The public memory of Reconstruction has long been a complex and fraught subject in the United States. But where do we stand now, and what will Reconstruction’s sesquicentennial entail? What issues confront scholars, civil rights advocates, public history practitioners, and teachers devoted to deepening conversations about Reconstruction? What opportunities does Reconstruction’s sesquicentennial present? The following […]

If like many of us are struggling to make sense of these turbulent times, check out “The Whiskey Rebellion” podcast. In this episode, American historians and expats, Frank Cogliano and David Silkenat discuss The Women’s Marches in D.C. and around the world, the special relationship between the U.S. and U.K. and finally President Trump’s refugee […]

The 2016 election results raise serious concerns for Americans concerned about the protection of civil rights and basic constitutional liberties. Over 1200 of us have signed a statement placing some of these concerns into stark historical context and suggesting ways to use historical knowledge and awareness of past missteps as part of what we call […]

Originally Posted at Process: A Blog for American History We’re a nation that loves our centennials and sesquicentennials. We celebrate wars; we celebrate statehood; we celebrate the founding of our nation and the founding of our schools and universities. MIT recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of its move from one side of the Charles River to […]

by Timothy Huebner U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, recently made news by suggesting that we no longer need professors.  They are too expensive, he argued.  The example he gave was that those taking courses on the American Civil War could simply watch the Ken Burns PBS video series instead. According to a story […]

by Calvin Schermerhorn On July 30, 1866, “taking our country back” left our country bloodied and scarred in a now-forgotten event called the New Orleans Massacre. One of Reconstruction’s deadliest days started over the refusal to accept civil rights as a verdict of the Civil War and, more broadly, because whites left behind tried to […]

We here at the Memphis Massacre 1866 blog are collecting reflections from the movie Free State of Jones. If you would like to share your reflection on the movie, please email Andre E. Johnson at ajohnsn6@memphis.edu by Michael J. Steudeman The Free State of Jones is really two movies. The first is a tightly-told story […]

We are pleased to announce that C-Span 3 will air panels four and five from our Memories of Massacre: Memphis in 1866 Symposium. Panel four, The Memphis Massacre will air on July 9, 2016 at 6:00pm (EST) and panel five, The Radicalization of Reconstruction will air on July 23, 2016 at 6:00pm (EST). After airing, C-Span […]

On May 20-21, 2016, the University of Memphis hosted “Memories of a Massacre: Memphis in 1866, a Symposium Exploring Slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.”  The culmination of a semester-long series of lectures, workshops, discussions, and book talks, this symposium featured historians and scholars from across the country, including Robert K. Sutton, retired Chief Historian of the […]

On May 20-21, 2016, the University of Memphis hosted “Memories of a Massacre: Memphis in 1866, a Symposium Exploring Slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.”  The culmination of a semester-long series of lectures, workshops, discussions, and book talks, this symposium featured historians and scholars from across the country, including Robert K. Sutton, retired Chief Historian of the […]

University of Memphis faculty members and their community partners work together to reveal an untold chapter in Memphis history.

  On May 20-21, 2016, the University of Memphis hosted “Memories of a Massacre: Memphis in 1866, a Symposium Exploring Slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.” The culmination of a semester-long series of lectures, workshops, discussions, and book talks, this symposium featured historians and scholars from across the country, including Robert K. Sutton, retired Chief Historian of the […]

On May 20-21, 2016, the University of Memphis hosted “Memories of a Massacre: Memphis in 1866, a Symposium Exploring Slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.”  The culmination of a semester-long series of lectures, workshops, discussions, and book talks, this symposium featured historians and scholars from across the country, including Robert K. Sutton, retired Chief Historian of the […]

by Phyllis Aluko This past summer, I finally read Stephen Ash’s book, A Massacre In Memphis, and was stunned. I was not stunned because of what I learned about the nature of the atrocities perpetrated against the African-American community in 1866. Nor was I stunned that no one was prosecuted for the offenses although the […]