My Wish Lists Login / Join

Requiem for Reconstruction

Black Countermemory and the Legacy of the Lowcountry's Lost Political Generation

By: Robert D. Bland

Write A Review

Hardcover | 6 January 2026

At a Glance

Hardcover
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 2.5 x 15.5

Hardcover

$290.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $72.69 with

Ships in 5 to 10 business days

The promise of Reconstruction sparked a transformative era in American history as free and newly emancipated Black Americans sought to redefine their place in a nation still grappling with the legacy of slavery. Often remembered as a period of failed progressive change that gave way to Jim Crow and second-class citizenship, Reconstruction's tragic narrative has long overshadowed the resilience and agency of African Americans during this time. Requiem for Reconstruction chronicles Reconstruction's legacy by focusing on key Black figures such as South Carolina congressman Robert Smalls, Judge William Whipper, writer Frances Rollin, and others who shaped postbellum Black America. Robert D. Bland traces the impact of the Reconstruction generation—Black Americans born between 1840 and 1870 who saw Reconstruction as a defining political movement and worked to preserve its legacy by establishing a new set of historical practices such as formulating new archives, shaping local community counternarratives, using the Black press to inform national audiences about Southern Republican politics, and developing a framework to interpret the recent past's connection to their present world. Set in South Carolina's Lowcountry—a hub of Black freedom, landownership, and activism—this book shows how late nineteenth-century Black leaders, educators, and journalists built a powerful countermemory of Reconstruction, defying the dominant white narrative that sought to erase their contributions.

Industry Reviews

"Requiem for Reconstruction lends a meaningful contribution to the historiography of the post-war era while offering an important perspective on those who fought to establish afair interpretation of Reconstruction's successful trajectory."--Emerging Civil War "With thorough research and methodology, Robert Bland navigates the complicated road to freedom and how Black people, countering many and various limitations, created and preserved their own history--the true history of Reconstruction. Requiem for Reconstruction is a major contribution to the booming field on memory studies, elucidating the deliberate effort to erase Black contributions to postbellum American history. This is a brilliant book, brilliantly conceived and brilliantly executed."--Orville Vernon Burton, author of The Age of Lincoln: A History

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.