
1. On the edge of a volcano. 1873 worst depression began and lasted until 1879. The country was rife with corrupt politics, merciless banks that had loaned more than their assets, and Darwinian businesses. Banks, businesses, railroads failed, stock market went under. Those with ,money bought for pennies on the dollar. The poor were hit the worst, losing their employment. Farmers lost their farms. Immigration dropped and some even returned to their homelands. Ministers insisted that those who fell into poverty deserved their fate. 1876 saw very little good for the common people.
2. Seeking white unity. During the Reconstruction, many blacks, poor whites, and German Americans were killed or whipped. In 1876, Southern Democrats created a one party system that prevented black votes and blocked social programs. The Presidential votes were bought with money and fear. The Supreme Court supported the Southern Democrats.
Selling Out Southern Blacks: Hayes caved to the southern Democrats. Responding to terror: African Americans did not qualify to enjoy the benefits of Democracy. They were considered poor and stupid and that is their fault. Even their former champions lost interest. Northern churches did not care anymore. Many preachers said equality was meant for heaven. Power was for the land owning white man only. Share cropping. Evicting black land downers. Terror. Republicans could not/would not protect the blacks.
However, volunteer teachers taught at black schools and the percentage of literate blacks rose.
3. Bringing order to the west. Wild West notoriety was mostly fiction. Native Americans were forced into government “agencies.” Culture destroyed. Southern Republicans refused to pay federal soldiers in the south, returning rule to the wealthy landowners. Things did not go well with Mexico and Hispanics. California hated Chinese immigrants more than they hated the Irish. Both parties had anti-Chinese planks.
4. The Specter of Class War. The Chinese were imported to undercut wages. The railroad helped the exploitation.
5. The Terror of poverty. The middle-class feared the poor, and feared slipping into poverty. Depression of 1873 created herds of wandering tramps. Social Darwinism: Anger and dismissive attitude toward charity. Capitalism is the law of the land to which we must submit. Interfering with greed is a sin. Those who are successful deserve wealth. The poor do not even deserve the right to vote. Most citizens refused to blame the system for poverty. Working class terror: Organized labor considered dangerous.
6. The Great Insurrection. Railroad owners were determined to rule over their workers. Abjectly poor workers used the unions to confront their masters. The newspapers and robber barons claimed communism. The federal government furnished troops to crush the strikes. The legal system backed up the owners. Religion railed against the put upon workers. The government was not on the side of the workers. They were against universal suffrage. The first red scare. People who dissented from TWROU were considered communists. Railroads forbade workers to join a union. Unions were forced to meet in. secret.
7. Homicidal nation. Southern states had a higher percentage of murders/assaults.
Look out! Here it comes again!
March 9, 2018
3.5 Stars This book started with a good premise, but I think failed on some of the execution. The author wanted to look at the year 1877 as a sort of watershed year in American history, especially examining violence. His first chapter was his best, examining the end of Reconstruction and the betrayal of African-Americans and southern Republicans by Rutherford Hayes to gain the presidency. I wanted to punch him in the face after reading that chapter. Other ones were a bit too generic. His chapters on violence in the West, tramps, and "homicidal" America could have been written about several other years as well. The chapter on the Great Strike was fascinating, as I had never heard about it. Probably should have been shorter or at least more focused.
April 26, 2018
What is the worst year this country ever had, in your opinion? 1860? 1929? 1968? 2008? 2016? Well, Bellesiles makes a really good case for putting 1877 as a contender for that dubious distinction. Although this book was written at the beginning of this decade, it is more relevant than ever with it's coverage of the racist terrorism, vote suppression, rise of plutocracy, labor unrest, nativist sentiment, Indigenous tensions, political corruption, and just plain violence that plagued the land during that year of horrors. Really worth a look!
March 15, 2022
In 1877 Americans wanted little more to do with the Civil War and all it represented as the year started with a deal being cut, the Northern oligarchy handed the South back. to its White elite in return for their compliance with this new power arrangement culminating in the destruction. in the South. Blacks lost all power that they gained during Reconstruction and racist Whites took over the South until almost 100 years later.
April 6, 2020
An engaging account of the violent birth of the post-Civil War Industrial and racial order. It was a year marred by racist violence at the end of Reconstruction, the emergence of segregation and repression in the South, the Great Railroad Strike, the emergence of a laboring class, Nez Perce War, and a skyrocketing homicide rate.
December 11, 2022
Compare and Contrast
I wanted to read this because so many of the issues sounded like what we are experiencing today. I found that we, the USA, are not very good at lessons learned from history. I also realize that politicians were just as crooked then as they are now. Same circus; same monkeys.
