GBH Openvault

American Experience; Reconstruction: The Second Civil War; Interview with David W. Blight, Historian, Yale University

Part of Reconstruction Interviews.

2004

Blight talks about debates over reconstruction policy, Thaddeus Stevens, Andrew Johnson's 1866 speaking tour, voting rights as a central issue, how federal enforcement of radical reconstruction might have worked, reconstruction as a Yankee conquest, Freedmen voting in 1868, African Americans felt more close to the nation than ever before, black legislators, funding and public policy.

Series

American Experience

Program

Reconstruction: The Second Civil War

Program Number

1602 and 1603

Title

Interview with David W. Blight, Historian, Yale University

Series Description

As television's longest-running, most-watched history series, American Experience brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that helped form this nation. Now in its eighteenth season, the series has produced over 180 programs and garnered every major broadcast award.

Program Description

In the tumultuous years after the Civil War (1863-77), America grappled with how to rebuild itself, how to successfully bring the South back into the Union and how to bring former slaves into the life of the country. Dion Graham narrates. 1602 Revolution--In the chaos following the Civil War, a revolution takes shape in the South. Former slaves move to take control of their lives, setting up their own communities, churches and schools. Southern whites, deeply threatened, resist often violently. Congress finally acts to stem the violence and safeguard blacks rights, and passes Radical Reconstruction, imposing military rule on the South and giving black men the vote. 1603 Retreat--Radical Reconstruction, the worlds first large-scale experiment in interracial democracy, sweeps across the South; white resistance flares into violence. Northern commitment to Reconstruction wanes as the white Southern version of Reconstruction, the lost cause, captures the Northern imagination. By l877, Reconstruction is over, but it has laid the groundwork, both in legislation and in black memory, for the great Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.

Duration

0:45:34

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Topics

History

Creators

Deane, Elizabeth (Producer)

Contributors

Blight, David W. (Interviewee)

Publication Information

WGBH Educational Foundation

Rights Summary

Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “American Experience; Reconstruction: The Second Civil War; Interview with David W. Blight, Historian, Yale University,” 2004, GBH Archives, accessed December 21, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E43B54561DE4456C82B03CE8A5F0CD41.

MLA: “American Experience; Reconstruction: The Second Civil War; Interview with David W. Blight, Historian, Yale University.” 2004. GBH Archives. Web. December 21, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E43B54561DE4456C82B03CE8A5F0CD41>.

APA: American Experience; Reconstruction: The Second Civil War; Interview with David W. Blight, Historian, Yale University. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E43B54561DE4456C82B03CE8A5F0CD41