RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR

 Weston Hill Theoharis

10-22-21

FYS 1000

RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 

    Beginning with the hopeful moment of the war's end and emancipation in 1865 and ending in 1915, when the country was completely entrenched in Jim Crow segregation, the film gives a broad look of the Reconstruction era and its consequences. The nation was devastated by death and damage in the aftermath of the Civil War. Members of the United States Congress worked to bring the North and South together while also awarding newly freed African Americans citizenship privileges. Millions of former slaves and free black people strove to reclaim their legal status as equal citizens. The goal of an interracial democracy was short-lived, and the country is still haunted by the shattered promises of the Reconstruction era. This brave democratic experiment was a "brief time in the sun" for African Americans, when they could advance and attain education, exercise their right to vote, and compete for and win public office. Https://www.scetv.org/stories/2019/reconstruction-america-after-civil-war-premieres-tuesdays-april-9-16-2019-pbs

    The documentary's first half focuses on the crucial decade following the Civil War uprising, chronicling black growth and showcasing the accomplishments of the many political leaders who emerged to shepherd their communities into this new era of freedom. The second half of the series looks beyond that promising decade when history curved backward. The film looks at the various methods in which black people persisted to acquire land, develop institutions, and strengthen communities despite escalating racial violence and persecution as Reconstruction unraveled and Jim Crow segregation rose in the latter years of the nineteenth century. https://www.pbs.org/weta/reconstruction/about-the-film/

    The film also looks at how African American art, music, literature, and culture blossomed as means of resistance in the fight against Jim Crow oppression, as well as the explosion of political activism that coincided with the founding of famous civil rights groups.

Mississippi Burning

 Weston Hill Theoharis

10-28-21

FYS 1000

Mississippi Burning

    Three civil rights activists from Mississippi are gone without a trace. The first two were Jewish, while the third was African-American. Already, it appears that whoever kidnapped them wanted to show the world that they didn't like minorities, but in a town where everyone thinks this way, it's difficult to pinpoint a culprit. When Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson, a former Mississippi sheriff, begin interviewing the locals, they discover this the hard way.

    Ray Stuckey, the Sheriff of the town where the incident occurred (in 1964), is swiftly discovered by the two detectives to be linked to the Ku Klux Klan. Mrs. Pell, the community's Deputy Sheriff's wife, appears to be the only one who is concerned about the probe. She informs the men that the trio has been murdered, and their bodies are later discovered hidden. Mr. Pell is told by the Sheriff that his wife has betrayed them, and he beats her.

    The FBI arranges for Mayor Tilman of the village to be kidnapped, of course without his knowledge. He is confined to a shed with an African-American man whom he feels is deranged. Tilman eventually gives in when the man threatens to castrate him if he does not inform him about the crime. Because of Tilman's prejudice against individuals of different ethnicities, he overlooks the possibility that this man was sent to do this and believes his threats.

    The FBI decides to question Lester Cowens, a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He returns home one day to see a burning cross in his yard, a strong indicator that the Klan is on his tail. Unsure what they want with him, he tries to flee in his truck, but the FBI tells him that it was all a set-up to get him to confess to the murder.

The individuals are still violently separated at the end of the film - Mrs. Pell leaves her husband in pursuit of more freedom, and FBI searches are inconclusive. Alan and Rupert visit an African American cemetery and read the inscription "Not Forgotten" on a gravestone.

Town Hall Meeting on Slavery

Weston Theoharis

10-20-2021

FYS 1000

Town Hall Meeting on Slavery

Pennsylvania Hall was built to provide a venue for discussing "the problems of slavery" as well as other subjects "not of an immoral character." It was originally dubbed "one of the most commodious and elegant buildings in the city."

The Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women met as scheduled that morning, despite the notices and the swelling crowd outside the auditorium. Men began to congregate outside the building the next morning, "prowling around the doors, investigating the gas pipes, and chatting in a manner to groups that had gathered around them in the street." They became more unruly later in the day, and during William Lloyd Garrison's introduction of Maria W. Chapman to the nearly 3,000 reformers present at the evening assembly, a mob burst into the building, shouting. The mob quickly dispersed, only to obstruct the conference from the outside. 

While Chapman was speaking, rocks smashed through the windows, and the shouting from outside drowned out her voice. Angelina Grimké Weld was the next to take the stage. The audience rose to leave many times during the meeting, only to be convinced to stay by Weld and other speakers. Weld's speech continued on for over an hour, unaffected by the raucous crowd. Whites and blacks went out of the hall arm in arm in a show of solidarity and to protect the black women. They were still pelted with insults and rocks. The Hall was conceived in response to the difficulty that abolitionists experienced in locating a suitable location for their meetings. To finance the construction, a joint-stock company was founded. Abolitionists, mechanics, and other employees, women, and important residents were among the 2,000 people who purchased $20 shares in the corporation. Those who were unable to purchase shares provided goods and labor. A total of $40,000 was raised to construct the structure.

 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2938.html

The mob showed up again the next day. More sessions of the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women were scheduled, despite the Mayor's request that the convention is limited to white women exclusively. Fearing that the crowd would attack, the building's managers delivered the keys to the mayor. The mayor declared to the gathering that the remaining sessions had been canceled after sealing the doors. As he went away, the crowd applauded. They stormed the structure shortly after, smashing the interior and starting fires. The mayor returned with the cops, but the mob had gotten out of hand, and any attempts by the cops to restore order were met with violence. By 9 p.m., the fires had spread throughout the building and everything was in flames. When firefighters arrived on the site, they only helped the structures surrounding Pennsylvania Hall. When one unit attempted to spray the new structure, its troops became targets for the hoses of the other units. Because no one was fighting to save Pennsylvania Hall, it was quickly demolished.

 https://www.abebooks.com/9781275760332/Report-proceedings-great-anti-slavery-meeting-1275760333/plp 

Over the next few days, the rioting mob proceeded to strike, setting fire to a refuge for black orphans and causing damage to a black church. The abolitionists were blamed for the riots in an official report, which said that they incited violence by upsetting Philadelphia residents with their opinions and advocating "racial mingling."