I wanted to read this because so many of the issues sounded like what we are experiencing today. I found that we, the USA, are not very good at lessons learned from history. I also realize that politicians were just as crooked then as they are now. Same circus; same monkeys.
September 30, 2024
History with modern implications
Excellent read profiling the American mindset post Civil War. I found interesting the number of violent even deadly events precipitated my the news media tendency to exaggerate, predict doom and slaughter, dehumanize caught in poverty, creating hysteria among the middle and upper classes. Thought provoking, well written.
Excellent read profiling the American mindset post Civil War. I found interesting the number of violent even deadly events precipitated my the news media tendency to exaggerate, predict doom and slaughter, dehumanize caught in poverty, creating hysteria among the middle and upper classes. Thought provoking, well written.
January 13, 2019
Fascinating history of a year full of radical change.
August 4, 2024
Dull, poorly written, lacked flow. I felt I was reading someone's PhD dissertation - trying to overwhelm the reader with facts and more facts.
August 18, 2020
Good book about that specific time frame.
August 7, 2020
Very entertaining history
This is a really enjoyable book for lovers of American history. I like when a book focuses on one year and recounts not only what happened that year, but also tells you stories you've never read before. For example, I was fascinated to learn that, after the slaves were freed, Harriet Beecher Stowe and other prominent abolitionist voices pretty much lost interest in their fate.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys popular history.
This is a really enjoyable book for lovers of American history. I like when a book focuses on one year and recounts not only what happened that year, but also tells you stories you've never read before. For example, I was fascinated to learn that, after the slaves were freed, Harriet Beecher Stowe and other prominent abolitionist voices pretty much lost interest in their fate.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys popular history.
July 15, 2020
Check
Read the one star reviews before purchase. I started wondering about his body counts in the south so I checked. His total for 1877 almost equals the NAACP for the entire Reconstruction.
Read the one star reviews before purchase. I started wondering about his body counts in the south so I checked. His total for 1877 almost equals the NAACP for the entire Reconstruction.
October 4, 2011
I found the book very interesting. My reason for reading it was to get a clearer understanding of what this country was really like just before my paternal grandparents came to the US. The book gave me much of what I was after. Having read the book I wonder what my grandparents really knew about the US before leaving their home in Austria -- for a better life. The author's focus is on violence and probably excludes or glosses over the more positive aspects of the US in that year. The book provides insights into three events that occured that year: the post-civil war race relations in the South (Reconstruction),the impact of railroads and worker's rights, and the "Indian Wars". The book is quite readable and extremely well footnoted (100 pages of notes). I recommned this book to anyone who wants to learn about the late 1800's.
May 5, 2014
The author makes a convincing case that 1877 was one of the key years in U.S. history. I was interested to learn how Americans' attention shifted from Reconstruction to labor unrest. Also, given the liberalism of The New York Times and The Nation magazine currently, it was jarring to read quotes from these publications that were anti-labor, anti-homeless, anti-women's suffrage, and anti-freedmen. Go back and read them to see how blatantly racist, sexist, un-progressive, and unenlightened they were 150 years ago.
May 28, 2013
Hey wait a minute, Isn't this this about 2000 something. A book about the time everything went wrong:
-Shady deals in selling bonds force the economy to head south.
-The President gets elected thru extra-constitutional panel.
-Violence and dissension everywhere.
-People divided into red bloody shirt states and racist dreamers of the past states.
-Congressmen carrying.
-Extra-legal become legal.
Lucky to make it thru that one. Or did we?
-Shady deals in selling bonds force the economy to head south.
-The President gets elected thru extra-constitutional panel.
-Violence and dissension everywhere.
-People divided into red bloody shirt states and racist dreamers of the past states.
-Congressmen carrying.
-Extra-legal become legal.
Lucky to make it thru that one. Or did we?
December 8, 2011
Another eventful year in US history. Nicely segmented by regions to show events within those regions but also tied them together by the themes of oppression of those least able to defend themselves by the forces of business, government , ignorance, poverty, and misguided beliefs. 1968. 1919. 1877.
1877 misshaped us for 100 years
1877 misshaped us for 100 years
December 5, 2010
Easy reading.Interesting especially keeping in mind that it is written from a Marxist revisionary point of view.He presents new opinions vis a vis info that we normally gloss over but is important in the flow of history.
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April 9, 2013If you'd like to know what I thought of this book, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
All the best,
- TB
All the best,
- TB
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